Chthonic - Takasago Army
This album is actually a lot better than I expected it to be. That isn’t to disrespect the band or their ability, but when most of the reviews I’ve seen seem to center on how hot the reviewer thinks Doris Yeh (Chthonic’s bass player) is, I’m always skeptical. Yes, she is hot. But this isn’t a video, so unless you have a really good imagination (and you’re willing to fap to Black Metal), you have to judge this band on their songwriting skills. And these folks know how to kick some serious ass. Chthonic was always very similar to Cradle of Filth in terms of sound and style: atmospheric/symphonic Black Metal with a lot of soundtrack elements. Unlike Cradle of Filth, though, Chthonic doesn’t dwell on the Goth imagery, darkly romantic lyricism or high-pitched banshee wailing vocals. Takasago Army is a concept album surrounding the native Taiwanese soldiers that fought against the Americans as part of the Japanese Imperial Army during the last part of World War II, and ultimately met their demise in a final stand against Chiang Kai-shek’s invading army (when the nationalist Chinese invaded Taiwan/Formosa after being driven out of China by Mao Tse-tung). The Takasago Army had a fearsome reputation and their skills on the battlefield were so great that they won the respect and admiration of their Japanese commanders. That being said, the lyrics are about real horror and brutality, not fantasy shit. As part of the album’s inlay, you get the story of Wubus Bawan, a member of the Takasago Army. It made quite an interesting read as I listened to the album. In fact, I think for these songs to make sense, you have to read the story of Wabus Bawan first and then read the lyrics. While the music on Takasago Army is primarily guitar driven, the keyboards and the traditional Chinese instruments added a lot to this album’s depth, and provide a distinctly “Asian” feel. It had the same atmosphere and epic feeling as the soundtrack for Hero or House of Flying Daggers. For an album like this, the epic sound is pretty necessary. When you have a story about war, the aftermath of the war and then the ultimate demise of the soldiers in a final stand against a new invading army, you really can’t short-sell it without doing the story a serious injustice. I really couldn’t find anything that I’d deduct points over. The songs are well played, well written and the whole album is solid from beginning to end. Takasago Army is getting a lot of plays in my stereo.
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