CHTHONIC

Bassist Doris Yeh

Interview and words by HannTu

Promotional pictures courtesy of Spinefarm Records 

Chthonic are in the unique position of being one of the most easily recognisable bands in the world of metal, in spite of (or possible by virtue of) being from the metal wastelands of Taiwan. Backed by a major label (Spinefarm Records), the band has taken their fascinating brand of Far Eastern black metal, their image and their country of origin on tour with them, bulldozing stages the world over with aplomb. However, in their own country, they are extremely outspoken and active on the subject of politics, especially where their country's fraught relationship with the People's Republic of China is concerned. Here, I speak to bassist Doris Yeh by email, who was recently in London to do some publicity work for the band's latest album, MIRROR OF RETRIBUTION (incidentally, the lovely Doris was on the cover of the January edition of GQ Taiwan).

MIRROR OF RETRIBUTION

Hi Doris, hope you are well! I caught about 10 minutes of your set at Wacken 2007 but I can’t remember much of it, because we were all very drunk. Anyway let’s get this interview started! In recent interviews, you have described the story behind MIRROR OF RETRIBUTION, but please give our readers another quick summary of the album.

In the philosophy of Eastern Hell, ‘Mirror Of Retribution’ is the first layer of Hell that every spirit will fall into after they have died. ‘The Mirror’ will reflect everything you’ve done in your whole life, then according to the sin you’ve committed, the Ghost King will send you to a different Hell to get a different punishment.

So we named this album MIRROR OF RETRIBUTION; we described some scenes from Hell on our former albums, but this time we wanted to make an album that is totally connected to the Taiwanese legend of Hell.

We put the biggest tragedy in Taiwanese history as the background, which is the massacre that happened on February 28th 1947, when one of the Chinese armies lost their inner war and this caused millions of Chinese to retreat to Taiwan – they occupied Taiwan, robbed properties from the people and killed over 100,000, with countless Taiwanese citizens and elite members going missing.

There were many Taiwanese people who fought back against the Chinese army, but they were either killed or arrested. The last heroic battle happened in the middle of the country, in front of a temple call ‘Sing Ling Temple’.

We created a story based on this real historical event, and we also created the main character, ‘Tsing-guan’, who is the medium (psychic) in the temple; he tried to use his ability to go to Hell, stealing the Book Of Life And Death, and killing the tyrants of the Chinese army.

He went through many scary Hells, one by one, until he reached the army of Hell…

One of the major differences I hear in MIRROR OF RETRIBUTION from SEEDIQ BALE is the lessened use of orchestration. There seems to be more ‘metal’ on MIRROR OF RETRIBUTION, whereas SEEDIQ BALE seemed to have a more symphonic feel to it. What do you have to say to this? If you agree, was this a conscious choice, and why did the band decide to have less orchestration?

Basically, it’s a faster, more brutal and more straightforward album, about a young medium’s revenge and tragedy. I think it’s natural for MIRROR OF RETRIBUTION to have less orchestration generally because we are expressing  greater, more wrathful emotion in a very clear way.

One of the other musical differences is the increased use of death metal riffs; overall there is a more melodic death metal vibe, as well as a very Cradle of Filth feel, especially in the vocals. What kind of music were you and the band listening to while writing MIRROR OF RETRIBUTION? In your opinion, how has the band progressed musically from 2005 and SEEDIQ BALE?

Actually, we don’t set any style limitations when we’re writing songs. On MIRROR OF RETRIBUTION, according to the theme of the album, we added different levels of lower pitch to the vocal screams and then we built them up in the bridges. I think from MIRROR... to SEEDIQ BALE, we matured as a band, and we were able to bring together different elements into a complete and dramatic story…

Overall, is there anything you have done differently from the last album?

Yes, not only did we reach another level in terms of writing songs, but we also had a strong producer in Rob Caggiano (guitarist of Anthrax) who made the whole album much heavier and more brutal. And for this release we signed with Spinefarm Records, so we had more resources for creating a satisfying piece of artwork and for promoting ourselves in a way that just wasn’t possible before.

What are the songwriting dynamics within the band? Who writes the lyrics, who writes the instrumentation? Does everyone have input into the final songs?

First of all, we will decide on a concept for the album, and divide that up into different chapters, then each member is free to write songs according to those chapters. However, the main songwriters are our vocalist Freddy and our guitarist Jesse. After some riff or a rough structure comes to the fore, then all of the other members will get involved to complete the song. As for the lyrics, Freddy is the main person here, but Jesse and our producer, Rob, helped to translate them into meaningful English.

What has the feedback been on MIRROR OF RETRIBUTION, and what are your hopes for 2010?

Mirror Of Retribution’ got the best feedback we’ve had so far from fans & critics alike, and the same is true in terms of CD sales. Right after the album release last September, we had a North American tour and then a UK tour, which was a great experience for us.

In 2010, we hope to focus more on tours and festivals, and of course we’re starting to write new stuff so hopefully we can record our next album in 2011.

Is Freddy a classically trained er-hu player? When you are on tour, who plays the er-hu?

He was trained by a Hena (er-hu) teacher. He is our first Hena player as well as our vocalist, but we also have Su-nong, a classically trained er-hu player. However, Su-nong is now serving in the army, so he recorded his parts onto the computer before he left, and of course Freddy also plays the Hena live in concert.

As a Malaysian Chinese myself, even though I don’t understand its significance, the horror of the make-up on your promo pictures still sends chills down my spine (especially CJ’s white mask) – but Western audiences may need more explanation about what the symbols mean. Please explain the white mask, and some of the symbols/words you have on your faces?

It’s a natural process for us to choose the face paint according to the album we’re working on at the time.

On MIRROR OF RETRIBUTION, the main character's fate was cursed, so we used many Taoist cursed words with red colour on our faces, like Freddy, Jesse and CJ’s make-up. As to the mark on my forehead and also Dani’s mask, that is according to the face-paint from the Eight Generals Of Hell. Those elements express the story more completely than other kinds of face-paint, and they make our songs and our image more connected.

‘Spell of the Setting Sun’ has some spoken/whispered Chinese words towards the end. Were they Taiwanese, Hokkien or Mandarin, and why have you stopped singing or writing lyrics in your native language?

We always have two lyric versions of our albums. One is in Taiwanese or Mandarin, and one is in English. Outside of Taiwan, however, we only release the English language version. And if you say our native language, basically that would be Taiwanese rather than Chinese or Mandarin. J

Black metal as a genre has historically been a genre that concerns itself with themes of oppression, racism, nationalism, ethnic pride and politics. How would you compare yourself to other politically aware black metal bands, Primordial for example?

Actually, we don’t say we are a ‘Black Metal’ band, since we’re from a different culture and we have different roots from the Western bands. If there is a relevant genre for us, according to the elements and the style we have, then I think we would be in the world of ‘Extreme Metal’, although I would prefer us to be known as ‘Taiwanese Metal’ .”

Politics

Obviously Freddy Lim is the most outspoken member on the subject of Taiwanese nationalism and political independence, but do all the members of Chthonic share the same political outlook?

Yes, and the interesting thing is that every member’s father also enjoys talking with Freddy more than talking with their own son or daughter!

What are your thoughts on the weak performance of DPP in the 2008 elections?

I think it’s time for a new thought to be re-born. I always look on the bright side – after the lowest point has been reached, the recovery will come. I hope DPP will find a brand new value for the benefit of all people.

Is it realistic to hope for political independence from China and recognition of Taiwan as an independent autonomous country by the UN?

Taiwan has been an independent country for 60 years; the Chinese government claims that Taiwan is still a part of China, but we don’t pay tax to the Chinese government and our people won’t do army service in China. I should make it clear that we have many good friends who are Chinese – what we hate is the Chinese government and their thoughts, NOT the Chinese people. 

Have you or Chthonic encountered any form of backlash or censorship because of your political views back home?

Yes, always.  The complex situation comes from the occupation of Chian-Kai-Sheck’s army, who lost their inner war in China 60 years ago and retreated to Taiwan; they keep teaching the Taiwanese that we are Chinese. So there are two forces inside Taiwan now – one recognises that Taiwan is an independent country, the other that we are Chinese, and that is supported by long-term school education.

It’s a big challenge for us, because we have to face the backlash not only from the Chinese government (we’re on their black list), but also from certain factors in Taiwan.

On the surface, your lyrics simply tell of Taiwanese/Oriental mythology, or old folk tales, but how do your lyrics tie in with your political outlook?

As I have always said, today’s politics is the history of tomorrow, and we use historical stories as the inspiration for our music. With MIRROR OF RETRIBUTION, the period referred to is just over 60 years ago, but the influence of that time is still being felt today, both socially & politically. When we are writing songs, we never want to mention the politics of today, but people will connect to them automatically. J

The band and Doris

Here in Malaysia, there has been terrible opposition by the religious and moralist people towards all forms of metal and especially black metal. Clubs and venues have been shut down or raided, people have been arrested for wearing band t-shirts and accused of practising Satanism etc. Even if there is no direct opposition to your music, the lack of exposure of heavy metal and lack of recognition before the internet must have made it very difficult to find people in Taiwan who are into metal. How hard was starting out as an extreme metal band in Asia, and what is the scene like there now? Is there an underground metal community, and do you think Chthonic’s success and worldwide recognition will help expose and inspire more Taiwanese metal bands?

I’ve heard about this bad situation in Malaysia. Taiwan has been through those kind of hard times when we still had martial law some 20 years ago, but people fought for freedom and human rights, some were arrested or killed, but we earnt our freedom. I was born into a lucky generation which has not had to endure martial law, even though the pro-China forces in Taiwan are using powers like the media and education to fight with us and put us under pressure. But I think the success of ChthoniC will somehow help people to learn more about human rights, and at the same time, I think we’re also inspiring more metal bands to develop their musical careers in the way that ChthoniC has done.

Can you tell us more about Chthonic’s history: how you guys first met, got started, etc?

The band formed at the end of 1995. Freddy, the vocalist, is the original member and the first leader of the band. All of the members joined by being introduced through friends, including myself. Drummer Dani and keyboard player CJ are the younger brothers of our former drummer and one of my good friends, who is a computer engineer.

What are the personalities in the band? Who is the funny one, the quiet one, etc?

When we’re out on the road, the other bands always say that we like to hang out with our laptops more than hang out with them! J When we arrive in the venue, right after load in, we all open up our laptops and start to work!

How did you first start playing bass, what were your favourite albums, and who was your musical inspiration?

I started to play bass when I was 17 years old. My father is my main inspiration because he is the bass player for a TV station. When I was a kid and playing piano, my father would sit beside me and play along with me. My favourite album is by Sigur Ros, it’s called “()”. My favourite metal album is by Nine inch Nails – THE DOWNWARD SPIRAL.

Thanks for doing this interview, and congratulations on being January GQ Girl, you look gorgeous as usual. Good luck with the band!

Thanks to Nina Potthoff from SPINEFARM RECORDS UK for setting up the interview, and good luck in your latest venture!

CHTHONIC

Freddy Lim : Vocals, Er-hu

Jesse Liu : Guitar

Doris Yeh : Bass

CJ Kao : Keyboards, Piano

Dani Wang : Drums