When East Meets West: Metal in the Orient

The metal community is known for being opinionated to the extreme, highly polarized and deeply divided on just about everything.

(Swedish) death or (Norwegian) black?

Sabbath, Maiden or Priest?

Metallica or Megadeth?

To core or not to core, that is the question.

Satan: good, bad, or not real?

"No, you buffoon! [x band] plays [y subgenre], not [z subgenre]!"

Whether or not these ubiquitous questions and statements are always answered amicably or accepted definitively is quite beside the point. The responses to such things are not particularly important, contrary to what many would have you believe. The overarching theme here is that there is a mentality of seeking to establish forced hierarchies in the metal community, mostly between subgenres and between bands. The culture is such that contrarianism is consistently mistaken for individualism. Some metalheads take perverse pride in enjoying hotly debated music that other metalheads don't consider to be metal. On the flip side, many metalheads put their preferred bands and subgenres on an impossibly high pedestal and refuse to let anything approach it.

However, one thing that has been consistent about the evolution of metal is that it has been largely rooted in the traditions of western music, both art and popular. In the last two decades, after the main subgenres had been firmly established, there has been interest in infusing traditional melodies with the music in the form of folk metal, but even within this subgenre, it has mostly been an eclectic but consistent mix of occidental cultures (Celtic, Iberian, Scandinavian, Germanic, Slavic) trying to honour their roots through the dissonant sound of metal.



So what happens when metal crosses over to the Orient? At first, not much.

The majority of metal bands from Asia merely play music in the same style as their American and European counterparts. Well-known names like Dir En Grey, X Japan, and Artcell fall into this category. While some of them experimented with their music in the sense of leaving the bounds of what is traditionally considered "metal" and incorporating (usually) softer sounds, there was never much that pegged their sound as uniquely "eastern".

However, parallel to the development of those bands, and perhaps lagging slightly behind, another style began to emerge. Starting with pioneers in the vein of Tang Dynasty, metal bands in the east began to include traditional melodies, instruments, lyrics, and vocal styles from their own cultures to the mix. It can be hard to classify all of them as the degree to which they use traditional elements varies widely, but what follows are several examples of prominent cases that I believe the larger metal world needs to see.

Black Kirin, from Changchun, China.


WagakkiBand, from Japan


Voodoo Kungfu, originally from Beijing, now based in L.A.


Nine Treasures, from Inner Mongolia


Gostwind, from South Korea



So, back on topic. What happens when metalheads stop trying to make everything a "this vs. that" discussion?

Some good shit.

A Chinese Canadian Metalhead's Experience in Norway

When my interest in the subgenre first began to take root, I never expected to one day visit the birthplace of the notorious Norwegian black metal scene. And yet here I am, 3 months into an exchange semester at the Norwegian School of Economics in Bergen, having gained far more of value from my late-night trips to metal bars in the city center than I have in dozens of lectures that blended together in one tedious mix.

What follows here is an attempt to gather my thoughts on the metal scene here in Bergen, with particular emphasis on my experience as a metalhead and how it contrasts with my experience as an exchange student in a relatively homogeneous society.

The Fantoft Stavkirke - allegedly burned down by Varg Virkernes and subsequently rebuilt.

When engaging in a discussion about metal, I have always advocated for the idea that the music is inextricably linked to the subculture and the sense of family around it. This feeling of camaraderie with people whom I often had little else in common with was frankly not something I expected to find to the same extent when I decided to come to Norway.

I am quite glad to say that I was wrong.

As an exchange student, I have made lots of friends over the last 3 months. By and large, these friendships fell into place in the manner one would expect; international and exchange students living together in the same housing complex, taking the same classes, attending the same events and parties, drinking the same expensive-but-shit beer, and so on. It would be depressing to mention the number of Norwegian friends I have made among the host university students (hint: I need only one hand to count 'em). And to a large extent, I think this has been the same experience for my cohorts. It has proven difficult to facilitate meaningful interaction between Norwegian students and exchange students. By which I mean the kind of interaction that allows one party to greet the other the next morning without one of them returning it with a quizzical expression - "do I know you?" There are obviously exceptions, but my relationships with Norwegian students have largely amounted to two things: having to work on an assignment together, and them mistaking me for Steve Aoki. Thankfully, the two don't tend to coincide. None of this, of course, is the fault of the school, the country or the people. It's a pattern that I have observed at home in Canada as well. It was as if the exchange students and host school students simply withdrew into their own alternate but bordering realities once the welcome week was over.

By contrast, the friendships I have forged with local Norwegians at metal shows or just hanging out at the local bars have been both fruitful and engaging. The very first concert I attended here was Beyond the Gates: Bjørgvin Black Mass, Bergen's own annual celebration of underground metal. I went with a fellow exchange student, a French girl, and there we had the chance to chat with various metalheads from all over the continent and all walks of life, locals included. One of the most amusing memories for me was every time there was an intermission between the bands, when the teeming black mass (pun intended) of humanity swarmed out over the docks around the venue like a tumour, earning nervous glances from Friday afternoon restaurant-goers. It was here at this event that I began to feel that "home" could be anywhere for me, as long as there was a metal community. This was also the event at which I met Gaahl from Gorgoroth, a legend in the Norwegian black metal scene. The Norwegian metalheads assured me that it was no big deal, that Gaahl lived in Bergen and that he had come to see and support Mayhem, another big name in black metal. Or at least, they tried to assure me. I was still pleasantly shocked about meeting Gaahl several days later.

Revenge - blackened death metal from Canada. Thoroughly enjoyed their set, but amusing how I saw them for the first time on this side of the world.

The next show was a markedly different, but also pleasant experience. I went alone to see ARVAS and Among Gods, local bands, at Inside Rock Cafe. Two Norwegian girls who had come to support their drummer friend in Among Gods started chatting to me and introduced me to some of the other concertgoers and we had a fun night just drinking and enjoying the music. Sad to say, I can put names to their faces better than to many of the Norwegian students I have seen around here for 3 months.

ARVAS

After that was Vinterbris, Once Awake, and Fleshmeadow at Det Akademiske Kvarter, another lone-wolf experience that turned out to be my ticket into a different world than the one I had experienced up to then. When Once Awake gave the audience a ripping rendition of a Sepultura medley, I couldn't resist going up for a fist-bump and a congratulatory remark. This led to a brief conversation in which I introduced myself to Frode Hennoe, frontman of Once Awake. It was another fun concert night, but the significance of it would only become clear later.

Once Awake. Chinese guy with the glasses and long hair in the crowd, that's yours truly.

The Storm Over Bergen show happened on a Thursday, at the legendary Garage bar. The bands in attendance that night were Tessia, Psykopath, Shattered Society, and Istarn, none of whom I knew. Going in, there was nothing remarkable about the experience other than the fact that I was once again attending with my unlikely partner in crime from France. We had tentatively planned for 3 consecutive nights of concerts starting with Storm Over Bergen. After Psykopath blew us away, between Shattered Society and Istarn's set, I recognized Frode from Once Awake in the crowd next to me. To my surprise, he remembered me as well. Upon hearing that I was studying marketing at NHH, he asked me to help promote his band abroad. After the show, he took my friend and I backstage to meet the bands.

Istarn

It was mind-boggling how we could be worshiping these musical deities on the stage one minute, and drinking with them on the couch in the next. Suddenly your gods become your friends. You hear them give their opinions about politics, bitch about beer prices, the weather, and all sorts of mundane things you yourself would use to start a conversation. We had so much fun that my friend left her umbrella in the backstage area and we missed the last bus back to our student residence. Walking back while tipsy and awe-struck at what we had just experienced proved to be a surprisingly pleasant trip.

The next night, Friday the 13th, was when SIBIIR and the famous Enslaved were playing at Garage. Enslaved proved to be everything their reputation said they would be. My friend had the genius idea of using her lost umbrella as an excuse to go backstage again. Sure enough, we managed to have a nice long chat with Arve Isdal, Enslaved's guitarist, before we felt we had overstayed our welcome and left.

The legendary Enslaved

The third consecutive concert never happened, because my body had had enough and both my French friend and I agreed that there was simply no way to top our experiences the preceding two nights.

And one of the more strange coincidences in my life, though only tangentially related to my overall point about metal, happened again at Garage, at a Halloween party. This time I went with my metalhead friend again, but also a Chinese girl who was merely curious about Halloween parties in Norway and had nothing to do with metal. At the bar, we met a Norwegian and his Chinese wife who came from my home city in China: Shenyang. We found out that he had been more or less the typical Norwegian metalhead back in the day, and hanging out at Garage was somewhat of a trip down memory lane. An altogether odd but stimulating conversation ensued in which I attempted to practice my French, Mandarin and Norwegian. The couple were planning to open an Asian restaurant here in Bergen, and wanted our input. So up we got up and went to their apartment where we were treated to some great lamian noodles. We ended up blasting music so loud in the middle of the night, we disturbed the disgruntled neighbours - nobody had noticed the window was open.

These experiences were all valuable and memorable for me in their own ways, and they are by far the highlights of my short stint in Norway. The unifying thread was the presence of other metalheads. Now more than ever, I appreciate the role of this beautiful, cacophonous library of sounds from the dark side, and how it can bring me closer to people in ways that otherwise would be unimaginable.

So my thoughts on the Bergen metal scene?

The reputation is well deserved, but one truly has to be here and get up close and personal - like I was at every show - to understand just what makes this community so close-knit and strong. The enduring popularity of the music and its adherents is a strong affirmation of Ronnie James Dio's declaration - "metal will never die" - that will echo throughout eternity.

Perhaps the most metal monument ever.