The set was primarily made up of superb new album ‘Takasago Army’ and the previous album, ‘Mirror of Retribution’, and was lapped up by the crowd, duly obliging with fist pumping, throwing the devil horns and headbanging all thrown in for good measure. The 40 minute set flew by, and new material like ‘Broken Jade’, ‘Southern Cross’, ‘Oceanquake’ and ‘Takao’ sounded excellent live as they created an excellent atmosphere with their powerful and destructive nature.

One thing you can always expect from a TURISAS show is to have a bloody good time, and it was no surprise that the party was in full flow as soon as they hit the stage. With the crowd constantly shouting ‘Battle Metal’ not only before they came on, but near enough after each song had reached it conclusion, you could tell the fans were right up for it tonight.

With new album, ‘Stand Up And Fight’, and a new image too, yes, the furry outfits are all but gone apart from a bit here and there, in favour of a denim and leather approach, but don’t worry, the new image doesn’t stretch as far as the war paint, that is still fully intact, with a few members of the audience also deciding to adorn themselves with the customary red and black too!

Opening number, ‘The March of The Varangian Guard’, was the first of a handful of material played tonight from the new album, and really got the ball rolling before pints were raised aloft for a cracking rendition of ‘One More’, which got both the festivities and singing in good stead for the rest of the show. As usual, frontman Mathias ‘Warlord’ Nygard had requested some local ale, although the closest he got was from Kent. Still, he appreciated it more than the foreign lager he was served on other the UK dates so far according to him.

The energetic set kept on going with the likes of ‘To Holmgard And Beyond’, and the upbeat ‘Sahti-Waari’. The new material was going down an absolute storm with the likes of ‘The Great Escape’, ‘Take The Day!’ and eventual set closer ‘Stand Up And Fight’ particularly impressing live.

As TURISAS came back for the encore, everybody’s favourite cover really set the place alight. ‘Rasputin’ was greeted by the ever hungry hordes, with everyone shouting Ra-Ra-Rasputin and literally blowing the roof of the venue. The time had come for those fans who were requesting this from the start of the show. A rousing rendition of ‘Battle Metal’ closed the proceedings, and brought a close to a fun filled folk metal gig. TURISAS are really masters of their craft when it comes to catchy tunes that you can’t help but dance, headbang and throw the horns to. Until next time you crazy folksters!

Ratings:

Photography By Alex Shaw (Turisas gallery click here)

‘Takasago Army’ pretty much picks straight up where ‘Mirror of Retribution’ left off, and while they further delve down a more mainstream style, you get the feeling they are trying to get the best of both worlds. Keeping both the fans they had from the start with their oriental atmosphere (yes, you can still make out the oriental influences and style of the songs) and newer ones picked up from the more straight up black metal approach found on ‘Mirror of Retribution’, with the excellent ‘Legacy of The Seediq’ being an early example of this fusion. Those latter fans will eat this album straight up, but while it maybe more difficult for those earlier fans to digest, you can’t argue that this is a superb album never the less. CHTHONIC are still a unique band, and the term ‘Orient Metal’ has been coined for their existence pretty much alone at the moment. I mean, where the hell are you going to hear another Erhu in the metal genre, nevermind the black metal genre.

‘Takao’ is another sublime example of the fusion of styles that both delivers an oriental feel to it while is also a straight up, nothing held back onslaught of riffs, and pure carnage black metal track, and is a headbangers delight too. The chorus is entirely in the bands native language too, Taiwanese, which really gives it another edge as well as been quite catchy too, even if it will provide a challenge to fans to try and pronounce the lyrics, let alone sing them. Another full out barrage attack is found in the form of ‘KAORU’, with the guitars not letting up even through the more atmospheric and melodic approach of the oriental style sections of this track, whislt the drums are exceptionally good not only on this track but throughout the album too helping to keep the fast paced nature of the tracks going to the end.

The use of synths and oriental instruments coupled with a brutal style to the songs does create a great atmosphere (and there is an intro and interlude that help build this quite well), but on a couple of occasions I did find the synths didn’t quite work for me in certain sections of the songs, but that is in the extreme minority and the to be honest, you will probably hardly notice it as when it does occur, the guitars will probably be too busy melting your face off to even be concerned by it, as they are, and let’s be frank, absolutely superb, with crunching riffs here, there and everywhere, and some cracking solos too thrown in for good measure with ‘Southern Cross’ and ‘Quells The Souls In The Sing Ling Temple’ being prime examples here.

All in all, CHTHONIC have produced a really good black metal album here in ‘Takasago Army’, and yes, while they may be shedding their earlier style slightly, the evolution to a more modern sound, whilst still having that prominent Oriental aura and feeling throughout the album, works together brilliantly to basically manufacture only one thing. The unique sound that is CHTHONIC!

Rating: 4.4/5.0

Review By Adam Fredericks

CHTHONIC have five albums under their belt, and have been in existence since 1995. Their on stage appearance is very much akin to the black metal standard, with all band members sporting black and white make-up, and the drummer and keyboard player both wearing scary masks. Frontman Freddy Lim is the linchpin of the band, and his howling screams instantly give the band a striking and obvious resemblance to the UK’s very own CRADLE OF FILTH.

CHTHONIC’s music is fast and powerful, and it is performed very well by a band who appear at first glance as being quite young. Female bass player Doris Yeh chugs out a fantastic rhythm, and it’s hard to believe she can produce such power given she has a similar frame to that of a stick insect. Guitarist Jesse Liu is an excellent player, and his riffs are good enough to ensure the band still sound the part with only the one guitar.

The vast majority of the set came from latest album ‘Mirror of Retribution’, and all the material sounded very impressive on first listen. Particular stand outs were the pummelling opener ‘Rise of the Shadows’, and the equally brutal ‘Forty-Nine Theurgy Chains’. Although extreme metal in nature, these songs are good examples of CHTHONIC’s ability to mix melody with awesome power.

CHTHONIC are a great band, and on the basis of tonight’s performance, they are sure to keep winning more fans in Europe. Few bands can pull off black metal without looking completely stupid, and one of those bands is certainly CHTHONIC. Recognition for such bands is usually in the form of festival invites, and I’m sure that Wacken won’t be the last European festival which is glad to showcase such a talented act.

Setlist: Rise of the Shadows / Bloody Gaya Fulfilled / Forty-Nine Theurgy Chains / Hearts Condemned / Blooming Blades / Relentless Recurrence / Spell of Setting Sun: Mirror of Retribution / Sing-Ling Temple / Grab the Soul to Hell / Venom in My Veins / Quasi Putrefaction

Photography by Alexander Shaw (Photo Gallery)