Heavy metal and Taiwanese history might seem like an odd couple, but pairing the two has made perfect sense to Chthonic (閃靈).
One of Taiwan’s better known musical exports, the quintet has released its sixth album, Takasago Army (高砂軍), a new set of black metal songs and the conclusion to a trilogy of albums inspired by events in Taiwan during the early 20th century.
Takasago Army tells the story of a group of Taiwanese Aboriginals who fought for the Japanese Army during World War II. This may bring to mind Seediq Bale, Wei Te-sheng’s (魏德聖) film about a major Aboriginal uprising during the Japanese occupation — and indeed there is a connection.
Bandleader and vocalist Freddy Lim (林昶佐) first learned about Seediq Bale in 2003, when Wei had produced a five-minute promotional demo. Lim was so impressed with the film that he decided to tell a similar story on a Chthonic album. Like Wei’s movie, the band looks at the Wushe Incident (霧社事件) on its 2005 album that started this trilogy, also titled Seediq Bale.
The Wushe Incident refers to an uprising in 1930 that saw hundreds of Sediq Aboriginals (spelled Seediq by the filmmaker and Chthonic) in Nantou County rebel against the Japanese. Most of the rebels were killed.
Takasago takes place after the Wushe Incident, and centers on the main character, Wubus, who is an “orphan” of a warrior. The album begins with the song Legacy of the Seediq (殘枝), the English lyrics for which commemorate his ancestors: “I hear your dying breath/Fall like rain from the sky/Grant protection from the fear of death/Wash away the pain of the past’s lies.”
On a note on her Facebook page, bassist Doris Yeh says Chthonic set out to explore the “interior identity conflict” experienced by Taiwanese soldiers who fought for the Japanese during World War II and their quest for “values and dignity as human beings.”
The band does so in a way that appeals to metalheads, with the lyrics full of netherworld images. “Vultures fly, circling the dark skies” in Takao (皇軍). “Shadows stalk the land, draw the demons out” in Southern Cross (南十字星). And in Mahkala (大黑天), the narrator, presumably Wubus, describes his mindset on the battlefield: “Ingrained in my eyes/Crimson of foes and I/Ocean of blood below/Machetes in the sky.”
The true weight of Chthonic’s gloom and doom is found in the music, with the songs on Takasago containing the standard elements of symphonic black metal: a constant barrage of double kick drum riffs and screeching vocals, all offset by melodic orchestration provided by atmospheric synthesizers and fast, ultra-precise guitar shredding.
Chthonic’s music is so full-on that to untrained ears it might sound like jarring, oppressive noise. I am not a huge metal fan, but I was impressed with tracks like Oceanquake (震洋), which has a captivating, dynamic arrangement. A plain but beautiful melody on the erhu (二胡) weaves around Lim’s voice, which alternates between guttural bellows and shrieking, and culminates in a virtuosic and tasteful guitar solo by Jesse Liu (劉笙彙).
Takasago Army is a step up for the band, which deserves credit for its constantly improving musicianship. The songs are more polished and accessible than Mirror of Retribution (十殿), Chthonic’s previous album (that is, if it’s possible for black metal to have general appeal). The band also sounds more comfortable bringing in Asian elements to its brand of metal. Instruments like the erhu and traditional flutes play a more prominent role on this album than on Mirror.
A few surprise guests turn up on the album, including singer and comedian turned Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Yu Tien (余天), who lends vocals on an evil-sounding chorus on Takao (皇軍, literally “emperor’s army”).
One of the most notable moments on Takasago Army comes from another guest, singer Chan Ya-wen (詹雅雯). In an interlude on Kaoru (薰空), she sings a Japanese occupation era song in Hoklo (commonly known as Taiwanese) called Hoping for Your Swift Return (望你早歸), which is about a wife’s longing for her husband to return home safely from war.
Chan’s enka crooning and Lim’s shrieking are a strange combination, but Chthonic makes it work, just as the band does in combining its interest in Taiwanese history and heavy metal.
— David Chen
Longing For (仰望) is singer/actress Rainie Yang’s (楊丞琳) first album since she won the Golden Bell Best Actress Award for her image-defying turn as a delinquent in the TV soap opera Hi My Sweetheart (海派甜心) last year. With this new album, Yang fully jettisons her erstwhile image as the “Queen of Cute” (可愛教主), showing she’s grown into a polished performer who is capable of using her acting chops to construct and deliver a story through singing.
Propelled by a contagious melody and a lilting rhythm, the title track Longing For is a rare mid-tempo Mando-pop ballad. With the string section building up a pulsating sense of anticipation, Yang delivers this anthem about the redemptive nature of love in warm vocals that are both engaging and uplifting.
The lead single Love Fool (我們都傻), the theme song from Yang’s hit TV soap opera Love You (醉後決定愛上你), is a conventional Mando-pop love song that breaks little new ground. Still, Yang imbues the mediocre material with charged emotional layers and elevates it into a hit KTV song.
The third single, Imperfect Love (缺陷美), sees Yang foray into layered sounds reminiscent of Brit-rock. Employing a vocal style that is by turns explosive and hysterical, Yang digs into her edgier side to reveal a woman who dares to decry a disappointing love.
Heavily dominated by up-tempo tracks such as the rock number Lovelution and the title track, this polished album reveals the multiple facets of a mature woman singing in her prime. Too bad an accomplished actress such as Yang doesn’t get a chance to tackle another meaty ballad like Little Jasmine (小茉莉) — the theme song for her 2007 movie Spider Lilies (刺青) — on this album. Hopefully her next effort will offer the chance to see how the talented Yang can use her emotional vocabulary to deliver truly unforgettable ballads.
— Andrew C.C. Huang
After a successful debut with her eponymous album last year, Singaporean bossa nova songstress Olivia Ong (王儷婷) follows up with Romance, her first album to include original songs. With her rare combination of emotionally riveting vocals and her supermodel good looks, Ong seems poised to become a superstar.
Romance is a feel-good, breezy album on which Ong expands her past bossa nova repertoire to include pop elements. She abandons her laid-back jazzy image and proves that she has enough vocal power to deliver pop ballads and even some light rock. Apart from the variations in style, Ong also moves beyond the English language to tackle four Mandarin songs.
The lead single, A Love Theme, written by Ong, is a gusty ballad in which she delivers the chorus “I love you, I do” with enchanting warmth. While Ong’s novice attempt at songwriting comes across as sophomoric, this track mostly holds up because Ong’s status as Mando-pop’s new love goddess merges perfectly with this pop ode to love.
When the Sea Runs Dry and the Stones Go Soft (海枯石爛), Ong’s first-ever Mandarin single, sees her tackling the language with a convincing delivery.
As a new romantic pop icon, Ong shares her wisdom in two paradoxical track choices: The Silly Song (要你管), a self-penned number that begs for equality in a relationship, and Take It Easy (邊走邊看邊想), which advocates an improvised strategy for love.
It might come as no surprise that the two most memorable tracks here are covers; after all, Ong started her career as an interpretive singer and is just beginning to spin her own numbers.
Invisible Wings is Ong’s English rendition of Angela Chang’s (張韶涵) Chinese classic of the same title. In contrast to Chang’s poignancy and earnestness, Ong wraps her sensual aura around this song and makes it soar. The other highlight is Amazing Grace. Ong wisely forsakes the emotional gravity and orchestral fireworks typically associated with the song and makes it a sparse, heart-appeasing lullaby. This girl knows how to make familiar tunes her own.
— Andrew C.C. Huang
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