Chthonic (band)

Chthonic
Chthonic performing at Wacken Open Air, Germany, 2012
Born	Taiwan
Years active	1995–present
Awards	Golden Melody Awards – 2003 Best Band[1] 2019 Best Band
Chinese name
Traditional Chinese	閃靈
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin shǎn líng
Musical career
Origin	Taiwan
Genres	Blackened death metal melodic death metal[2] symphonic black metal[3] folk metal Oriental metal
Labels	Spinefarm (Universal Music)
Members	Freddy Lim Doris Yeh Jesse Liu Dani Wang CJ Kao
Website	Official website

Chthonic (styled as ChthoniC or ChThoniC) is a Taiwanese heavy metal band, formed in 1995 in Taipei. They have been called "the Black Sabbath of Asia."^[4][5] The group incorporates influences from traditional Taiwanese music, including adaptations of folk songs and the use of traditional instruments, most notably the erhu (often called the hiân-á [絃仔] in the band's native Taiwanese Hokkien).^[6] Their stated goal is to use their music to bring ancient history and mythology into the modern era especially to build awareness of the myths of Taiwan and tragic events in that country's history (for example, those experienced by the Seediq people).^[7]

Since 2011 their trademark erhu has been complemented with stringed instruments including the koto and shamisen, as well as Tibetan Bells and shakuhachi and Seediq hunting flutes (Chinese: 獵首笛), the last of which are traditionally used by the indigenous people of Taiwan.^[8] The band members are also acclaimed artists and political activists who advocate independence for Taiwan and self-determination for Tibetans and Uighurs. Singer Freddy Lim served as Chairman of the Taiwan chapter of Amnesty International from 2010 to 2014 and has been a legislator since 2016, first representing the New Power Party before becoming an independent. Since their formation, Chthonic has released eight studio albums. The most recent of which, Battlefields of Asura, was released in October 2018.