2025 was a banner year for new heavy metal albums by Latvian groups. Notable releases included pagan metal group Skyforger’s first album in ten years – Teikas, as well as Latgalian Viking metal ensemble Varang Nord’s album Mygla. A further memorable album released at the end of the year is In the Shade of a Camphor Tree by Japanese folk metal band Yomi.

Yomi, though being from Latvia, find inspiration in Japanese legends and musical instruments, and they have been performing for more than a decade (this album being their fourth overall). The band’s name ‘Yomi’ is the name of the mythological Japanese underworld, and they describe themselves as a combination of “death/black riffs with traditional Japanese tunes”. From the limited biographical information available, the members of the band are Khurr on vocals/folk instruments, Andrey playing drums, Tom on guitar, bassist Misha and also Anton playing guitar.

According to their Bandcamp site, In the Shade of a Camphor Tree tells the 14^th century story of the battle between the rebellious Emperor Go-Daigo and Bakufu – the military government.

The music is often harsh and brutal, and Khurr’s vocals vary between a low growl and what sounds like painful howling. Though almost all the lyrics are in English, the band do also sing in Japanese, for example on Oedo Nihonbashi, with its traditional beginning, is one of the calmer moments on the album, and depicts a journey in ancient Japan.

Themes of battle and war are woven into many of the songs on the album, such as in the song ‘The Sun and the Moon’ with its occasionally violent imagery and lyrics like “banners torn, castles crushed, armies razed” while a traditional Japanese stringed instrument provides a steady, almost sinister melody. Similarly, in ‘The Eighth Gate of Kamakura’, the group’s dissonant and jarring music provides an appropriate backdrop to this song of battle.

Powered by aggressive guitars, menacing vocals and ancient Japanese history and mythology, Yomi’s latest album In the Shade of a Camphor Tree is a worthy entry in the world of Latvian heavy metal. The Japanese themes, instruments, and even language, along with vivid and expressive lyrics, add distinct elements to the band’s music, and this story of a war between opposing forces in ancient Japan is brought vividly to life in the music of Yomi.

For further information, please visit the Yomi Bandcamp page and the Yomi Facebook page.

In the Shade of a Camphor Tree

Yomi

2025

Track listing:

1. Golden Dawn

2. Condemnation of the Eastern Rebels

3. The Last Arrow

4. Kasagi

5. Fire, Flood, Storm

6. Ashikaga

7. The Eighth Gate of Kamakura

8. The Sun and the Moon

9. Seven Lives for the Country

10. Of Great Peace

11. Oedo Nihonbashi

12. Silver Dusk