Tag Archives: chthonic

Events, Reviews

Nile @ B.B. King Blues Club (8/21/2007)

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Nile is a devastating Death Metal band with a Middle Eastern flair to some extent and shortly after their appearance on Ozzfest would deliver a crushing set of music with both Chthonic and Skinless. We had actually missed both Nile and Chthonic at the Ozzfest based on the traffic to the show, so were glad to be here at B.B. King Blues Club tonight’s fun. To see more just scroll past the logo below.

Logo - Nile

Artist: Nile
Venue: B.B. King Blues Club (New York, NY)
Opener: Chthonic, Skinless
Date: 8/21/2007
Label: Nuclear Blast Records

Since I had missed the performances by Nile and Chthonic during the previous week’s Ozzfest, I was happy to find the pair doing a show at B.B. King Blues Club on one of the festival “off” nights. This show would allow both of the bands to deliver a full set of material as opposed to the twenty minutes that they were allotted during the festival and this would truly be the better way to absorb their brand of Metal. Joining them for the show would be Skinless and while Daath was originally scheduled, that band had been moved to the Highline Ballroom to appear with their Roadrunner Records label mates Devil Driver who were also doing an “off-festival” gig..
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Events, Reviews

Ozzy Osbourne’s “Ozzfest” @ PNC Bank Arts Center (8/16/2007)

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This year Ozzfest was going to be free and also find some of the most brutal of the Metal bands around as a part of it. Getting the ticket was easy if you followed some details and the capacity crowd affair found Ozzy taking the stage with the likes of Lamb Of God, Static X, Lordi, Black Tide, Hatebreed, Behemoth, Devildriver, In This Moment, Nile, and Chthonic as the Metal lead offs. Our travel to the show caused us some delays and hence missing a few acts but we were there to bring you the scoop so to see more just keep scrolling down past the logo. It was an incredible day of Metal under the blistering heat of the summer sun.

Logo - Ozzy Osbourne

Artist: Ozzy Osbourne (Ozzfest)
Venue: PNC Bank Arts Center (Holmdel, NJ)
Opener: Lamb Of God, Static-X, Lordi
Date: 8/16/2007
Label: Epic Records

In 2007 it was decided that instead of charging an incredible amount for tickets that the Ozzfest event would be free of charge and be aptly referred to as “Freefest”. If the Metal Legions wanted access to the show they would need to follow advertising and sponsor promotional links or purchase the new Ozzy Osbourne album in order to potentially be allotted a pair of tickets. This might sound pretty straightforward but it was actually a little more confusing that many had expected it to be. There was talk of redeeming issues and continual internet run around which I can attest to being true as I tried to help my friend get his tickets for the area appearance in my vicinity. Since the show was going to be free it would mean that the bands themselves would not be paid and instead get all their operating capital from merchandise sales at each stop on the tour. Resultant of this the now free event would not attract what some people considered to be “top tier bands” and instead drew groups like Lordi, Behemoth, Hatebreed, Lamb Of God and Static X to its stages. I really had a problem with people who were making that statement because while a band like Disturbed and System Of A Down might be good and at times quite heavy, when compared to some of the bands that I just named, come up very short in terms of being in touch with the actual Metal scene of today. These “underground Metal upstarts” for the roster in 2007 would quite possibly go down in history as the MOST relevant lineup based on what is happening in the Metal world right now. This aspect appealed to me as both a journalist and fan of Heavy Metal music overall.
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Reviews, Videos

“A Decade On The Throne” (DVD/CD) by Chthonic

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Artist: Chthonic
Title: “A Decade On The Throne” (DVD/CD)
Label: Deathlight Records
Release Date: 6/26/2007
Genre: Melodic Black Metal
Rating: 4/5

Chthonic is a Taiwanese Melodic Black Metal band that blends the elements of the more traditional Symphonic Black Metal into that of Taiwanese music and comes up with a very interesting and intriguing listen for the discerning music fan. Formed in 1995 the band is fueled by their ancient history and heritage along with its mythology and from this they aim is to bring their nations often tragic past to the minds of the people in the modern world of today. The DVD entitled “A Decade On The Throne” is an incredible live concert from the band as they deliver an absolutely pummeling set of tunes for a capacity crowd in Huashan Culture Park in Taipei, Taiwan. Filmed last year (2006), the band uses their cultures musical themes and ideas to great success and it is quite impressive to see how instruments like the Er-hu (a traditional Oriental violin) work within this context. As far as trying to figure out how the level of drama in their music plays out, just envision a little bit of what Dimmu Borgir has been doing on their last few albums but with a distinctive Oriental twist to it. The band also sings in their native tongue so unless you understand Black Metal growls in Chinese you will need to find some English translations to find out what they are singing about. Given a lot of this is based on cultural mythology and history is it surely bound to make for interesting reading. A band like this would most certainly cause quite a stir in a country like their own and according to research they have been banned in certain parts of China based on their own political stand and views. Lead singer Freddy Lim is quite active in the political aspect of his country and stands firm on issues like Taiwanese independence and negationism (which is also referred to as Historical revisionism).
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