Chthonic (band)

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ChthoniC
Chinese name	閃靈樂團 (Traditional)
Chinese name	闪灵乐团 (Simplified)
Pinyin	Shǎnlíng Yuètuán (Mandarin)
Origin	Taipei, Taiwan
Genre(s)	Oriental metal, Symphonic black metal
Label(s)	Spinefarm UK
Years active	1995–present
Current Members	Freddy Lim Jesse Liu Doris Yeh CJ Dani Wang Su-Nung
Past Members	Vivien Ambrosia Yu Wang Terry Null Zac Ellis Sandee Chan Reno Killerich A-Jay Roger
Official site	Chthonic.org
Awards Golden Melody Awards 2003 Best Group[1]

Chthonic (sometimes typeset ChthoniC) is a Taiwanese symphonic black metal band, formed in 1995 in Taipei. The group incorporates influences from traditional Taiwanese music including instruments such as the erhu (which is called a hena in their native Taiwanese).

Since their formation, Chthonic released four studio albums, starting in 1999 with the debut Where the Ancestors' Souls Gathered, followed by 2000's 9th Empyrean, in 2002 Relentless Recurrence, and 2006's Seediq Bale.

Contents 1 History 1.1 Lyrical themes 2 Members 2.1 Current members 2.2 Former members 2.3 Session members 2.4 Timeline 3 Discography 3.1 Studio albums 3.2 EP 3.3 Singles 3.4 Compilation albums 3.5 Live album 3.6 Other 4 Videography 4.1 DVD 5 Literary 6 References 7 External links 8 Interviews

[edit] History

The band's stated goal is to use their music to bring ancient history and mythology into the modern era, especially the tragic history and unique myths of Taiwan (for example, those of the Seediq people). The name "Chthonic" is a Greek word which refers to the earth and can have implications of the underworld.

In 2003, they won the Best Band Award at the Taiwan Golden Melodies Award Ceremony.^[2] The band is also banned in parts of China for their political views.^[3]

The lead vocalist, Freddy Lim, is notably active in the political scene and supports Taiwan independence. In February 2009, Freddy Lim and Doris Yeh participated with human rights activists at the Taipei zoo panda exhibit, which symbolises China's attempts to establish soft power relations with Taiwan.^[4]

In 2007 he and other artists organized an international music festival to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the 228 Incident, entitled "Spirit of Taiwan: With justice we cure this nation".^[5]

On March 30, 2007, it was confirmed that Chthonic were to be part of the 2007 Ozzfest tour as a rotating second stage act. While taking part in Ozzfest, they also toured as a support act for Nile in July and August and as a headliner in September.^[6]

On August 3, 2007, Chthonic flew from the United States to Germany to play at Wacken Open Air.^[7] Unfortunately, their instruments were not delivered on time, so Su-Nung had to play a keyboard instead of his erhu.^[8]

The band begun recording of their upcoming album, titled Mirror of Retribution, in May 2008. The album was recorded in The A Studio in Hollywood, California, and was produced by Rob Caggiano. On October 11, 2008, Doris stated at the time that the album was complete, and that mastering of the album should be finished by the following week. Freddy announced that the album will be released in early 2009. So far, 3 tracks (Rise of The Shadows, Venom In My Veins, and 49 Theurgy Chains) have been confirmed to be on the album. Freddy also announced at a concert in Taichung that Er-hu player Su-Nung will be leaving the band in 2009 to follow his own career path.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Lyrical themes

While some songs have their lyrics partly or entirely written in Taiwanese, Japanese, or Taiwanese aboriginal languages, most of the band's songs have their lyrics written entirely in classical Chinese (with Mandarin pronunciation), which is rarely seen in contemporary Chinese music. Taking advantage of classical Chinese's feature of being a monosyllabic language, many songs, especially those in earlier albums, used plenty of parallel sentences in their lyrics to create an epic atmosphere.

The themes mostly surround the defiant spirit of early Taiwanese colonizers, fictional wars between aborigine's gods with Han's gods, Taiwanese folklore and mythology, and the historical event known as the Wushe Incident, which was a rebellion against the Japanese governor by the Seediq people.

[edit] Members

[edit] Current members

• Freddy, Left Face of Maradou – vocals, erhu (1995–present)
• Doris, Thunder Tears – bass, backing vocals (1999–present)
• Jesse, The Infernal – guitar (2000–present)
• Dani, Azathothian Hands – drums (2005–present)
• CJ, Dispersed Fingers – piano, synthesizer (2005–present)

[edit] Former members

• Su-Nung, The Bloody String – erhu (2006–2009)
• Alexia – keyboard (2004–2006)
• A-Jay – drums (1999–2005)
• Luis – keyboard, vocals (2003–2004)
• Sheryl – keyboard (2002–2004)
• Vivien – keyboard (2001–2002)
• Ambrosia – keyboard (1996–2001)
• Null – guitar (1999–2000)
• Wang – drums (1998–1999)
• Zac – guitar (1998–1999)
• Yu – bass (1997–1999)
• Ellis – guitar (1996–1998)
• Terry – drums (1996–1998)
• Man 6 – bass (1996–1997)

[edit] Session members

• Reno Killerich – drums; on Seediq Bale (2005)
• Sandee Chan – vocals; on Seediq Bale (2005)

[edit] Timeline

[edit] Discography

[edit] Studio albums

• Where the Ancestors' Souls Gathered (1999)
• 9th Empyrean (2000)
• Relentless Recurrence (2002)
• Seediq Bale (2005)
• Mirror of Retribution (2009)

[edit] EP

• Satan's Horns (2003)

[edit] Singles

• Deep Rising (1998)
• Nightmare (1999)

[edit] Compilation albums

• Anthology: A Decade on the Throne (2006)
• Pandemonium (2007)

[edit] Live album

• A Decade on the Throne Live (2006) – Live DVD + 2CD

[edit] Other

• Spred the Qi (2003) – Double VCD

[edit] Videography

[edit] DVD

• A Decade on the Throne Live (2006) – Live DVD + 2CD

[edit] Literary

• Dynasty (2006)
• Taiwan Guts (2008)

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• ChthoniC official website (english)
• Chthonic (band) at MySpace
• "Chthonic put spin on Taiwan's past", Taipei Times, September 14, 2003
• "ChthoniC promotes Taiwan's UN bid in interview with NPR", Taipei Times, August 9, 2007
• "ChthoniC: A heavy metal alloy of music and politics", International Herald Tribune, August 16, 2007
• "A Voice for Taiwan's Freedom, History", The Washington Post, August 24, 2007
• "In tune with Taiwan", Los Angeles Times, September 12, 2007

[edit] Interviews

• Interview with Freddy Lim, Battle Helm, 2002
• Interview with Freddy Lim, Kyonsi Online, 2006
• Interview with Freddy Lim, Bright Eyes, January 26, 2007
• Interview with Freddy Lim, Ashiana Videos, August 20, 2007

v • d • e ChthoniC Freddy · Doris · Jesse · Dani · CJ Su-Nung · Man 6 · Terry · Ellis · Yu · Zac · Wang · Null · Ambrosia · Vivien · Sheryl · Luis · A-Jay · Alexia Studio albums Where the Ancestors' Souls Gathered · 9th Empyrean · Relentless Recurrence · Seediq Bale · Mirror of Retribution EP Satan's Horns Singles Deep Rising · Nightmare Literature Taiwan Guts Compilations Anthology: A Decade on the Throne · Pandemonium Videos Spread the Qi · A Decade on the Throne Live