Frosty Eve - Polar Night (2009)

More new metal has arrived from China, and yet again it shows an ability to take the influences it has consumed, repackage them and spit them back out with a strong young voice. Up to this point, much of what I've heard from the The Middle Kingdom has been of the blacker variety, but Frosty Eve are a full on melodic death metal band with a huge influence from bands like Children of Bodom, Norther and Omnium Gatherum, along with a little power metal, and just enough of that modern pit chug to their style to satisfy the crowds, without going overboard into stupid redundant breakdowns. Polar Night is an incredibly solid debut album, followign up an EP that the band released in 2007. Your appreciation of the style will really depend on how you view those Finnish bands, for a lot of piano and keyboard occupy these compositions. To the band's credit, they never overpower the guitars, which are consistently writing engaging enough riffs that you find your attention divided (in a good way).

A totally great New Age sounding keyboard intro kicks off this polar night, and then the metallic power of their namesake "Frosty Eve" erupts with a charging melodic rhythm, death grunts and synths which carefully choose the right moment to strike. The thrashing verse rhythm is quite nice, while Zhenzong barks across it like the bastard love child of Alexi Laiho and Tomas Lindberg. "Dying Dreamland" has yet another charge, seasoned in the complementary melodies of the guitar and keyboard. I like how the muted melodies here break into the great bridge rhythm at about 2:00, and the next track "Assassin Compact" opens with a Soilwork-style brick groove before some more of the band's playful melodic interplay. The clean vocals in the song are actually quite somber, if poppy, and the throwdown rock rhythm hits at just the right moment. And it's far from over, because "Evil in Mind", "Companion of the Doom", and "The Endless Battle" (with a little fun percussion in there) all deliver some fine, memorable riffing.

Polar Night is crisp and clean like most modern albums with a progressive flair. I will reiterate that Frosty Eve is NOT a band you will enjoy unless you partake in modern European melodeath with an emphasis on the keyboard player. This is not original, but like most albums hailing from Asian countries that have only recently begun to develop into the metal scene, it seems to successfully break down the elements of its genre into the bare essentials, then re-construct them into a pattern ever so slightly deviant from the influences. It's not brutal, it's not insanely complicated, and it's no mind blowing conceptual work of art. Just a catchy record that was pleasing on the ears, despite any flaws.

Highlights: Dying Dreamland, Evil in Mind, The Endless Battle

Verdict: Win [7/10]

http://www.myspace.cn/frostyevemusic

Tomb Sound - Never Ending [DEMO] (2009)

Could China be the next black metal capital of the world? Well, they may first need some stronger bands, but those that exist are at least giving it their best effort. Tomb Sound is a young band releasing their first demo, Never Ending, a calamity of vile and morbid black metal with a clear influence from bands Burzum and Mayhem. Though it's noisy as all primal hell, there is a charm to the band's unrefined hostility shining through which could develop into one of the most cult forces in far Eastern blackness.

Tomb Sound is the work of two gentlemen. Morbid Fish (yes, Morbid Fucking Fish) programs all the beats, dowses them in hissy broiling guitar riffs and feedback, and then adds eerie orchestration through the synthesizer. Frontman Lau then crafts misanthropic, yet thoughtful lyrics and screams them into the mix like the unfastening of a serial killer's razor.

Expiation is never being,
Everybody is struggling,
Trample others.
Why you yearn towards the light,
but forgot the intrinsical darkness?

Can anyone answer that last question? Strange enough, the lyrics really work with the band's chaotic, vibrant compositions. Beyond the ambient intro, and before the great closing instrumental, the songs are quite hard. "Revolving Tomb" is one of the most vile tracks I've heard lately: the crashing hiss of cymbals and the surging rhythm guitar sounds like a condemned building being blasted over from beneath, Hell's legion about to use the resulting crater as an entry point to bring justice back to the world. "Nightmare" has a despotic energy, even though the synths and bass and guitars all mirror one another and perhaps take the single riff too far. "666" is a little more glorious, another of the better tracks here. "Freezing Dream" is a nice keyboard piece with some acoustic guitars, a totally different side to this band.

When all was screamed and done, I didn't come away from Never Ending in love with the band. It's not a bad demo, and they're new. There is an enormous potential here to produce some of the most disgusting lo-fi black metal ever heard from the most populous country on Earth. I'll be waiting to hear it.

Highlights: Revolving Tomb, 666, Freezing Dream

Verdict: Indifference [6.5/10] (this is just a fantasy)

http://www.myspace.cn/tombsound

Skeletal Augury - Victory of the Holocaust (2009)

It's fascinating how a cultural context can alter the face of a very familiar brand of music. For all purposes, China's Skeletal Augury perform a black/thrash mix with riffing not unheard of in the days of early Bathory, or used by many Swedish artists who held the torch for that sound (Bewitched, Swordmaster, etc). But there is something almost intangible about their riffing, drumming (via machine) and vocals which make this debut album, Victory of the Holocaust, a refreshing listen.

The first full-length from this band, Victory is following up a pair of demo releases from 2008, and I can honestly claim I've never heard a Chinese band so evil and well versed in what makes a good, pissed off thrashing. The band could not give a damn, they just thrash you with each of the 8 metal tracks on the album (there's a pretty cool intro/outro also). The namesake "Skeletal Augury" transforms through a crisp, punchy old school German thrash rhythm to some blasting with bleeding melodies, and then a driving, weird stream of chords as the drum machine breaks into a double bass. "From Pagan Flames" uses some cool samples from monster movies before another ripping thrasher in the vein of Bathory and Venom. More samples initiate other good tracks like the punk/thrash tornado "Black Metal Redrum" and the bursting "Total Maniac".

The album sounds good for something produced on so low a budget. Vocalist 'F' has a crumbling, cracker-filled black rasp which is both cute and vicious, adding much to the band's riff slaughter. Even though the compositions aren't original, there is some evasive quality which makes the band feel slightly unique. This is the type of record that would do well by a release through Hell's Headbanger records, it truly fits the mold of true old school hostility.

Highlights: From Pagan Flames, Death's Hammer, Skeletal Augury, Total Maniac

Verdict: Win [7/10]

http://www.myspace.com/pest666pro

Zuriaake - Afterimage of Autumn (2007)

The Chinese black metal scene is one of the newest to crop up in recent years, and, for myself, is perhaps the most exciting movement developing at the moment. Such a unique country, with its long separation from modern Western culture, heavily developed history and tradition, and astoundingly high population, poverty, and pollution, is a ripe setting for black metal to take off from. Due to the understandably sparse nature of these releases, each album gives a fascinating glimpse into the budding scene, but, so far, Zuriaake's Afterimage of Autumn is certainly the best that I've heard.

Use of samples and classical instruments is an integral part of their style, crafting an atmosphere that is both charmingly naturalistic and uniquely Chinese in feel. The title track breaks out into bright piano, bird samples, and peaceful flutistry, melding and supplanting the black metal like a truly dour take on Perfect Cherry Blossom. Other tracks, such as "Desolated Mountain," have the requisite drippy Burzum keys in all their glory, while 'Return Journey" juxtaposes those with traditional pipa trilling. These elements never overpower the metal or become heavily relied on; rather, they're deftly interwoven amidst the cold guitars. The riffs themselves are decently basic, exhibiting a hypnotic repetition obviously culled from the Burzum school of black metal, but they flow well and have a calm air of purpose about them that suits the style well. As is all too rarely seen in black metal, the bass is charmingly present in the mix, slightly catchy yet also lending a bit of doom to the proceedings. The vocals are magnificent, offering up a wide range of cries, going from keening, snarl-less wails that would make Wedard blush to something straight out of the existential dementia of Ataraxie. The style is heartily rooted in the depressive/suicidal tradition, yet more cohesively varied than most singers manage to pull off. All in all, Zuriaake's sound is quite unpretentious and heartfelt, clearly done by those who understand what was important in the second wave of black metal.

In terms of criticism, I think that Zuriaake were actually a bit too conservative with the atmospheric elements - I certainly wouldn't object to a larger presence for the Chinese instrumentation. These chaps have proven that they don't need to rely on it as a gimmick, so hopefully we'll see more in that regard next time. As for now, Afterimage of Autumn stands as a damn fine debut, propelling the band to the forefront of the Chinese black metal movement and setting a precedent that other bands will hopefully follow.

Verdict: Win [8.5/10] (gotta love that cover art, too)

http://www.myspace.com/zuriaake