Doris Yeh

Queens of Rock: Chthonic’s Doris Yeh

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takasago armyChthonic: Takasago Army (Spinefarm, 7/6/11)

“Takao”

Chthonic: “Takao”

Since the late 1990s, Hsiang-Yi “Doris” Yeh has served as the leader and bassist of Chthonic, a Taiwanese metal outfit that utilizes the traditional Asian erhu. The band shreds, but its members have a more important mission: supporting internationally recognized independence for Taiwan from the People’s Republic of China.

The members have been a voice for Tibetan freedom as well — vocalist Freddy Lim, who doubles as the chairman of Amnesty International Asia Pacific, met with the Dalai Lama in 2009 in advance of a “Free Tibet” benefit concert — and they remain outspoken in support of the Uyghur people of China.

That would be solid enough as a day job, but Ms. Yeh, who has appeared on the cover of GQ Taiwan, also moonlights as a sex symbol. Maybe China should rethink that whole blacklisting thing…

Doris Yeh

The Locust

Review: The Locust’s Molecular Genetics from the Gold Standard Labs

The Locust: Molecular Genetics from the Gold Standard LabsThe Locust: Molecular Genetics from the Gold Standard Labs (Anti-)

“Perils of Believing in Round Squares”

The Locust: “Perils of Believing in Round Squares”

Somebody got new-wavey B-movie camp in with my grindcore. Somebody got grindcore in with my new-wavey B-movie camp!

No matter one’s perspective, The Locust is a band so unique and without peer that listeners are hard pressed to forget their first experience. Take a grindcore/power-violence base and add sci-fi synths, brilliant costumes, and humorous/asinine song titles (often in questionable taste), and boom: The Locust.

Feistodon

You be the DJ: Feistodon’s “A Commotion”

Mastodon and Feist’s split seven-inch is finally available digitally as of today. Even better: you can watch the new tag-team video for “A Commotion,” as covered by Mastodon, and crossfade between the synchronized versions.

Nachtmystium

Review: Nachtmystium’s Silencing Machine

Nachtmystium: Silencing MachineNachtmystium: Silencing Machine (Century Media, 7/31/12)

“Borrowed Hope and Broken Dreams”

Nachtmystium: “Borrowed Hope and Broken Dreams”

Silencing Machine, Nachtmystium’s sixth full-length album, re-embraces the traditional Norwegian black-metal sound of its early efforts. The band’s first recordings were Darkthrone covers at heart, but by the time of Instinct: Decay in 2006, it had traded minimalism for riff salads and more textured songs. The Black Meddle series, consisting of Assassins (2008) and Addicts (2010), was purposefully experimental, drawing comparisons to Pink Floyd and Ministry.

Now Nachtmystium takes the lessons learned from experimentation and applies them to the conventional black-metal language of moveable minor chords and tremolo picking.