A re-post for some of you, enhanced with commentary from Professor Nigel Smythen-Wesson.
In honor of Metal Skool's becoming a distance program with our Chinese affiliate, I wanted to focus on the metal stylings of China and Japan. This is also a really learning opportunity for me as I know close to nothing about the Chinese music scene. I also wish to welcome professors Nigel Smythen-Wesson and Holly Diver to Metal Skool.
China
Here's a real gap in my personal knowledge, which is odd as I'm familiar with most other aspects of Chinese culture; religion, history, film, philosophy - but musically it's a big blank spot.
So, China really came into the rock scene through a fellow named Cui Jian, who first introduced "Chinese shaking and rolling music." Also referred to occasionally by language, Cantorock and Mandorock, depending on the form sung by the performers.
Not really metal, per se, but Cui Jian can't be excluded from the conversation. Note that in the second one clip he dons a red blindfold - that's in protest of Tiananmen Square.
Tang Dynasty
These boys are a bit more metal, in a folk-prog kind of vein:
August and Spring
Ululate
Some nasty Black Metal
Japan
Here's a scene I was a bit more familiar with prior to, having given me two of my absolute favorites. Boris and Sigh.
Boris
These guys do a bit of everything. I mentioned them last week as being part of the "Hipster Metal" crowd, placed there largely because they're not exclusively metal - they branch out into pop, electro, and punk. That said, their album "Pink" is pretty crunchy.
here's a sweet collab they did with Sunn O)))
Sigh
Okay, so Black Metal's roots are in Viking lands, but Sigh really showed the West what the East was capable of.
\m/
Prof. Organgrinder
Good morning class, as a new member of the teaching brood here at Metal Skool, allow me a quick introduction. My name is Professor Nigel Smythen-Wesson.
A bit of background on me, I am the product of superior breeding, parents of considerable means. During my youth as a fancy lad, I was assigned to the watch of a butler by the name of Handsome Anthony. He was a lazy, oafish man of such inferior lineage that he proved unable to perform even the most menial of tasks such as properly cleaning my sock garters or washing commoners tears from my finer dressing gowns. A quick anecdote from my days with Anthony, there was a Spring day where this boorish pig of a man had misplaced my Christening wig and attempted to replace it with an unacceptable knock-off. My punishment for Anthony was to force him to run rickshaw through the grounds of our compound with me and my friend Marquis Marque aboard the contraption...oh the times we had.
But I digress, this man may not have been completely worthy of being in my presence but he did spend our days together passing on his unequaled knowledge of the devil's song. These lessons are what I intend to pass to you, the students, the future. To be honest, I do not truly believe that you are the future; that distinction belongs to hovercraft technology. Now, on with the lessons...
I would like to post an addendum to what Professor Organgrinder has taught here today. Loudness could very easily be considered the most influential of the Japanese metal bands. Dating back over 30 years now, they took from American Glam metal but mixed it very liberally with NWOBHM. Here is their video for Crazy Nights from the Thunder in the East record (I had it on tape, showing my age).
Japanese metal fans have been very fervent and very specific about who they follow, turning bands such as Y&T and Tygers of Pan Tang into superstars in the Land of the Rising Sun.
Enjoy.
Prof. Smythen-Wesson
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