Tengger Cavalry is what happens when you smush a metal band into a Mongolian throat singing group, like a brütal Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup. They played Sunday at the Shakedown and I had the opportunity to check them out. If you’re impatient and don’t want to read more: just go see them. They’re awesome.

In addition to Robert McLaughlin’s throat singing, they have Uljmuren playing the morin khuur, a traditional Mongolian stringed instrument. Thank you Wikipedia. When added in to the heavy metal sound of the rest of the band, they create a great, haunting kind of atmosphere to the song. I told a buddy of mine if there was a heavy metal band in Avatar: The Last Airbender, they’d sound like Tengger Cavalry.

Their set was split into two, with a costume change about halfway through. For the second half Uljmuren and McLaughlin appeared to wear more traditional Mongolian garb, which was pretty cool to see. The band was tight and played really well, and the crowd was pretty amped to see them. Also seems pretty rad to drink a Rainier and watch a band that has performed at Carnegie Hall.

Behold: Mountain Side.