ChthoniC 閃靈: Mirror Of Retribution tour (Live In Singapore!)

East Asia's first extreme metal band to be signed on to a major European metal label (aka Spinefarm Records), the world's first Oriental Black Metal band, a politically active frontman, and.... a hot bassist! If not for these unique features of the band, Chthonic would probably just be another everyday Asian black metal band, trying as hard as they can to break into the international market.

Chthonic is 15 years old as of 2010, and these Taiwanese black metal legends had been to Singapore once 10 years ago, making this more recent trip to Singapore their second to date. The concert yesterday was nothing short of a breathtaking experience, with me and my trusty digital camera planted at the very first row of the audience in the center, it was very deafening as well (ear plugs are awesome). However, it was only because of my fantastic location that I could take many clear and close-up pictures of the band members (with the exception of Dani, the drummer). You readers can check out the pictures by clicking on the link below.

ChthoniC Concert Photos

Friendly Freddy: The front man was humorous and interactive, but it was hard to discern his words whenever he spoke in English.



ChthoniC 閃靈 - Forty-Nine Theurgy Chains



ChthoniC 閃靈 - Rise Of The Shadows


Initially, I thought no Singaporean Chthonic fan would be crazy enough to the extent of imitating their Taiwanese peers and throw hell notes into the air during the concert. Well, I was wrong. Not only did local fans buy hell notes and pass them around to fellow fans so that they can all recreate that unique Chthonic concert atmosphere, this enthusiastic Chinese fan from Johor Bahru came all the way here just to catch the Taiwanese band in action, and was probably the wildest mosher in the entire crowd.

Here's a picture of the rabid animal:

This is the second metal concert I have attended in the year 2010 so far, and I certainly wouldn't hesitate to go for more if the bands that are performing are as unique and fascinating as Chthonic. After the concert, I camwhored a bit with fellow Zetalambmary pal Zen, and a guy we befriended at the concert. We queued up for about half an hour outside the studio afterwards, and managed to get a group picture with the band and our autographs too!

Before leaving, we shook hands with members of the band, and I was slightly light-headed for a while after that for I shook hands with Doris Yeh and Jesse Liu!

Photo with the deities of the Taoist underworld!: From left to right - Wraith, Lareyne Kaufmann, Zen

All in all, this was one concert that any Singaporean asian metal or black metal fan should not have missed, and if you did, you really missed one hell of a great time. The only slight disappointment about this concert was that Chthonic's keyboardist CJ Kao could not make it due to him being called up for NS enlistment (yeah, Taiwan has it too), but otherwise, his band mates still made a great stage presence.

If Chthonic is returning for a third gig here in the little red dot anytime soon, we hope to see you around next time CJ!

Slash: Meeting the Rock Legend

The Winning Air Guitar Video: http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=415911892033&oid=114842408563631

The Lucky Dude's Photos of that Fateful Night: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=190746&id=517362033&ref=mf

RazorTV's Video Interview of the 2 Winners (1 Real Guitar, 1 Air Guitar): http://www.razor.tv/site/servlet/segment/main/entertainment/51594.html

So, how many lucky asses actually get to meet that much revered guitar god? Well, here is Srivatsan, a friend of mine from college, and one such lucky ass who got to meet the legendary Slash!



How did you feel when you met Slash?


Shocked! It was like a child meeting a Pokemon or Power Ranger, something they really love but never thought they will ever meet them in person. After that, I was really just very happy, I just kept staring at him while he was signing all those guitars and posters.




So did you manage to ask him what his favourite movie is?


Nope, he was already waiting at the photo-taking area when it was my turn for my photograph with him. Just a handshake, a "Hello Slash!", and a snap. After that, he called the next person to come over. During the photo shoot, I was whispering to him "You're my God man...", that is why my mouth is open in the photo.




Then what did he say? Or... did he even hear it?


Haha, I guess he didn't hear it, 'cos he didn't say anything.




How was Slash in person when you talked to him? Was he friendly, cold, or what?


Hm, there wasn't much of an interaction between him and the people, but he seems to be quite friendly. You know that guy who won the real guitar competition? He told Slash that he was the one who won it, then Slash asked if he was the one who played with the guitar on his back. That guy said "Yeah", and Slash said that was pretty cool. Yup, so I guess he is friendly. I kept quiet 'cos I didn't wanna go tell a guitar god that I got to see him by pretending to play a guitar. Lol.




Hahaha, well, at least you got to meet him.


Yup.




What thoughts were running through your mind when he was signing your guitar?


I was just looking at him autographing. To him, it was just another autograph, but it meant the world to me. After he signed it, he even wrote "2010" below the autograph. Although it was quite a small thing, I was still impressed that he even bothered to date it.




Hahaha okay, I bet 50 years from now, if you ever intend to sell that guitar, it will cost a bomb. So moving on, I know you will feel biased about this, but I will still ask it anyway. How was the Slash concert as a whole?


Hm, I will just say the order of events and then tell you how I felt.


Firstly, we were told to be there by 11:45 AM so that we can get to see Slash and the band doing their sound check at 12:15 PM. I was late, so I took a cab down, but alighted at the wrong area.
It was already around 12:10 PM by then, and I could hear the sound of drums. I thought the sound check had already begun, so I followed the sound and ended up inside the concert area. I saw the stage and all for the first time. Slash wasn't there yet, the workers there were setting up the drums, so that was where the sound came from.


I asked one of the guys where should the VIP pass holders go, and he guided me there. There, I met the LAMC people and the other VIP pass holders, and the real guitar winner as well. We were all told to wait for a while. After that, I heard the sound of a guitar, and the playing was pretty good. I was thinking "Wow, those guitar techs can play quite well", but then the LAMC gal ran back and told us that Slash had already begun his sound check.


Yup, so I went in there to see the sound check, and that was the very first time I saw Slask. Man, that feeling was fucking awesome man. We were told to keep away from the stage, like at least 10m, so we sat down on the grass patch and watched Slash and his band do their sound check. They actually performed 3 songs during the sound check, so I already had an idea of how the concert will probably sound like. The sound check ended at around 2:30 PM, and at 2:45 PM, the LAMC gal said that we were gonna meet him then.


We went to this tent at the back of the stage which had lots of guards outside, and after like 10 minutes of waiting outside, we were told to enter the tent 4 by 4. When it was my group's turn, one of the guards brought us in there. After we got into the tent, I saw Slash at the photo taking area. What happened after that, I told you already. So after getting all our stuff signed, we were given 2 posters each. Yup, that's it for the Meet-and-Greet session.


At 7 PM, the concert started. The first band was called Twenty Two Hundred, some unknown band from Australia whom Slash thought had great potential, which was why he brought them along to Singapore. They were awesome man, seriously.


After that came the main guest, Coheed & Cambria. I hated them. Their vocalist looked like an ass with all that bushy hair, and his voice was like the Dragonforce dude but more gay. Unfortunately, they played a full set that lasted 90 minutes. I was just standing there for time to pass... and oh, I have to say that I was standing in the front row, holding on to the barrier towards the right side of the stage (traditionally, where the lead guitarist always stands).
After, Coheed & Cambria finished, I was relieved and fucking excited. After setting up the stage for like 20 minutes, Slash and his band finally came out.


During the sound check and Meet-and-Greet session, he had tied his hair up and wore a cap. When the concert finally started, I was seeing him for the first time with his signature top hat and leather pants with a black hankie hanging from his back pocket. He was wearing a sleeveless tee. The first song was "Ghost" from his solo album. It was a very energetic song, the riff is pretty fast and cool-sounding. When it was time for his guitar solo, he played the famous "Godfather" theme. It was an extended solo that lasted for like 15 minutes, then right after the solo, he played "Sweet Child O' Mine" and the crowd erupted into cheers. It was the song everyone was waiting for. When the concert was coming to an end, an encore was obviously expected, and Slash and his band played "By The Sword", before ending off with the freaking great performance of "Paradise City". Yup, and the concert ended there. Throughout the concert, Myles Kennedy was speaking into the mike pretty often, something that he admitted he was not used to doing).

Sri's Slash-autographed guitar!!

Wow, that was long. Alright, last question. If Slash is coming back to Singapore next time, and there is another such competition again, will you participate once more?


Haha nope, but I will definitely go for the concert. If I am working by that time, I will pay for the VIP pass (US$500 for the 2010 Slash concert price). After hearing all those new rock bands such as MCR, A7X and Muse live, it was a really great experience to hear something classical. The sound was just totally different from the other bands I heard. It is the classical rock sound. One song I love by Guns N' Roses is "Civil War", 'cos Axl Rose's different voice ranges, combined with the meaningful lyrics and Slash's really stylish licks and riffs really just fit the song so well. When I heard that live, I started tearing. Yup, that is all I have to say about the concert. The experience as a whole was one that I will never forget.


Slash is God.




Ah yes, what exactly did you win by the way?


Haha, they gave me so many things man. The Meet-and-Greet session (S$700), guitar and hard case (S$750), MacBeth shoes (S$100) and free guitar lessons (S$200).

Close-up shot of the million-dollar autograph

So there you have it folks, don't drool over this guy's unbelievable experience now, all you guys have to do is follow in his mock-guitar-shredding awesomeness when there is another such competition available when Slash comes to perform in Singapore again next time!

Between The Buried And Me: The Great Misdirect Tour (First stop in Asia - Singapore!)

Wow, this is such an overdue post.

Anyway, BTBAM came to perform in Singapore for the first time ever on March 16, 2010 at The Substation, and boy was it a blast (literally).

Honestly speaking, although the dear Webmaster and I listen to a lot of metal and have even set up a site like this, we have never been to a single metal concert before. Ever.

That is until we went for the BTBAM one nearly 1 month ago of course, and I have got to admit that live bands do sound much better than their studio recordings. Is it because of the amped-up volume of the music? Or is it because the live music has more spirit than the studio recordings? I would say it is due to both aspects people. If you have never been to one before, and are a self-professed fan of metal, do take this "person-who-was-once-skeptical-of-live-concerts"'s advice and go for at least one in your lifetime. It is a rewarding experience, I assure you.

Alright, here are some pictures I snapped on that night:

Look at the crowd...

Tommy at the keyboards and microphone

Paul headbanging, I love his mane

Artistic shot of rhythm guitarist: Dustie looked emo that night

Blake and Dan shaking hands with fans after the concert

And of course, I took videos of some of their all-time classics as well:







Although I came out of the concert with my ears ringing in protest, and my body tingling from little vibrations all over the body, I enjoyed the concert very much. Listening to and adoring a band through their studio recordings alone is satisfying, but being able to watch a band perform live is the pinnacle of aural masturbation. The way the band connects with the crowd, their showmanship, and the enthusiastic (and often fanatic) response from the crowd all just blend together to form the unique and heart-thumping experience known as a concert.

BTBAM's gear

The only thing that disappointed me though, was that it was too late for me to linger around and get the autographs of the band members and a photograph with them by the time their performance ended. This was because earlier on, the concert was delayed by an hour and a half due to technical difficulties. Man, I will be sure to catch them again the next time they visit Singapore (and will definitely get them to sign copies of their albums which I own + take a photo with them as well!).

Click here to view all of the photos I took on the night of the concert