I bought this album earlier today, and I thought it would be cool rather than just listen to it and write a rambling review that goes nowhere, I'll play it through and give my thoughts on it as it goes on.Of course you'd all love to see my well-reasoned, clearly thought out points about the album in the style of which you know me for, but mixing it up is always fun. I don't know any songs on this, so consider it a blind run. (deaf run?) But without further ado, Takasago Army people!
But first, the cover sleeve. The first thing I saw on the bus home. Alongside the lyrics it gives you a brief history lesson on the actual Takasago army that served under Japan during WWII. Reading this just makes me realise how Chthonic's stance on Taiwanese independence has allowed them to really break out across the Metal World. But enough stuff not about the music, here's the music!
The Island: Starts off with some distant-sounding flute, like it's up in the mountains. The synths are playing your typical tension-building malarkey with incredibly fake orchestral samples, but the chord pattern works well. Ah, now we're getting the Erhu in on this, another of Chthonic's most notable quirks. So, I guess that was a cinematic-style opener, and nothing more.
Legacy of the Seediq: ...And as expected, we're treated to low-end guitars, double bass pounding and the distinctly Taiwan melodies. The vocals start off all guttural, which isn't what I expect for this essentially Black Metal band, but they get into the higher range soon enough, and it sounds piercing and evil. Now we've got a chug-a-lug breakdown, something I feel I should hate more than I do, but their unique instruments keep it interesting enough, and the vocals are interesting while not being completely unintelligible. For an album's opener, I was expecting something faster and more blistering, but you have to wait until about 3 minutes for it to really ramp up with dense chords, manic drumming and DAT ERHU. ALL THE TIME. Another breakdown here, but it's got some nice tom beats fleshing it out. In summary, a fairly mid-paced song that opens the album nicely, but I've yet to see if this feel will be sustained throughout. If my other Chthonic album, Mirror of Retribution, is anything to go by I'll be expecting plenty more cinematic elements, loads of ridiculously high-pitched shrieking and cool fast parts to really get a crowd going.
Takao: If I recall correctly, this is the single off this album. I'm only guessing though, and not beothering to check. About 50 seconds in we really start hearing melody for the first time here on the guitars, and they work well in unison with the keyboard and erhu. There's a fairly hardcore-sounding moment at 1:30 with only drums and Ling shouting in his lower register. The chorus now, and it sounds like there's clean vocals under all the screaming! Then again, with the traditional instruments worked in so well, I wouldn't expect them to put on something that wouldn't work as a beautiful contrast. Okay, now there's some Taiwanese lyrics clean sung, and give off some Tyr/ Ensiferum vibes from me. Pretty sudden ending, but that's fine. A catchy, punchy song like this needs a succinct ending to avoid it meandering.
Oceanquake: Quick drum fill, and we're into vocals that sound even less like their black metal roots, and something you'd hear from some London HxC band tearing up the Underworld. Don't worry, as we're back into the shrieking and scratchy guitars soon enough. It seems for this album they've tried working in other sounds, but only briefly as they return to their core sound that has served them so well. There's a really cool tempo change at 2:10 when we get some epic horns coming from the synths and a pounding rhythm from the other instruments while we get some crowd-raising chanting, then the first guitar solo. Nothing special, works well as counterpoint to the riffs and has some nice licks, but all over a bit too soon. Another rush to the finish, and we're into the next song.
Southern Cross: For some reason, I had the bizarre urge to listen to a bit of Hatsune Miku before starting this song. Odd. We've got an intro similar to the album's opener, with atmospheric flute, but instead of orchestra, we've got a really groovy number, with a triplet pattern in the guitars and drums which really gets my head banging, despite my efforts to keep typing my thoughts. This song is really doing it well for me, I have to say. The guitar line dances across the finger board, the drums are precise and battering and the vocals make me wnat to join the ranks of the eponymous soldiers. The chorus has really clear words, making it very easy to sing along to. The guitar solo is much longer than on the last song, and really allows the guitarist to explore ideas, even with a harmony part that feels lifted out of a Dragonforce piece. This is easily my favourite song so far as it doesn't resort to one-note breakdowns or delegating the melody only to the erhu, giving other parts a chance to shine.
Kaoru: The intro sounds like souls creeping towards you in the misty mountain caves, before pumelling you with the drums beating down like a hailstorm. This is easily the heaviest song so far, with plenty of chug and blast-beats. Something I just noticed I'm missing on this album: The bass. I'm trying to pick it out in this song, and I can barely hear it, and even then it's just doubling up the guitar part or droning the root note. At 2:20 we get a brief moment of respite, before relaunching the assualt with some blistering fills and superb licks. We've got some more clean vocals which, according to the booklet, say were taken from an old Taiwanese song from the 40's, and they've worked it in well. I'm guessing when they recorded the vocals around the 4:00 mark, the singer was getting pretty tired as they sound more torturous than ever, but how he manages the harsh contrast between high and low growls really is a sight to behold, as well as some creepy whispered lines near the end.
Broken Jade: This song doesn't feel like it's going to be a super-fast number. Still, no problem with that. After the beating I got from Kaoru I need a moment of respite. This doesn't mean it doesn't sacrifice their sound either, as we've got the lovely Taiwanese melodies layered on top of each other as the vocals soar above the mix. During this song's breakdown we hear some plucked strings, possibly from a violin, but they serve the same purpose as the erhu has done earlier in the album, albeit far more percussive. It's at this point in the story that the titular army begin to suffer, and the second half of the song we see that reflected in the music. Somehow it feels even more minor and oppressive. Maybe that's my ears tiring though. But you can't deny the crushing attack of the line "We're coming for you all!" A devastating guitar slide, and we have an instrumental interlude while a radio broadcast from the war plays over the song, but eventually the vocals overpower it, a striking metaphor for the fighting spirit of the Takasago (If I ever say something that pretentious again, then God help me as I pry my eyes from my sockets.) It turns out I was wrong about this being slower though. But I would expect some tempo change in a 5-minute song.
Root Regeneration: Hmm, another minute-or-so interlude. More flute which I'm now familiar with, and some soothing water sound effects in the background. Come on guys! I would expect to hear this on album to put you to sleep! But wait, now we've got some ominous voice reading something in a language I can't understand. In trying to keep my typing speed up with this album, I can't check what he's saying. Never mind, next song.
Mahakala: Whoah. This song is black metal up your corpsepainted arse! Plenty of tremolo, oodles of blasting and epic screams. I can imagine just how this song would be used live to suddenly jump into after the previous song ends.I'm really feeling the groove on the track, and I think that intro pulling me right in my the scruff of my neck plays a big part in that. There's a really cool riff that sounds a more evil '80s Metallica (or any thrash band, really) about 2:40 in, and I'm resisting the urge heavily to headbang till my neck goes sore at it! While this song isn't necessarily bad, I can't really think of much to write about without feeling like repeating myself even more.
Quell the Souls in Sing Ling Temple: The final chapter in the story of the Takasago army has a suitably epic climax, fighting the Chinese army outnumbered by the thousands, fighting to the very last man in a grand act of defiance.. If Chthonic fail to match how incredibly metal that sounds, I'll be extremely disappointed. So let's press play and see what happens...
EVERYTHING WENT AS WELL AS EXPECTED! The drums are loaded with wonderful fills, the vocals are borderline painful to listen to, and the incredibly layered sound really pounds at your eardrums in the best possible way. This is closer to an "elephant marching" riff than anything else here, and while It's not much like that Gojira sound really, I can't think if anything else to call it. The guitar solo is decent enough, but doesn't do anything he hasn't done earlier on the album. And now we've got a calm in the storm with that percussive string instrument and erhu, before launching into a triumphant riff that reminds me of the finest power metal. Ling is really giving it his all here, before handing it over for a final guitar solo and a mad dash to the finish line, drums keeping it driving forward all they way. Here you can really feel the heart and soul of the band working together to create the sensation of being launched in your seat towards glory, and it makes me feel epic!
I will always like an album more on a second and third listen, no matter what genre so to have so many good first impressions is a clear sign that this is a worthy entry into Chthonic's discography. Nothing is particularly overused, the musicians all showcase their abilities superbly and the songwriting is sharp and fierce, fitting in excellently with a striking tale of the Taiwanese ideal fighting against oppression from Japan.
Just as a heads-up, I'll be going to Bloodstock this year where Chthonic are playing, so come find me! Buy me a beer and we'll chat!
...Please buy me a beer, I won't be 18 until November.
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