Metal rock’s beginnings in China can be traced back to the late 80s, when these never-before-heard aggressive sounds arrived in Beijing by way of pioneering bands Black Panther and Tang Dynasty. As it was late in reaching China, the different subgenres of metal—established in Europe and America—became bedrocks on which Chinese bands constructed their own brand of metal. Many bands began looking to add a Chinese spin to metal through the inclusion of traditional Chinese instruments, vocal techniques, and folklore-inspired lyrics. Today, a diverse variety of metal subgenres is on offer throughout the Middle Kingdom. Depending on your open-mindedness and mood, you could be listening to a blues-inspired metal band one night and a pornogrind band spewing the raunchiest lyrics you’ve ever heard the next. No matter your taste, the burgeoning metal scene in China has something for everyone. In this edition of Neocha Roundups, we’re happy to present ten underground Chinese metal acts that we believe deserve some attention.
中国金属乐最早可以追溯至上世纪八十年代末，当时北京的黑豹和唐朝等一批乐队首次将这种激进的音乐形式灌入国内听众的耳蜗。但金属乐在中国起步相对较晚，这种源于欧美的地下音乐流派早已为中国乐队们打下了坚实根基。在那个时期，很多乐队还会尝试融入中国传统乐器、声乐和民俗歌词，打造属于自己的金属之声。现如今，各种金属流派在中国大放异彩，你既可以沉浸在布鲁斯金属的蓝色狂潮中，又可以在色情碾核乐队（Pornogrind）的淫荡词汇下触摸力量，演出的选择完全取决于你个人的心情与喜好。无论你的口味如何，你总能在今天中国新锐的金属摇滚圈子中找到合适的人选。本期 Neocha 精选集，我们挑选了 10 支值得关注的中国地下金属摇滚乐队，一起来看看！
-
Photographer / 摄影师: 耿由然
-
-
Ready to Die
Old School Death Metal
Finding a quality old-school death metal band in China is something of a rarity, and Ready to Die is an even rarer breed, considering the talented female vocalist who drives their sound. Inspired by Floridian death metal bands like Cannibal Corpse, Obituary, and Morbid Angel, Ready to Die was founded in Beijing in 2007 and hold the claim as the first band in the Middle Kingdom to utilize female vocals with a classic American death metal style. The band’s bludgeoning riffs and Chris Barnes-esque, guttural vocal style come together to create a massive, suffocating sound that would impress any death metal purist. While they frequently play festivals in and around the Beijing area, their internet presence, especially an English presence, is minimal. So if you spot their name on the bill, don’t miss out.
Ready to Die
老派死亡金属
高水准的老派死亡金属在国内可谓凤毛菱角，而 Ready to Die 乐队则以女声老式佛罗里达死亡金属风格著称，在圈内显得十分独特。乐队成立于 2007 年的北京，深受 Cannibal Corpse、Obituary 和 Morbid Angel 等乐队风格影响，也是中国第一支由女生担任主唱的佛罗里达死亡金属乐队。乐队的吉他 Riff 拳拳到肉，搭配 Chris Barnes 式的黑暗低吼，营造出令人窒息的现场氛围，令死亡金属爱好者们为之颤栗。虽然乐队经常在北京和周边地区进行音乐活动，但在网络上你却很少看到他们的名字。所以，如果在海报上碰到他们的演出，你可千万别错过了。
（注：吉他 Riff ，用吉他演奏而出的连续、重复的乐句，与鼓点、贝斯共同支撑起整支歌曲的框架。Riff 在摇滚乐，尤其是金属乐中有着大量运用——金属乐最重要的特点就是歌曲是由金属Riff 驱动的。）
The Dark Prison Massacre
Slam/Groove/Grind
Slam riffs and the heaviness of brutal death metal mixed with monstrous vocals and Pantera-esque grooves are the sonic foundations that The Dark Prison Massacre is built on. Formed in 2005, the Tianjin-based band creates songs across a variety of themes, ranging from oppression and brutality to animal cruelty. With venues in Tianjin packed with fans to go ballistic, nobody gets the pits going like these maniacs. Their latest EP Conviction, with the inclusion of Egypt-inspired sounds in their brutal soundscapes, marks a new creative milestone for the band.
暗狱戮尸
重摔/律动/碾核
暗狱戮尸拥有典型重摔金属（Slam Metal）的吉他 Riffs，如同重机枪喷射而出的炮弹，融入犹如泥浆的人声和 Pantera 式的律动气势，构成了这支乐队的间架结构。这支于 2005 年成立于天津的乐队，在音乐中探讨了压迫、野蛮残酷、虐待动物的议题，光从主题上便彰显出肆意的个性，让人群追随极富感染力的强劲音乐，时常带动整个场馆陷入疯狂。乐队最新 EP《Conviction》（缚断罪）在残酷金属摇滚中融入了埃及风格的元素；同时在歌曲《Overtreated Cause Opposited》中，你还会听到雷鬼旋律和 Trap 节奏的混搭，替代了传统金属中的 Breakdown 段落，这些元素是乐队曲风上的一次创新突破。
（注：Breakdown 专指金属歌曲中的桥段，在该段落，原本的音乐节奏被打破，通常以降速的形式演奏，在整首歌中起到承上启下的作用）
-
Photographer / 摄影师: 海淀阑尾
-
-
Scare the Children
Nu Metal/Shock Rock/Horror Metal
Every day is Halloween with Beijing’s Scare the Children. This mask-wearing quartet resembles American shock rock bands Mushroomhead or Slipknot in appearance, but the hard-hitting sounds they have concocted can be as cheery as they are disturbing. The horrific masks they wear pull listeners deeper into their nightmarish soundscapes. Check out their highly theatrical video for “The Seduction of Little Timmy” which according to them, was “inspired by a true story,” and listen to more of their songs below, but if you do, make sure you keep your night light on before going to bed.
吓死宝宝
新金属/休克摇滚/恐怖金属
对于北京的吓死宝宝乐队来说，每天都像万圣节。这支四人乐队平时喜欢带着面具，恐怖的造型像极了电影《万圣节》、《养鬼吃人》中的角色，令人联想到著名休克摇滚（Shock Rock）Mushroomhead 或 Slipknot 等乐队。他们的音乐在轻松与强硬的旋律中扭转，带给听众如影随形的不安感受，而恐怖面具则让人更容易沉浸于音乐所营造的噩梦气氛。歌曲《The Seduction of Little Timmy》的 MV 充满戏剧性，据说“由真实故事改编而成”。一起来听听他们的其他歌曲，不过听完之后，睡前记得把夜灯点亮。
-
Photographer / 摄影师: 海淀阑尾
-
-
-
Never Before
Stoner/Sludge Metal
Being that marijuana is illegal in China, stoner rock isn’t exactly a genre that’s thriving in the country. Nobody seemed to have told Never Before, a band that harkens back to the greats of the genre such as Electric Wizard, Monster Magnet, and Clutch. Still, not lighting up won’t affect the audience’s enjoyment of a Never Before live show. They recently rolled up a fat new EP titled Savage, and as the name implies, it’s a harder-edged version of the band’s sound, featuring chunky, sticky riffs that seem like the sonic equivalent of holding freshly harvested buds.
Never Before
石人/泥浆金属
大麻在中国非法，所以石人金属（Stoner Rock）在中国也相对冷门，似乎并没有太多人提醒过 Never Before 乐队。在这支乐队身上，可以看到诸如 Electric Wizard、Monster Magnet 和 Clutch 等出色石人金属乐队的影子。不过，没有了大麻，也不会影响观众欣赏 Never Before 的现场表演。他们最近推出了新专辑《Savage》，一如其名，这张专辑相比以往展现了更为狂野的音乐风格。沉浸在 Never Before 乐队泥浆般的吉他 Riff，让人如同进入吸食大麻后的迷幻境界。
（注：石人金属，取名自俚语 “Stoner” 意为 “大麻消费者”，同样是以布鲁斯为根基的一种重型音乐风格。其深受六十至八十年代经典重金属的影响，大多以降速的特点为主，同时为吉他加入大量的失真效果，营造出抽离、迷幻的氛围。该风格于九十年代创立，以 Kyuss 等一众乐队将其传播开来。）
-
Photographer / 摄影师: Douzi
-
-
-
Los Crasher
Glam/Hard Rock/Heavy Blues
The Beijing equivalent of LA’s Sunset Strip is perhaps Nanluoguxiang, a series of winding backstreets dotted by bars and live music venues. Here is where you’ll probably find the members of Los Crasher, clad in leather or denim, downing shots of tequila, and flirting with girls. The 80s style of teased hair, bandanas, and tight leather pants as seen in glam-metal bands like Guns and Roses, Motley Crue or Skid Row have returned with Los Crasher, who live by the rebellious mentalities of the genre’s predecessors. They’ve created hard-rocking, harmonica-tinged anthems such as “Tricky Boys Back in Town” and “Smoking Hot Baby” as well as ballads that inspire female fans to throw their bras and scraps of paper with their WeChat IDs onstage. If you catch a show, hang onto your girlfriends.
不速之客
华丽摇滚/硬摇滚/重型布鲁斯
洛杉矶的日落大道，北京的南锣鼓巷。蜿蜒的小巷后街，布满了酒吧和音乐现场。你很有可能会在这里遇到 Los Crasher —— 一帮身着皮衣和牛仔服的家伙们，他们不是正将龙舌兰酒一饮而尽，就是在与姑娘调情。造型上，Los Crasher 重现了八十年代 Guns and Roses、Motley Crue、Skid Row 等一众硬摇滚乐队——蓬松发型、头巾和紧身皮裤。同时音乐上也延续了前辈们反叛的态度们，《Tricky Boys in Town》或《Smoking Hot Baby》等歌曲的强烈摇滚旋律与口琴伴奏，引得女歌迷纷纷往舞台丢下内衣与联系方式，现场记得要看紧你的女朋友！
Borrow the Sound
Industrial Metal/Electronic
Borrow the Sound is a mad scientist cooking up an avant-garde style of industrial metal. Donning a lab coat on stage, his live performances are backed by ear-grating electronic sounds, explosive guitar riffs, and unhinged vocalizations. He is routinely booked with metal bands to mixed results: at times, audience members may seem less than enthused, but others, they dance and scream along with his experimental take on metal.
借走声音
工业金属/电音
舞台上，“借走声音” 总是一位身穿白大褂的科学怪人，他狂乱地调制出前卫与工业并重的金属气息，往往以刺耳的电子声效、爆炸式的吉他 Riff、古怪的人声征服台下观众。“借走声音” 常邀请金属乐队参与他的演出，每次的表演气氛也不太一样：有时观众们不为所动，有时又会跟着他的实验性音乐一起狂舞、呐喊。
-
Photographer / 摄影师: 耿由然
-
-
-
Dream Spirit
Folk Metal
With 5,000 years of history, musicians have a lot to draw from when incorporating ancient Chinese culture into their musical output. Dream Spirit is one of the best examples of a band that takes the finer points of Chinese history and puts it to exciting use, resulting in a distinctive sound that’s struck a chord with metalheads across the country. Routinely booked as headliners for the annual 330 Metal Fest in Beijing, Dream Spirit gets the crowd singing along with five albums’ worth of folklore-inspired melodies. Their latest, Warriors of Heaven’s Descend, is similarly filled with anthems that fans can shout along with.
梦灵乐队
民谣金属
对许多音乐创作者而言，中国五千年历史为他们提供了许多音乐创作的元素。梦灵乐队是在这方面做得相当出色的乐队之一，他们将中国鼓点元素融入摇滚旋律，形成别具特色的音乐风格，引起众多中国金属摇滚爱好者的共鸣。梦灵乐队至今已经发行 5 张专辑，并经常受邀作为北京 330 金属音乐节的压轴阵容。现场表演时，总能引发台下观众大合唱的场面。他们的最新单曲《神兵》同样如此，充满大量的中国民乐色彩，碰撞出朗朗上口的旋律。
-
Images Courtesy of Rectal Wench / 图片由 Rectal Wench 提供
-
-
-
Rectal Wench
Goregrind
Wearing butcher’s aprons and luchador masks, Rectal Wench flies the flag of goregrind. Inspired by bands like Gut and named after a song by Lividity, the band thrives on repugnance, mashing together nasty lyrics and dissonant sounds to make something devastatingly heavy and aesthetically revolting. With their live shows, the phrase “beauty is in the eye of the beholder” has never been truer.
䐈腸荡婦
血碾
屠夫围裙和摔角手面具，单听到这个造型就令人不寒而栗。䐈腸荡婦乐队就和他们的名字一样，血腥又带有几分情色，挥舞着血碾音乐（Goregrind）的旗帜。乐队深受 Gut 等情色碾前辈启发，取名自著名金属核乐队 Lividity 的同名歌名。他们风格粗暴恶俗，将大胆的歌词与不和谐的声音相结合，形成极具毁灭性的音乐，打造令人反感的美学主义。“情人眼里出西施”或许是对他们现场乐迷的最佳诠释。
Punisher
Thrash Metal
The thrash scene in China is something fierce, with several beer-guzzling, fast-tempo bands instigating audiences to do laps until they vomit in the circle pit. A band such as Jinzhou’s Punisher—with its speedy instrumentation, shrieked vocals, and buzzsaw riffs—does just as their name indicates: punish the listener. This band takes a no-nonsense, gimmick-less approach to the style, taking cues from classic 80s thrash acts like Annihilator or Kreator. When the instruments break down and the monstrous crescendo hits, audience members lock arms and swing their hair in unison, headbanging with enough force to seemingly power a small wind turbine.
判官乐队
激流金属
中国激流金属摇滚场景异常凶猛，大伙儿用啤酒灌注狂欢，在乐队的煽动下围成一圈，直到呕吐才肯罢休，于是“判官”驾到，预惩戒在场所有人的耳膜。像那些经典的激流金属乐队一样，这支来自辽宁锦州的乐队拥有超高速的乐器演奏、尖叫的人声和电锯一般的吉他 Riff，激流味儿纯正。因此，你会听到像 Annihilator 和 Kreator 等 80 年代经典的声音。当他们的音乐进入 Breakdown 段落，乐器再度将巨大声场层层垒砌，乐迷们手挽手，整齐划一地扑甩着头发，整幅画面就像一座小型的风力发电装置。
-
Photographer / 摄影师: 陈悦湘
-
-
-
Black Kirin
Blackened Folk Metal
Black Kirin, with the addition of a new vocalist, has evolved into a blackened metal band while still maintaining the Chinese folk influences that fans have come to know them for. Their songs often deal with Chinese history: an entire album was even devoted to the brutal Nanking Massacre of WWII. Their latest single, Qinhuai, being their most musically complex work so far, is a 12-minute-long track with no repeating chord progressions. On stage, they pile on the theatrics that’s expected of black metal: corpse paint, capes and cowls are all par for the course. Black Kirin is a spellbinding band made for fans of Cradle of Filth, Emperor, and Dark Funeral.
黑麒麟
民谣黑金属
加入新主唱的黑麒麟已然成为一支黑金属乐队，但最为人熟知的中国民乐元素仍然被保留下来。他们的音乐常常与中国历史文化有关，其中包括一张以第二次世界大战的南京大屠杀为主题创作的专辑。最新单曲《秦淮》是他们迄今为止最复杂的作品，歌曲长达 12 分钟，全程无重复的和弦行进。舞台上，他们穿着戏剧性造型：屍装、斗篷和头罩，以中国传统方式诠释黑金属的舞台作派。如果你是 Cradle of Filth、Emperor 和 Dark Funeral 的粉丝，绝对不能错过黑麒麟乐队！
