Chthonic Announces New "Taiwanese" Metal Look

Chthonic, extreme metal band from Taiwan, just announced "a new look" at the "Farewell to the Old Style" concert in Taipei. In this new look, they are purging all the black metal references in their makeup. Chthonic's vocalist Freddy emphasized that their facial makeup was always inspired by Taiwanese Taoist rituals and art. He said,“The facial mask of ‘eight generals’ and ‘Kuan-Jiang-Shoe’ were always the main inspirations for our look. I also customized a row of big fangs according to ‘Kuan-Jian-Shoe’’s face. It will be great to put them on when performing on-stage.”

The new look marks the band's identity as just an iteration of European black metal style, but as unique metal form of its own. As important themes, sorrow and tragic stories take central roles in Chthonic's artistic content.

It is no surprise that any bands project the uniqueness of their image. But for Chthonic, part of their unique identity is informed by a brand of Taiwanese nationalism. This new look, I interpret, is a statement of Chthonic as a uniquely "Taiwanese" metal group, apart from other metal bands in the world, particularly of European origins. I wrote about this identity formation more explicitly in an article for Amalgam.

Read the original post "Chthonic Reveals Their New Look" by the band.

Check out the new look at the "Farewell to Old Style" concert: