Album Info
Tracklist
CHTHONIC play a style of Black Metal that infuses hints of Death Metal, Folklore etc. But recently they have shifted to a newer and more friendly genre called Oriental Metal, which was portrayed nicely in their MIRROR OF RETRIBUTION album, released in 2009.
The album name TAKASAGO ARMY was taken from a fighting unit in Japanese military during second World War, where all the members were volunteers from Taiwan. The lyrics are a blending with the history of the armies with Taiwanese mythology, which brings about a certain mysticism in the songs. Adding to the flavor, quite a bulk of the lyrics are in Traditional Taiwanese, that inculcates a sense of taste and exoticness into the vocals.
The opener THE ISLAND sounds as if it has come out of a Chinese wartime movie, complete with synths, flutes and an orchestral arrangement in the background. The opening song gives a preview of what to expect next, as the album pumps on further. As the album proceeds with LEGACY OF THE SEDIQ, one can notice the increased prominence of the guitars. The riffs are melodic yet strong and aggressive. The riffs are also often punctuated with pinch of harmonics.
One difference of this album with MIRROR OF RETRIBUTION would be the input of guitar solos in this album. The guitarist Jesse (aka The Infernal) displays his technical prowess with his face ripping solos in songs like SOUTHERN CROSS. The previous album lacked in his solos. Besides the increased presence of the guitars, the usage of new instruments has also been infused. Like the Gu-Zheng, used especially on the band’s first single off the album, TAKAO. They are also well known for the usage of the Er-Hu.
The vocalist Freddy (Aka left face of Maradou) displays a higher range of vocals in this album, often with deep growls and high-pitched shrieks. On TAKAO there is a moment where vocal effects are used.There are also guest vocalists featured on the album, and unlike most metal bands, CHTHONIC has chosen to stick to the vocalists that are more well-known and respected in Taiwanese main-steam music instead, with a surprisingly good effect. Eg: 1. The vocals of Yu Tien on TAKAO provides a nice traditional feel to the song. 2. The soulful vocals of Yia Wen in KAORU emphasizes the emotions felt while remaining relevant to the songs and not feel out of place.
The drummer Dani keeps the spirit of the band energetic and aggressive with his relentless pounding on the drum skin, backed skillfully by the rumbling bass of Doris. The atmosphere of the album is maintained prettily by the usage of synths of CJ, which does not drown any other instrument, a major mistake done by most symphonic bands. The synth is rather used as a background instrument, which gives space for the other two lead instruments ( the guitar and the Er-Hu) to prosper.
CHTHONIC, with their blend of oriental music and raging Black Metal is one of admirability because it works awesomely well. The album TAKASAGO ARMY gives you every element of CHTHONIC. TAKASAGO ARMY sees the growth in the songwriting as well as in the individual instruments on the album.
CHTHONIC play a style of Black Metal that infuses hints of Death Metal, Folklore etc. But recently they have shifted to a
newer and more friendly genre called Oriental Metal, which was portrayed nicely in their MIRROR OF RETRIBUTION album,
released in 2009.
The album name TAKASAGO ARMY was taken from a fighting unit in Japanese military during second World War, where all the
members were volunteers from Taiwan. The lyrics are a blending with the history of the armies with Taiwanese mythology,
which brings about a certain mysticism in the songs. Adding to the flavor, quite a bulk of the lyrics are in Traditional
Taiwanese, that inculcates a sense of taste and exoticness into the vocals.
The opener THE ISLAND sounds as if it has come out of a Chinese wartime movie, complete with synths, flutes and an orchestral
arrangement in the background. The opening song gives a preview of what to expect next, as the album pumps on further. As the
album proceeds with LEGACY OF THE SEDIQ, one can notice the increased prominence of the guitars. The riffs are melodic yet
strong and aggressive. The riffs are also often punctuated with pinch of harmonics.
One difference of this album with MIRROR OF RETRIBUTION would be the input of guitar solos in this album. The guitarist Jesse
(aka The Infernal) displays his technical prowess with his face ripping solos in songs like SOUTHERN CROSS. The previous
album lacked in his solos. Besides the increased presence of the guitars, the usage of new instruments has also been infused.
Like the Gu-Zheng, used especially on the band’s first single off the album, TAKAO. They are also well known for the usage of
the Er-Hu.
The vocalist Freddy (Aka left face of Maradou) displays a higher range of vocals in this album, often with deep growls and
high-pitched shrieks. On TAKAO there is a moment where vocal effects are used.There are also guest vocalists featured on the
album, and unlike most metal bands, CHTHONIC has chosen to stick to the vocalists that are more well-known and respected in
Taiwanese main-steam music instead, with a surprisingly good effect.
Eg: 1. The vocals of Yu Tien on TAKAO provides a nice traditional feel to the song.
2. The soulful vocals of Yia Wen in KAORU emphasizes the emotions felt while remaining relevant to the songs and not feel out
of place.
The drummer Dani keeps the spirit of the band energetic and aggressive with his relentless pounding on the drum skin, backed
skillfully by the rumbling bass of Doris. The atmosphere of the album is maintained prettily by the usage of synths of CJ,
which does not drown any other instrument, a major mistake done by most symphonic bands. The synth is rather used as a
background instrument, which gives space for the other two lead instruments ( the guitar and the Er-Hu) to prosper.
CHTHONIC, with their blend of oriental music and raging Black Metal is one of admirability because it works awesomely well.
The album TAKASAGO ARMY gives you every element of CHTHONIC. TAKASAGO ARMY sees the growth in the songwriting as well as in
the individual instruments on the album.
Bottom Line
TAKASAGO ARMY is definitely the best CHTHONIC output yet.
