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CHTHONIC
www.chthonic.tw
Chthonic from Taiwan have been around since 1995, pedaling their brand of Black Metal, which to me has always sounded very, very Cradle of Filth. In fact, let’s face it, if you don’t like Cradle of Filth there will be little that will entice you to listen to Chthonic as they opt for the big sound production along with the likes of Cradle and Dimmu Borgir. Apart from the band wearing their influences on their sleeve this is a simply stunning album with good song writing and structures and the ace in the hole, the use of the two-string violin called the Erhu, a fragile instrument that the band apparently need a few of on stage when performing live! It’s this instrument that helps give the band’s music an identity shaped in their part of the world. Opening track proper, ‘Blooming Blades’, is a good example - think latter day Cradle mixed with the soundtrack for ‘Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon’. It isn’t just this track that the Erhu is limited to as it crops up in most songs and for me is a welcome and unique addition. It really comes into its own on the instrumental track ‘1947’. The lyrical themes for this album deal with many issues combining historical fact such as the ‘228 Massacre’ mixed throughout with an ancient myth of the Taiwanese hell. I found this album to be Chthonic’s most accessible yet and has a lot of depth that’s worth exploring.
LABEL:
FORMAT:
Spinefarm Records
Album
MIRROR OF RETRIBUTION
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Review by Paul Sims
RUNNING TIME:
50:58
RELEASE DATE:
10th Aug 2009
TRACK LISTING
1) Autoscopy
2) Blooming Blades
3) Hearts Condemned
4) Venom in My Veins
5) The Aroused
6) Sing-ling Temple
7) 1947
8) Forty-nine Theurgy Chains
9) Rise of the Shadows
10) Bloody Waves of Sorrow
11) Spell of Setting Sun: Mirror of Retribution
12) Unlimited Taiwan (bonus track)
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN:
Taiwan
"...Chthonic’s most accessible yet and has a lot of depth that’s worth exploring."