Originally posted in: http://valkyrianmusic.com/2012/08/09/vagos-open-air-2012-2nd-day/
» Don’t let the make-up and hairdos fool you – Chthonic is an extreme metal band. Their image is a cultural thing of sorts, related to the lyrical theme of their songs. Hailing from Taiwan, they sing about local myths and legends and paint themselves after the 8 Generals of Hell in Taoist lore. The name of the band itself is linked to deities who dwell in the underworld, although this is Greek mythology, not Taiwanese.
Since “Seediq Bale”, their 4th full-length released in 2005, they’ve been releasing English versions of their albums, for the international fans. So it was the English versions we heard, not the Taiwanese ones.
The majority of the setlist was based in “Takasago Army”, their latest album (2011). Songs such as “Broken Jade”, “Takao” or “Quell The Souls In Sing Ling Temple” enchanted the fans and surprised those who didn’t know them.
Freddy Lim, holding a beer bottle in one hand and an erhu (a two-string Chinese violin that frankly sounded like an electric guitar to my ears), said we were crazy for drinking beer at that time in the afternoon, under such heat. But he drank it himself. He also asked how we said “cheers” in Portuguese, but by the perfect way he repeated it after the crowd (“saúde”), he surely had learnt it before and had been practising in the backstage. He also taught us how to say it in his own language, “hō ta lah”, obviously making us screaming it at the top of our lungs.
There was another word in Portuguese that he knew, and told us that actually every Taiwanese knew – Formosa. Don’t know if you know that Taiwan was formerly known as Formosa Island. What I’m sure you don’t know is that the Portuguese were the ones who named it that way, when they got there in the 1600s and settled commercial trades.
“Forty-Nine Theurgy Chains” (2009) and “Quasi Putrefaction” (2005) were the oldest tracks played.
All boys had their eyes on the sexy bass player Doris Yeh, but trust me – this band is much more than just looks. «
Front Row Forever 