siLLy puPPy Аясын Салхи or AYASIIN SALKHI is an early metal band from Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia’s capital city and has been active since 1984 which makes them one of the nation’s pioneers of bringing metal to the land where nomads and traditional throat singing music is still the dominant art form. The band name means “Fair Wind” in English. As one of Mongolia’s first heavy metal bands in the 1980s, AYASIIN SALKHI suffered the backlash from the conservative nation’s Soviet regime at a time when such music was considered a threat to the power structures which disapproved of any Western influences infiltrating into their so-called communist paradise.

AYASIIN SALKHI started off as a typical 80s heavy metal band and was quite a sensation in its native land but changed its sound to death metal starting around 1997. Despite the band’s existence for over 3 decades, due to the unsupportive nature of the Mongolian music scene, this band had to take a DIY approach and therefore has released very little of its music. The demo “We Go In Different Directions” emerged all the way back in 1985 and two live albums, “Hurricane” appeared in 1987 followed by “Super Stainless Steel” in 1992. No real studio album ever came out with AYASIIN SALKHI playing its early heavy metal style and the only album to date has been the full-length COFFIN TOWN UNDER THE MOON which didn’t see a release until 2004.

Given all the time of the band’s existence it’s hard to tell when this album was recorded. COFFIN TOWN UNDER THE MOON, despite its year of release sounds more like an old school death metal album from the early 90s in the vein of Obituary, Morbid Angel or Death however it sounds very raw and undeveloped which gives the album a rather generic feel. The four musicians guitarist Jimmy Peach, bassist Battulga, drummer Gearge Proven and vocalist Andy “Mainer” Teesh go through the motions quite proficiently but unfortunately are too preoccupied to nail down the old school death metal sound so convincingly that it fails to really add any creative stamp to the band’s signature sound.

You can expect the usual blastbeats, pummeling guitar and bass riffs and deathened growly vocals but the tracks all whiz by without distinguishing themselves from each other which in the end makes the entire experience a bit forgettable. While i’m sure this music was a god sent miracle for a metal starved culture that was outside of the loop for so long, ultimately this comes off as a competent but unremarkable release and unlike many metal bands from more exotic parts of the world, COFFIN TOWN UNDER THE MOON doesn’t take advantage of any ethnic sounds or homegrown influences to help it stand out from the massive crowds that had already come and gone in the Western world. While remarkable for the geographical region that it emerged, in the end COFFIN TOWN UNDER THE MOON is a decent old school death metal release but not much more. Hopefully these guys will stick around and create something more unique.