Laang 冷 Share 10 Taiwanese Metal Bands You Should Know About

This should go without saying, but heavy metal is more than the Euro-centric look that mainstream media wants to portray it as. Because for every pasty, lanky Scandinavian in corpse paint or denim jacket-clad long-haired dude blasting Metallica there’s legions of metal fans in the rest of the world that infuse their lived experiences and cultures into the genre.

Case and point — Laang 冷 — a Taiwanese black metal band that exclusively sings in Mandarin and incorporates traditional instruments. Sure, their music still has brutal guitars and thundering blast beats, but this flavor of black metal is certainly different from Western black metal.

With a new album coming out this Friday titled Riluo, which you can preorder now, the band has opted to bring attention to the metal their fellow countrymen and women have been making for years. What follows is 10 Taiwanese metal bands that Laang 冷 thinks the MetalSucks readers should know more about.

Chthonic 閃靈

It’s impossible to make a list about great metal bands from Taiwan without including Chthonic. Since 1995 they’ve been a driving force for putting Taiwanese metal and culture on the map globally. Not only have they inspired entire generations of Taiwanese musicians to form metal bands themselves, they’ve also been consistently vocal musical and political advocates for Taiwanese identity, independence, and cultural recognition. If you’re not listening to Chthonic already, what the hell are you doing?

Efflore 白華

Efflore is quickly becoming one of the most locally-recognized names in Taiwanese black metal. Their songwriting and musicianship is incredible, and their performances are theatrical spectacles to behold. Their songs are inspired by local ghost stories, and represent the darker side of Taiwanese folklore. We actually released a collaboration song with Efflore in 2021 called 在​海​浪​之​下 because we love their music so much! 

Crescent Lament 恆月三途

Crescent Lament is a fantastic local folk metal band that will be loved by fans of Chthonic and Black Kirin. They utilize a wider range of folk instruments and musical techniques than Chthonic and will be enjoyed by anyone who enjoys the intersection between traditional Asian folk music and melodic metal. While less recognized internationally, we strongly believe they deserve the attention of listeners globally for their skillful composition and loving representation of Taiwanese culture in their music.

Burning Island 火燒島

Burning Island is Taiwan’s greatest thrash metal band. Their tracks are as catchy and headbangable as they are politically and socially inspiring. Burning Island is the soundtrack likely to be chosen by Taiwanese independence metalheads while tearing down a statue of Chiang Kai-shek. Even Chthonic is fans of Burning Island! You should be too.

Black Deities Cruiser 黑王船

Black Deities Cruiser are newcomers to the Taiwanese metal scene and are currently quite underground. While the band only has one track online and 7 monthly listeners on Spotify (me and Willy are 2 of them), they’re quite a hidden gem. They are in the recording stage currently for their upcoming album with a focus on technical death metal and incorporating orchestral elements in the vein of Revocation and Fleshgod Apocalypse. While much is still a mystery about this band, I’m excited to see where this they go next, and hopefully you can watch them on their way up!

Bloody Tyrant 暴君

It feels strange putting our bassist’s other band on this list, but the fact is I was a fan of Bloody Tyrant for years before I asked Willy to be part of the band! In fact, their song “落雨賦 Ode To The Falling Rain” was the final push that inspired me to create Laang. So, they rightfully deserve a place on this list. Bloody Tyrant is a phenomenal folk metal band that has seen growing success in Western countries. Their composition is beautiful, their folk instrumentation is perfect, and their professionalism and performances are top-notch. I can’t recommend them enough.

MakeMake 麥琪麥琪

I know any genre ending in “core” usually makes elitists roll their eyes. But we don’t care. MakeMake is killer. All-woman bands are disappointingly rare to find, but MakeMake is a gem that makes them stand out from the rest. Even if metalcore and deathcore aren’t your genres of choice, you’re likely to find something to love with MakeMake.

Dharma 達摩樂隊

Dharma is one of the first bands to explore Buddhism through metal music by setting Buddhist sutras and mantras to modern death metal. While their spiritual inspiration may be similar to that of the Chinese Buddhist post-black metal band Bliss-Illusion, their music is wholly different, taking a much more aggressive metal approach to the subject matter.

M.E.L.T. 米爾特

M.E.L.T. makes symphonic power metal in a similar vein to Nightwish and Within Temptation. Indeed, they were the Taiwanese openers for Nightwish on their recent Asian tour. Their music is deeply melodic but still utilizes heavy wall-of-sound guitars and occasional death growls, striking a musical balance that can suit many occasions.

Flesh Juicer 血肉果汁機

Flesh Juicer is a band I’d describe as a Taiwanese classic. Maybe I’m biased, but they’re one of those bands it seems like everyone in Taiwan knows, and any fan of Asian metal owns half their albums. While they came from core-associated roots, their current music is very groove-driven music metal with tasteful melodic and folk elements that make them a great band that will appeal to many demographics of metalheads.