Taiwan is not usually a place you would think of when it comes to metal, let alone black metal but the band Chthonic have changed that view. The Taipei native folk inspired Symphonic Black Metal group have been in the game since 1995 and incorporates influences from traditional Taiwanese music including the classical Chinese instrument, the erhu (the band often calls it hiân-á in their native Taiwanese language). The band’s stated goal is to use their music to bring ancient history and mythology into the modern era through their imagery, lyrics and instrumentations, especially to build awareness of the myths of Taiwan and tragic events in that country’s history (example, the Seediq people as told throughout the album Seediq Bale).
The long awaited DVD was released by Eagle Records on February 25th after six years since the groups last live DVD. The DVD features live footage and extensive bonus features beginning with Chthonic’s full performance at the 2013 Formoz Festival in Taipei, Taiwan where they were joined by the Chai Feng Traditional Orchestra as well as renowned Taiwanese opera singer Tang Mei-Yun for a collaborative rendition of the track ‘Defenders Of Bú-Tik Palace’. The DVD also includes five music videos from their recently released Bú-tik full-length: ‘Defenders Of Bú-Tik Palace’, ‘Supreme Pain For The Tyrant’, ‘Sail Into The Sunset’s Fire’, ‘Set Fire To The Island’, and ‘Next Republic’. Bonus features include behind-the-scenes footage from the video shoots as well as exclusive interviews with bassist Doris Yeh, director Vince Chuang and backstage footage.
The band toured Japan throughout late February on The Way of Ián-Bú Tour hitting Tokyo, Osaka, Nagoya, Fukuoka, and Sendai after a little more than one month’s rest from their tour of Europe. Chthonic will be hitting America soon during Paganfest so be sure to catch them live.
