Yaksa (band)

For the nature-spirits in Hindu and Buddhist mythology, see Yaksha.

Yaksa
Origin	Beijing, China
Genres	Nu metal, metalcore, death metal
Years active	1997–present
Labels	Freedomroad
Members	Hu Song Huang Tao Wang Youjin Gao Yufeng Ma Lin Wang Le

Yaksa (Yecha) (Chinese: 夜 叉; pinyin: Yecha) is a Chinese metalcore band that became active in the Beijing rock scene in 1997.

Yaksa was among the first of the wave of metal bands that appeared on the largely underground rock scene in Beijing in the late 1990s. Its original members all came from the interior province of Sichuan. With its thick, powerful sound and ultra-aggressive growling vocals, the band's style was a departure from that of the punk rock bands that were the fad of the moment.

Yaksa recorded what is widely regarded as the first Chinese nu metal album, Freedom (自由), released by Scream Records (嚎叫唱片) in 1999. The band followed up their debut three years later with Fa Fa Fa' (发发发), adding more vocal melody as well as disc scratching and sampling to their sound. In 2006, with Scream Records in shambles, the band independently issued an EP entitled Keep on Fighting, returning to their heavier roots.

Members

• Hu Song - vocals
• Ma Kai - guitar
• Ershat Alim - guitar
• Zhang Xiaota - bass
• Wang Shizhan - drums

Discography

Studio albums

• Freedom (自由) — 1999, Scream Records
• Fa Fa Fa (发发发) — 2002, Scream Records
• Keep on Fighting — 2006, Independent/Freedom Road Records
• You Aren't the Loser — 2010, Independent Label
• Undercurrent (暗流) — 2016, Independent Label
• I Am (我即是) — 2019, Independent Label

See also

• Chinese rock

External links

• Yaksa @ RiC Wiki, complete biography, discography
• Official website (archived)
• MySpace page
• Tattoo Studio of Hu Song, Yaksa's vocal
• Tattoo Blog of Hu Song
• Last.fm artist page of Yaksa
• Photo Gallery of YYT of one of Yaksa's Shanghai Gigs (2nd gallery)
• Yaksa in the Tanghui live video