Some time before their American tour, the Taiwanese band Chthonic comes to Japan to serve us their Melodic Black Metal for two dates in Osaka and Tokyo. The last time they played in Japan was for the Loud Park near the Japanese capital in 2010 and as they promised then, they quickly came back. The band plays alone tonight, at the 4th floor of the record shop “Club Quattro” at Shibuya. Despite the usual high prices of lives with foreign bands in Japan ($70 here) that can be prohibitive, the club is surprisingly crowded for a Monday evening, just after the work.
Chthonic tours to introduce their last album “Takasago Army”, released only a few days before, and which refers to the common history of Taiwan and Japan, in particularly to the aboriginal tribes that were conscripted into the Japanese Army during the 2nd world war. Hence, most of the tracks played tonight will be from Takasago Army. Emphasis is also put on their previous release, as Mirror of Retribution will be represented by 5 tracks.

The concert begins just on time, the set starting with “Autoscopy” at 19:00, with the band climbing on stage. The crowd seems to be uprising and warmly welcomes the Taiwanese band.
The hostilities start with the powerful 49 Theurgy Chains. The sound is well tuned, Jesse’s solos are sharp and Freddy Lin’s voice pierces through the venue. He drops his mic occasionally to switch for the hena (or erhu in Cantonese), a two-string instrument with tearful tone, which is of the best effect to tint this Black Metal with oriental influences. The leader addresses the audience in English, or even sometimes in Japanese, to introduce the following tracks or provide with the historical references dear to the band.

Alike Freddy who actively goes from right to left and even mingles with the crowd in handshakes, Jesse the guitarist and the sublime Doris (bass) are very active and energetic and release their violence on the stage. Doris, which deserves her place in the pantheon of the most beautiful metal girls, now only wears light make-up, which is even more good-looking. For the new album, the entire band has changed his visual aspect : CJ (keyboards) hides himself behind some kind of hockey helmet, and Dani shows us his distorted and naughty fake jaw. Freddy simply displays new symbols painted on his forehead while Jesse, like Doris, has much fewer make-up.

After the first tracks of the previous album Mirror of Retribution, the brand new Takasago Army has the place of honor, with the famous Oceanquake, both melodic and powerful. Then follow the leading tracks Legacy of the Seediq (from the name of an aboriginal Taiwanese tribe) and of course Takao. The band then gets back to the first albums but doesn’t go further than the Seediq Bale from 2005. The Japanese audience displays during the entire live an energy and rage rarely seen before, even for Chthonic, and metalheads surf the crowd without interruption on the most famous tracks, within the small venue.
The set comes to its end after a little more than one hour of concert, and the band leaves the stage under warm cheerings and clapping. The encouragements continue until the band gets back on stage to grant us their last two tracks “Indigenous Laceration” and “Broken Jade”. At last, the band gathers in front of the crowd for a warm and last bow while Freddy promises us to be back very soon in Japan.

To sum up, the live was quite crowded, especially with a very energetic public, from the beginning to the end of the show, well led by a band at the top of their ability, and that played as if they were at home. The promotion and baptism on stage of the brilliant Takasago Army have perfectly succeeded. Chthonic will also stay for one more day at Tokyo for an autograph session in Shibuya, allowing me to interview them at the occasion.
While waiting to see them again in Taiwan or Japan, let’s wish them good luck for their tour in the US to introduce the new album.

Set-list :

1- Intro The Island (Mirror of Retribution, 2009)
2- 49 Theurgy Chains (Mirror of Retribution, 2009)
3- Bloody Waves of Sorrow (Mirror of Retribution, 2009)
4- Oceanquake (Takasago Army, 2011)
5- Legacy of the Seediq (Takasago Army, 2011)
6- Takao (Takasago Army, 2011)
7- Mirror of retribution (Mirror of Retribution, 2009)
8- Blooming Blades (Mirror of Retribution, 2009)
9- Quasi Putrefaction (Seediq Bale, 2005)
10- Mahakala (Takasago Army, 2011)
11- Kaoru (Takasago Army, 2011)
12- Rise of the Shadows (Mirror of Retribution, 2009)
13- Bloody Gaya Fulfilled (Seediq Bale, 2005)

- Encore -

14- Indigenous Laceration (Seediq Bale, 2005)
15- Broken Jade (Takasago Army, 2011)
16- Outro



Read the video interview of Chthonic in Tokyo, just after the show