This week, on Oblivious Presents, the Captain reaches 6000 posts in a desperate cry for attention. As usual, a review follows, so wrap up warm and sit tight because we're going to listen to some Taiwanese black metal[sup][1][/sup].
[small]That's pronounced "Thonic" apparently[/small][/center]
First off, before I review the album [b]Seediq Bale[/b], I'm going to completely ignore the band's political activity which is always dragged up in whatever you'll read about them. While there is a point to that, much of their music is supposedly about freedom from the Chinese government. Not that you'd notice with typical metal screeches filling most of the vocal portion of the band's sound and anything that could be understood being in Taiwanese, Japanese or Chinese.
Lyrically speaking, they are not all too different from any other band in this genre. Their songs are mostly about the mythology and folklore fot heir homeland, in this case Taiwan. Although the source material for lyrical inspiration is, in essence, the same as many metal bands, it is a refreshing change not to hear about vikings.
In any case, [b]Seediq Bale[/b] is packed full of loud, yet ultimately quite forgettable songs with a few exceptions. Of these, the most notable is the brilliant introduction to [i]The Gods Weep[/i], which seems somewhat ruined by the rude intrusion of heavy guitars and screaming Taiwanese man. Fortunately, Chthonic have the power of the riff, as shown in [i]Indigenous Laceration[/i] which makes the vocals somewhat sufferable. Sadly, it seems that Chthoni's problem is that they perform brilliantly in the more epic and orchestral pieces such as the minute long [i]Enthrone[/i], which, luckily, has vocals mostly performed by bassist Doris "Thunder Tears" Yeh, whose clean singing, although mostly a wordless wail, draws attention and seems to give the rest of the song a brief respite from the ferocity of regular vocalist Freddy Lim's piercing screech. While listening to this album I though that half of the songs could've been pressed into one longer and overall, more impressive piece that incorporates the wonderful solo of [i]Bloody Gaya Fulfilled[/i] and the other aforementioned highlights, without the torture of what I assume is a cat being raped two-thirds of the way through [i]Where the Utax Ancestors Wait[/i]. Fortunately, this occurs on the album's finale, [i]Quasi Putrefaction[/i], which is a brilliant song and something I'd recommend to anyone with the faintest interest in the black metal subgenre, whether they're dipping their toes in the proverbial pool or they're the olympic hopeful spending every waking moment in there.
While [b]Seediq Bale[/b] was a good album I feel it could be so much more if perhaps the key elements that make Chthonic great were pushed together such as they are in [i]Quasi Putrefaction[/i]. The album itself I would rate as a worthy gift for anyone interested and I urge anyone reading this to at least give that final song a listen [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X-VgBku2KlU].
[center]____________________________________________________________[/center]
[small][sup][color=blue][1][/color][/sup] It probably isn't Black Metal but I honestly couldn't care less about the bickering metal subgenres.[/small]
[small]That's pronounced "Thonic" apparently[/small][/center]
First off, before I review the album [b]Seediq Bale[/b], I'm going to completely ignore the band's political activity which is always dragged up in whatever you'll read about them. While there is a point to that, much of their music is supposedly about freedom from the Chinese government. Not that you'd notice with typical metal screeches filling most of the vocal portion of the band's sound and anything that could be understood being in Taiwanese, Japanese or Chinese.
Lyrically speaking, they are not all too different from any other band in this genre. Their songs are mostly about the mythology and folklore fot heir homeland, in this case Taiwan. Although the source material for lyrical inspiration is, in essence, the same as many metal bands, it is a refreshing change not to hear about vikings.
In any case, [b]Seediq Bale[/b] is packed full of loud, yet ultimately quite forgettable songs with a few exceptions. Of these, the most notable is the brilliant introduction to [i]The Gods Weep[/i], which seems somewhat ruined by the rude intrusion of heavy guitars and screaming Taiwanese man. Fortunately, Chthonic have the power of the riff, as shown in [i]Indigenous Laceration[/i] which makes the vocals somewhat sufferable. Sadly, it seems that Chthoni's problem is that they perform brilliantly in the more epic and orchestral pieces such as the minute long [i]Enthrone[/i], which, luckily, has vocals mostly performed by bassist Doris "Thunder Tears" Yeh, whose clean singing, although mostly a wordless wail, draws attention and seems to give the rest of the song a brief respite from the ferocity of regular vocalist Freddy Lim's piercing screech. While listening to this album I though that half of the songs could've been pressed into one longer and overall, more impressive piece that incorporates the wonderful solo of [i]Bloody Gaya Fulfilled[/i] and the other aforementioned highlights, without the torture of what I assume is a cat being raped two-thirds of the way through [i]Where the Utax Ancestors Wait[/i]. Fortunately, this occurs on the album's finale, [i]Quasi Putrefaction[/i], which is a brilliant song and something I'd recommend to anyone with the faintest interest in the black metal subgenre, whether they're dipping their toes in the proverbial pool or they're the olympic hopeful spending every waking moment in there.
While [b]Seediq Bale[/b] was a good album I feel it could be so much more if perhaps the key elements that make Chthonic great were pushed together such as they are in [i]Quasi Putrefaction[/i]. The album itself I would rate as a worthy gift for anyone interested and I urge anyone reading this to at least give that final song a listen [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X-VgBku2KlU].
[center]____________________________________________________________[/center]
[small][sup][color=blue][1][/color][/sup] It probably isn't Black Metal but I honestly couldn't care less about the bickering metal subgenres.[/small]
