Tag Archives: Black Kirin

Black Kirin: Chinese metal on the rise

We all have our perception of China. It’s a vast nation, that has spread over the world and seems to hold many mysteries for us. What most people don’t know, is that it’s also a great place for some good metal music, which started back when Tang Dynasty (not the actual dynasty, but the band), brought the sound to the land of the Red Dragon.

One of the bands, that have been pushing the sound further than ever and also across the boundaries of the nation is Black Kirin. The band revolves around guitarist and songwriter Sen Fang, who started the project back in 2012. He’s been vigorously producing music since, which has yielded 3 full-length albums, 2 EP’s a live record and a series of singles. Black Kirin is now a full-fledged live-band and touring the country. Their last album, named after the ‘Nanking Massacre’, made me want to know more about the group. The album deals with atrocities committed in the city of Nanking, during the second Sino-Japanese War, a black page in history for sure.

Getting in touch with the band was no easy task, but thanks go out to Jiayu for translating and mediating between myself and the band. Also thanks to Sen Fang answering these questions.

Black Kirin from China

Could you tell me a little more about Black Kirin? How did the band get started and how did you guys get into metal?

Black Kirin started as my personal project. It became a formal band in 2015. We mainly just write songs and release them, Black Kirin doesn’t even play lots of shows. Like other people, we know that’s what we wanted when we first heard the metal music.

What bands inspired you to make this sort of music?

We’re happy to use  a variety music (not limited in metal stuff) to describe BK’towork. Besides traditional metal music, Chinese music influences me a lot. The track “Da Qu”(the Great Song) from our latest album is adapted from the work of Chinese folk music composer Jiang Ying. We hope that our music helps draw people’s attention to traditional Chinese music and culture.

What does Black Kirin mean?

Kirin is the name of a patron saint/beast in Chinese Myths, “Ki” refers to the male one and “Rin” refers to the female one. Our materials are based on Chinese history and culture, so here comes the name.

What inspires your music? I hear the metal elements, but it’s so totally different and often so reminiscent of traditional musics. So where do you get all this from?

Our aesthetic and way of thinking about music may be different from traditional metal music. As the traditional music you mentioned, or the folk music, world music, these are all crucial element forming our music.

Do you use any special instruments?

I am good at composition myself, rather than instruments. Besides the “Guzheng”(古筝) and “Erhu”(二胡) we used in our debut album, this time we add “Xun”(埙) in the track “Wangchuan River”. It is a kind of old wind instruments which makes the fantastic feeling we want to put in our music.

To me, when I listen to your music, in particular, your acoustic record, I think its very different and very (if I may be so bold to say it in this manner) Chinese. Can you tell me a bit more about those elements and how you combine them with metal?

When composing, Chinese music elements are avoided to be used as the conventional way in orchestration, otherwise, it will make it stagnated in fusion. Usually, we make it back to our linear music thinking, which we are good at, and then we can make sure any instruments what we use can produce perfect Chinese music. Acoustic instruments appears more like the bridge in our latest album, making the album more complete.

So how do you guys go about making new music, for example, the latest one, titled ‘Nanking Massacre’. How do you start and work together in the writing and recording process?

The project of our latest album started from early 2017, including MIDI, tracks and project management, then we began recording. This album is mainly made by me and the drummer (Sicong Du), I took part of harmony and frame then Sicong improved them. In the end, other members complete their parts.

What can you tell us about the album, its theme, and subject?

Our debut EP album “Nanjing” and two full-length albums are all related to Nanjing Massacre. We would like to pay tribute to victims rather than spread hatred. We also hope that more people will know what happened in Nanjing and understand the meaning of peace.

You’ve been taking a lot of topics from national history. What sort of message are you trying to bring across? Is it simply telling about history, or is there more to it?

Human nature is truly shown in the war environment. So we want to relate to the victims as well as tell the history.

I’ve always understood that there’s quite some censorship in China. Do you guys have to deal with that as a band? Can you freely sing songs about whatever you want? It’s often suggested that China is very closed of from the outside world. Is that so?

Yes, I can. Fortunately, that has changed a lot and it doesn’t have a negative impact on our band operation. It doesn’t seem that hard to spread our music, we are looking forward to making our releases available for fans overseas.

I’m interested how black metal, like the style you’re playing, came around and which bands made it into what it is today.

Strictly speaking, we are not black metal. There are many kinds of metal bands in contemporary Chinese metal scene, each of them has their own style. I would say we are learning from each other.

What future plans does Black Kirin have?

We hope we can arrange more performances and shows, meeting our overseas fans.

If you had to compare Black Kirin to a dish, what would it be and why?

Hot pot, I love it.

Underground Sounds: Black Kirin – Nanking Massacre

Label: Cold Woods Productions
Band: Black Kirin
Origin: China
Black Kirin makes a bold statement with their latest album. Earlier I listened to their acoustic album, which I found rather pleasing, but I can’t use those words when we speak about ‘Nanking Massacre’. The Chinese band appears to be particularly productive, but this takes their expressions a notch upwards.
The ‘Nanking Massacre’ is also dubbed the ‘Rape of Nanking’ and can only be described as one of the great atrocities of history. This is the name for a series of events, following the taking of the Chinese capital of Nanking by Japanese troops in the Second Sino-Japanese War. Earlier I also checked out their ‘Xiao Shiao’ album.
Thunderous metal greets the listener, spiced up with mournful strings from Chinese folk music and the wailing singing associated with the same musical heritage. Combined with the quite heavy, rhythmic music, it offers a quite different listening experience. Another aspect is the operatic sections, but all parts seem to find harmony on this album. Black Kirin uses contrasts for maximum effect.
It’s weird for western listeners probably, to hear radical shifts between classical passages and intense, full on heavy metal. Apparently that’s not such a big deal for bands from the far east. After the melancholy of ‘Da Qu’, you’re thrown into chaos on ‘Evocation’. Blistering, crushing riff work assaults you on ‘II. The Song’, with wild sound effects, singining, and screams. Brutal death metal pounds away, in that typical chaotic manner. Personally not my favorite style, but well fitting in this conceptual display of human horror.
And then there’s calm again with ‘Nai He’. Weary guitar picking and chiming sounds in a more free flowing way, never actually trying to build a song structure. The simple expression is enough to convey thoughts and feelings. I am filled with ideas and thoughts at the end of ‘Thousand Years’, the outro of the album. Again, Black Kirin has enchanted me with an amazing record.

Underground Sounds: Black Kirin – Xiao Shao

Label: self released
Band: Black Kirin
Origin: China

‘Xiao Shao’ is a reference to a musical movement in the mythological Emperor Shun’s time. The album is an acoustic, unplugged version of predecessor ‘National Trauma’. That means this is an almost pure folk ablum delivered by the Chinese group, which is mighty interesting to listen to.

Black Kirin has been around for a while and has members in the ranks that have been active in The Samans, Skeletal Augury and Anthelion for example. China may have one of the most unexplored scnenes, partly thanks to the language barrier, so finding this gem is a greatly exciting thing for me.

The music features traditional instruments and an overal vibe you’d associate with the Chinese sound. Unfortunately my best reference seem to be attractions in theme parks and the Pandaria expansion for World of Warcraft, but the tranquility of the sound, the swooning, wailing instruments (instead of vocals) that take the center stage and the playful, natural way of delivery seems mighty familiar.

Some parts of the album feel more like listening to a Spanish guitar, but what is most stunning is how the beautiful songs emerge when you strip them completely down. Melancholic and fragile, the songs appear to have a strength of their own to them and evoke an imagery that is timeless and unbound by cultural components. It easily fades to the background, but if you focus on the intricate guitar play, this is a marvelous record to experience. The way the songs break down and lift up again, the tremolo guitar and purity of it.

This is some definitely beautiful music from another world. It opens up the roots of the black metal the band creates normally to the listener and it’s a little miracle what you find then.