Review Summary: The death metal bards of the Sun Moon Lake have arrived at our village on the back of a dragon. Let's jam.
(The following concept review is for the album Heisen Monogatari by the Taiwanese death metal band Bloody Tyrant)
My village is often visited by traveling bards from faraway lands. More often than not, the bards who wander into my village arrive on horseback, carrying nothing more than a lute or a lyre. Ever since I was a young lad, I have been captivated by the bards who visit my village and perform in the village square. I am always entranced by the songs these bards sing about their homelands: from the Elven bards of the Northern Isles who recite epic poetry in their songs, with tales of heroism and triumph, to the Fauns of the West, whose bards perform heartbreaking, harp-driven ballads that tell of the tragic fate that befell their kingdom at the hands of the murderous Orcs. Most recently, our village was visited by a group of bards who call themselves “The Bards of the Sun Moon Lake.” The day this group of bards arrived at our village is a day I will never forget.
The Bards of the Sun Moon Lake arrived at my village in the early hours of the morning. I was sleeping soundly when I was suddenly awoken by a loud, booming sound coming from outside my cottage. As soon as I stepped outside, it became clear that the noise was coming from overhead. I looked up towards the sky, and I truly could not believe what I had just laid my eyes upon. Could my eyes be deceiving me? I blinked twice, looked up towards the sky once more, and for the second time, I behold the sight of a ferocious dragon, massive in size, its mouth open in mid-roar, flying towards my village at a shocking speed. I stood there, mesmerized by the sight; I had heard legends of dragons since childhood, but had never seen one in person before. Seconds later, every resident of my village, from the richest noblemen to the poorest of peasants, were all stepping outside their abodes to view the breathtaking sight in the morning sky.
As my fellow villagers and I stood there, watching the massive dragon fly closer and closer to our village, the village wizard suddenly appeared before us in a puff of smoke. “Hark!” shouted the village wizard, “Tis the dragon known as Bloody Tyrant! It hails from the distant land of Sun Moon Lake. But fear not, good people! I sense that Bloody Tyrant is not here to harm us. If this dragon wanted to harm us, it would have burned down our entire village by now! Nay, I sense that Bloody Tyrant is here for a different purpose, indeed.”
Suddenly, the dragon swooped downwards, landing down in the market square in a surprisingly graceful manner. Without hesitation, I ran as fast as I could from my cottage to the market square at the center of the village. Within seconds, I was standing face-to-face with the dragon known as Bloody Tyrant. There it was: undoubtedly the largest beast I have ever seen. Moments later, a group of six hooded figures, each draped in long, black cloaks, emerged from the back of the dragon. At first, it appeared that each of the hooded figures were carrying weapons in their hands. Many villagers began screaming and running away in fear as the six figures dismounted the dragon and stood together in unison. However, most of us in the village stood there silently, transfixed by the terrifying sight in front of us. As I stared at the hooded figures, I had a sudden realization: they were carrying musical instruments, not weapons! I recalled the legends of the bardic art form known as Melodic Death Metal, with its electricity-powered guitars and growl-based oration. I knew now that the six hooded figures who had arrived on the back of a fearsome dragon were, in fact, a group of bards. Death metal bards from a distant land!
“We are the bards of the Sun Moon Lake.” announced one of the hooded figures. I recognized that this bard was the vocalist of the group, as she was carrying a microphone, the great amplifier of voices, in her hand. On one side of the vocalist stood two bards wielding electric guitars, and on the other side stood a bard with a bass guitar. To my surprise, the bard standing beside the bassist was carrying a beautiful instrument known as a pipa. While I have heard many bards perform with a pipa before, I had no idea this instrument could be incorporated into the musical art form of melodic death metal. Behind the five others was a bard sitting at a set of percussive instruments which can be drummed upon (a “drum set”, if you will). The dragon, the mighty protector of this group, remained behind the bards at all times.
Without saying another word, the group began to perform. My fellow villagers and I watched in awe as the bards performed eight epic ballads in the style of melodic death metal. The ensuing performance was 35 minutes long, consisting of eight songs which were performed in rapid succession. It was a relentlessly exciting experience from beginning to end. During each song, the vocalist screamed ferociously and growled harshly as the two guitarists shredded and riffed, with the drummer blasting away and providing each song with an intense drumbeat. The pipa was utilized to great effect throughout the performance. At times, the pipa player simply watched the other bards perform, as if she was waiting for the best moment to strike. However, during most of the performance, the pipa-wielding bard was playing her instrument to her heart’s content; her pipa melodies injecting a palpable folklorish charm into each song that would not be present otherwise. The sound of the pipa being strummed and plucked simultaneously with the guitars and drums was a brilliant juxtaposition. By combining elements of traditional pipa music with melodic death metal instrumentation, the group was able to create an atmospheric soundscape throughout the entire performance.
The eight songs performed by the Bards of the Sun Moon Lake seemed to perfectly encapsulate the music and myths of their homeland. Over the course of their performance, the vocalist captivated us all with stories of an ancient kingdom located in a distant archipelago. The lyrics delivered by the vocalist throughout the performance describe, in vivid detail, the story of an empire, founded upon a lush archipelago, and the bloody conflict between two opposing emperors who waged a century-long war over control of the beautiful island kingdom.
“Beneath the weight of imperial dreams, the island’s heart silently screams!” shouts the vocalist with undeniable passion on the opening song, “要塞”. Through vicious screams, deep growls, and passionate shouts, the vocalist demonstrated her wide-ranging vocal abilities on each song. In fact, each bard showcased their remarkable skills at their respective instruments throughout the performance. The two guitarists impressed us all with their solos and riffage, which varied in intensity from song-to-song. On the song “神宮”, the two guitarists deliver their most memorable performance, with one guitarist shredding aggressively, in typical death metal fashion, while the other plays a melodic riff at the same time. This same dynamic between the two guitarists appears on each of the songs, but it is an interesting dynamic that never gets old.
In one of the most shocking moments of the performance, the two guitarists placed their electric guitars down onto the ground at the start of the song “宮城事件”. After a moment of silence, both guitarists reached their arms up towards the morning sky. Suddenly, a flash of light appeared, rendering all of us villagers momentarily blind. When our vision collectively recovered, we were stunned to see that the guitarists were now holding acoustic guitars in their hands. Even more surprising, three ghostly figures had appeared above the wings of the dragon, who was still perched menacingly on the ground behind the group of bards. I recognized that two of these ghosts were holding the sacred instrument known as the violin, while the other ghost grasped an unholy cello in its skeletal hands. Judging by the instruments they were carrying, I quickly realized that these ghostly figures were nothing short of a small, undead orchestra. Before I could fully comprehend the sight in front of me, the guitarists began playing a traditional-sounding acoustic melody. Seconds later, the orchestra of ghosts began to play. The ghostly orchestral melodies provided a fitting backdrop to the acoustic guitar playing in the forefront of the song. As the orchestral melodies begin to crescendo, a beautiful soundscape is created by the group. I found myself so immersed in the song’s atmosphere, I had momentarily forgotten that I had been listening to a death metal performance in the first place. When the group suddenly returned to playing death metal, I found it to be quite the jump scare!
Following “宮城事件”, the most melodic number of the entire performance, the group delivers their most intense song yet. Kicking off with an aggressive drum solo, the following song, “再見,軍國” sees each bard dialing up the intensity of their performances as much as possible. The song features the most brutal riffs of the entire performance and a drumbeat that is absolutely crushing. At first, the song seems to be the group’s most straightforward death metal number. However, once the pipa melody is introduced into the song after its first minute, the tune quickly transforms into a distinct blend of traditional folk music and melodic death metal. The performance of the pipa player truly blew my mind on this song, with the pipa taking center stage amidst all the other instruments blasting away at my ears. Never in my entire life could I have imagined that a pipa could be utilized as the dominant instrument in a metal song, but evidently, the collective imagination of the Bards of the Sun Moon Lake knew no such bounds. In the forefront of this incredibly intense instrumental, the vocalist screams out an epic poem concerning the mythological realm of Takamagahara. “Wars!” the vocalist shouts over the pipa-driven instrumental. With the song building to a powerful climax, the vocalist suddenly steps forwards and runs towards the crowd of us villagers. Standing directly in front of us, the vocalist falls to her knees and raises her fists in the air. Suddenly, the dragon points its head upwards and begins breathing fire up towards the sky, with a huge beam of fire shooting out of the dragon’s mouth and nostrils. As this impressive display of pyrotechnics commenced, the vocalist suddenly grabbed the microphone and screamed out the most powerful lyrics of the entire performance: “Wars came! Shadows fell! Those dreams were silenced by death’s knell!”
On “遙望義”, the closing song performed by the bards, the group ends their performance on a dark and ominous note. The song concludes with an extremely chaotic instrumental, culminating in a lightning-fast guitar solo. During the song, the vocalist describes the graphic aftermath of a bloody war that ravaged their homeland and caused widespread devastation to the people of the Sun Moon Lake. “The air reeked of blood, metallic and thick!” the vocalist shouts as the instrumental intensifies. Over the high-pitched screeching of the sustained final note of the guitar solo, a series of echoey spoken-word vocals can be heard, with disturbing lyrics regarding the grim reality of war. Poetically, the vocalist concludes the performance by declaring that war is a “crimson ballet” in which innocent people are forced to “dance to a savage hymn”.
The moment the performance came to a close, I immediately took a deep breath, as I felt that I had not properly breathed for the past 35 minutes. In fact, it seemed as if the entire performance had flown by in the blink of an eye. Apparently, the performance was the ideal length of time. At no point during any of the songs did I find myself to be bored or disengaged, and when the performance ended, I felt that the group had successfully communicated a substantial amount of information about their homeland. It was truly an unforgettable experience. Decades later, the people of my village still anxiously await the return of Bloody Tyrant, the magnificent fire-breathing dragon, and the Bards of the Sun Moon Lake, who riveted us all with their unique take on melodic death metal music. In time, the performance delivered by the Bards of the Sun Moon Lake became known colloquially as
Heisen Monogatari. As the village scribe, I will inevitably be tasked with writing another critical assessment of the group when they finally return to our village for a follow-up performance. Reviewing the music of bards is my duty as the village scribe, but when it comes to groups such as the Bards of the Sun Moon Lake, it is also my honor.
