Back in 1983, before the days of Planet Drum and Supralingua, Mickey Hart teamed with Henry Wolff and Nancy Hennings to create Yamantaka, one of the darkest and most sinister Tibetan bowl CDs ever. Hart introduced several exotic percussion instruments on this recording. (Some of them are ancient and ethnic and others are his designs.) The CD gets its name from the Tibetan "god of the dead" and "lord of the underworld" -- hence the dark overtones. This is deep and moving music. Deep listeners will venture into the clutches of Yamantaka. The sinister textures and timbres force listeners to examine the darker sides of their psyches. This is an absolutely essential album. It will appeal to fans of Karma Moffett, Life in Balance, Xumantra, and Klaus Wiese. ~ Jim Brenholts
