The Yagas have been a band since 2023, but we were introduced to them right before Halloween with lead single “The Crying Room,” and we were off to the races. Now, enter 2025 and their debut record- Midnight Minuet is set to release and it’s a cavalcade of artistic metal.
Witchy, eerie “The Crying Room” opens the record up, setting a peaceful aura before “I Am” kicks you in the gut with a heavy, emotion-loaded metal track that features a breakdown of frontwoman Vera Farmiga in a vocal breakdown that sucks you in.
Electronically-driven “Life of a Widow” is up next with a bass-heavy track while “Anhedonia” is a guitar-driven one that features one hell of a Mark Visconti solo before Farmiga roars back in with vocals that give you chills.
“Pendulum” is hypnotic and trance-like but also picks up about halfway through while “Charade” is almost poppy and “Pullover” has a very stripped down 90’s rock vibe to it.
Midnight Minuet is the encapsulation of art. While songs like Charade,” “Bridle” and “She’s Walking Down” have strong love metal vibes in the vein of H.I.M.,while others are stripped down rock and roll to its core.
Actress Vera Farmiga’s vocals are haunting, ferocious, calming and hypnotic while Renn Hawkey’s keyboards are a perfect compliment to Mike Visconti’s guitars and Mike Davis’ bass while drummer Jason Bowman gets plenty of time to show off his skills too.
The band has only been together for two years and gel like they’ve been a unit for decades. If Midnight Minuet is any sign of what The Yagas have to offer, they’re off to one hell of a start.
Rating: 8/10
-Reggie Edwards