(Adrenaline) The Asian symphonic black metal band ChthoniC, who made international headlines by championing Taiwanese democracy from the Ozzfest and Wacken stages last summer, has recently finished recording their new album "Mirror Of Retribution" which is a concept album in Los Angeles with producer (and Anthrax guitarist) Rob Caggiano (Cradle of Filth, Bleeding Through). This marks the band's first-ever recording sessions in America."We had a good time working in Denmark for three albums, but we had some exciting chemistry between us and Rob, a new producer with a fresh vision and a fresh environment," says ChthoniC vocalist Freddy Lim. "We like Rob's past work very much -- especially the depth and strength of all the different instruments -- and as a huge fan of Anthrax, it was our pleasure to work with him."
Since wrapping up their 2007 "UNlimited" tour, which included 60 North American concerts, high-profile festival appearances and European tours with Ensiferum, Marduk and 3 Inches of Blood, ChthoniC has been busy both musically and politically, the group's members have been active in Taiwan's recent presidential elections. Vocalist Freddy Lim was even an official "youth spokesperson" for the pro-democracy DPP political party, and thanks in large part to his efforts, the youth vote (ages 20-29) for the DPP candidate -- originally estimated to be just 20% -- ended up being 56%.
Their previous studio effort, "Seediq Bale," was recorded in 2005, although it was not released outside of Asia until more than a year later. Since then, they've seen the international reissue of 2002's "Relentless Recurrence" and a live CD/DVD ("A Decade on the Throne"), as well as the European compilation, "Pandemonium," which featured re-recorded versions of older ChthoniC tracks.
While the band was pleased to have their music finally available worldwide, they're anxious for their newfound fans to hear their new material. "Although it's still symphonic and extreme, it is a new style of metal for us," Lim says. "There are more Oriental tastes, different genres of metal being mixed, and more emotional fluctuations in the music."
