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Chthonic - Takasago Army



8.2 | 193 votes |
Release date: 6 July 2011
Style: Melodic black metal, Folk metal, Extreme power metal

Owners:

180 have it
18 want it


01. The Island
02. Legacy Of The Seediq
03. Takao
04. Oceanquake
05. Southern Cross
06. Kaoru
07. Broken Jade
08. Root Regeneration
09. Mahakala
10. Quell The Souls In Sing Ling Temple

The best Melodic Black Metal album of 2011

Additional info
Produced by Chthonic & Rickard Bengtson.
Recorded by: Jesse Liu, Gecko Studio; CJ Kao, CJ Studio; Luxia Wu, Noiz Studio; Rickard Bengtson, Sweetspot Studio.
Mixed by Rickard Bengtson, Sweetspot Studio.
Mastered by Mats Limpan Lindfors at Cuttingroom, Stockholm, Sweden.

Parts of Kaoru are composed from an old Taiwanese song in 1940s (Lyrics: Na Ka Nuo/Music: Yang San Lang).

The speech in the end of Broken Jade: The Gyokuon-hoso, the radio broadcast in which Japanese Emperor Hirohito read the Imperial Rescript on the Termination of the War, August 15, 1945.

The melodies of flutes in Southern Cross and Root Regeneration are recomposed from Taruku's ancient melodies.

Guest review by
Cynic Metalhead
Rating:
7.0
Mixed By: Rickard Bengtson, Sweetspot Studio.
Recorded By: Jesse Liu, Gecko Studio; CJ Kao, CJ Studio; Luxia Wu, Noiz Studio; Rickard Bengtson, Sweetspot Studio.
Mastered by Mats Limpan Lindfors at Cuttingroom, Stockholm, Sweden.

It's a Battle metal record, folks!

Again?

Yes, again. Welcome to another edition of personal struggle and starving for identity and independence that Chthonic's new album Takasago Army presents. For people not acquainted with this band, I recommend you to pick any album of Chthonic and check for yourself. After all, these Taiwanese are pretty good in the rehashing department. Well, musically - no, lyrically and stylistically - big yes.

Read more ››
published 22.02.2014 | Comments (0)

Having never heard any of this Taiwanese band's previous releases, I kinda figured that the oriental folk elements of the album were going to be obnoxiously forced into the music. But alas, these elements are tastefully blended in with the metal on this album and make for yet another solid release this year that will probably swoop under everyone's radar. Anyone interested in melodic black metal or folk metal should definitely check this puppy out.

Fat & Sassy!'s picks | More picks ››

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Comments

Comments: 22   Visited by: 728 users
01.06.2011 - 17:24
oleetuary

Cant wait to get this \\m//
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08.07.2011 - 16:45
Rating: 9
BudDa

God! I love this album.
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Freeze! Step away from the hubris.
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10.07.2011 - 12:09
Rating: 9
metalicharly

Just amazing. That orient folk sound mixed with melodic black and some prog gives this album a unique taste.
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26.07.2011 - 00:30
Rating: 8
Death To Posers
Hate Thy King
Solid Album, Unique Sound.
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The word gen means "illusion" or "apparition." In India, a man who uses conjury is called a genjutsushi ["a master of illusion technique"]. Everything in this world is but a marionette show. Thus we use the word gen.
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27.07.2011 - 23:41
Rating: 8
SceneryOfLoss

A really good one
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02.08.2011 - 21:04
Rating: 9
In Bone Factory

I like this one so much.fantastic atmosphere with the help of folk instruments \m/
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The End Is Nigh ...
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03.08.2011 - 01:20
Rating: 8
Fat & Sassy!

Very nice surprise for me this year. Never hearing this band before, I thought the oriental folk elements where gonna be obnoxiously mixed into the music, and they're not. Great blend of both kinds of music! ^-^
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03.08.2011 - 21:45
Rating: 8
dougver1

Holy hell, this came at me outta nowhere. Awesome.

It's funny, I was bored by their music whenever I listened to it in the past.... but they've REALLY improved with this new release!
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11.08.2011 - 08:59
Rating: 6
Paradox0
Unasuming Madnes
A lot of people seem to be giving this some major props but from what my ears are hearing I'm not terribly impressed. I've been a fan of these guys (and gal) since seediq bale and found Mirror of Retribution descent but this is just boring. The actual metal portions seem like (atleast to me) that there stuck somewhere between trying to write hooks (which are just there to replace the lack a well thought out means to portray intensity and energy) and trying to be dark sounding and it just comes off as kind of bland. I know there thing is to blend this with oriental instrumentation but this time they just don't seem to complement each other at all (although to be fair are much more present than they where in Mirror of retribution). The only really good song coming off of this album is "Broken Jade"
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29.08.2011 - 16:56
Rating: 8
MétalNoir
Fils du Lys
Blacker than MoR, one of the catchiest melodic exreme metal albums of the year. "Takao" in particular is fucking addictive. This is not your standard cerebral, gloomy BM album, but who cares, it is a great piece of metal.
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Notre destinée n'est pas encore tracée....
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19.10.2011 - 09:58
Rating: 9
M C Vice
ex-polydactyl
I hope these guys are made honorery Norweigians. A great Black Metal album.
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"Another day, another Doug."
"I'll fight you on one condition. That you lower your nipples."
" 'Tis a lie! Thy backside is whole and ungobbled, thou ungrateful whelp!"
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05.12.2011 - 14:38
Rating: 8
CyberSymphony
Ollie
Impressed with this one, their best IMO.
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08.12.2011 - 05:26
Slinky666
Account deleted
Powerful artwork, weak music.
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08.12.2011 - 05:31
Marcel Hubregtse
Grumpy Old Fuck
Written by Guest on 08.12.2011 at 05:26

Powerful artwork, weak music.



the music has always been weak. the only reason people paid attention to them is because they're from Taiwan and the girl in the band is hot.
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Member of the true crusade against European Flower Metal

Yesterday is dead and gone, tomorrow is out of sight
Dawn Crosby (r.i.p.)
05.04.1963 - 15.12.1996

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08.12.2011 - 06:05
Troy Killjoy
perfunctionist
Written by Marcel Hubregtse on 08.12.2011 at 05:31
the only reason people paid attention to them is because they're from Taiwan and the girl in the band is hot.

The only reason the majority of people who bother listening to them, sure. There are people who definitely appreciate the band for their music though.

Not that I belong to either category. Hell, I don't even think the chick is hot. :/
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"Wise men talk because they have something to say; fools because they have to say something."
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19.12.2011 - 06:16
Grody2themax

Written by Paradox0 on 11.08.2011 at 08:59

The actual metal portions seem like (atleast to me) that there stuck somewhere between trying to write hooks (which are just there to replace the lack a well thought out means to portray intensity and energy) and trying to be dark sounding and it just comes off as kind of bland.


So you're saying that the hooks are only there to replace intensity? I personally think its still pretty intense. Although I haven't listened to their older material yet, this album features good songwriting.

Sometimes I feel like people criticize a band too much for relying on "hooks" as if its an easy thing to write a song that goes multiple directions all while making sense and finding the "right" parts for a song. Not blaming you in particular for this as I'm just unsure of what you meant exactly.
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02.05.2012 - 21:36
Rating: 8
omjaimes
omjaimes
The highlights: Takao and Broken Jade are perfect!, very good album, the concept of war and kamikazes was developed very well, intense words with intense vocals.
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28.06.2012 - 10:47
Rating: 9
Josh Gottret

I was looking on an average metal page, new bands, searching something that impress me...then I see Chthonic, a melodic black metal band from Taiwan, and I think, wtf is this...TAIWAN???
Hahahahaha!!! Rare, at least from TAIWAN, but after give him a chance watching Broken Jade video I realize that were an amazing band.
I hear the complete album and Chthonic really surprised me, with a harsh voices and awesome erhu (Chinese violin) solos!
After all...I have to say...this is one of the most amazing discoveries that anyone can do!!!
Great band & FUCK'N stunning album!
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15.09.2012 - 22:00
Rating: 7
musicalkaratekid

Not too different to any other Chthonic release, but there does seem to be a bit more emphasis on the Black Metal side of things than on the folk instrumentation. It makes for a very heavy and brutal sound, yet somehow never seems to be too long or too short. The one thing I dislike about this album though is the riffs being a bit generic, giving off the effect that it's actually the folk influences that shine through fully.
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16.11.2012 - 19:54
Neroese
Account deleted
Takao is a love song:D
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12.12.2012 - 17:31
Rating: 8
NocturnalStalker
Metal Addict
Nice album. Though their black metal side is pretty generic most of the times, I think it makes their folk moments shine more. I'd surely give this album a higher rating if the music was more diverse but still Chthonic gets thumbs up from me just for including their ancestors' legacy into their musical palette.
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"And we are not who we think we are
We are who we're afraid to be"
- Lux Occulta "The Opening of Eleventh Sephirah"
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19.05.2015 - 23:29
Rating: 8
chomskeet

Wow, I found this pretty randomly. My girl and I were playing a game, "guess the definition of this Game of Thrones word." She saved them up over a couple books, I only got like 1/3 of them right. Chthonic came up and when I Googled it I saw a metallish-looking video. Not the best shit I've ever heard but hell, where else can you find an ehru, koto, shamisen, tibetan bells, shakuhachi, and pgaki flutes in metal? I'll pick through and keep a bunch of the best songs to loop. I can definitely see a lack of variation in their work, but hey, at least they have a tight niche in my library.
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