Best Chinese and Taiwanese Metal Bands

Inferno Requiem is one of the only raw black metal projects in Taiwan. His songs are greatly influenced by bands like Mayhem and Burzum and usually come from his own experiences with ghosts (he apparently lives in a haunted area). If you are just too kvlt for the other options, this takes the cake.

Best above all, true black metal.

Flesh Juicer seamlessly blends heavy-hitting deathcore with cultural elements in their music and are gaining considerable fame in Taiwan. Their unique style of deathcore gives them an edge, and it's no wonder they won the Taiwan Golden Melody Award for Best Indie Rock Band. Also, the singer wears a pig mask at concerts. None of the other bands on the list have an iconic image like that!

The only band most metalheads might know from China or Taiwan is probably Chthonic. Known for black metal mixed with Chinese folk music, these musicians take it a step further by talking about historic moments in Taiwan's past and really convey the energy and emotion from back then into their music. Also, the lead singer is a politician. How surprising is that?

Nocturne Moonrise is slowly growing in fame, but they are best known for creating one of the most memorable levels in the rhythm game Cytus with their song Gate of Expectancy. This band has the remarkable talent of mixing speed metal with symphonic and neoclassical themes and orchestrations. With the great singer Alexx, master pianist and operatic female vocalist Mei-Ying, and talented guitarist Hiro, they are gaining respect in the underground Taiwanese metal scene for good reason.

The most well-known melodic black metal band in Taiwan, Anthelion's music is depressive and melancholy but satisfyingly has an aggressive edge that keeps you coming back for more. Considering how great their two albums are, it's a shame that they aren't as widely recognized as Chthonic.

I doubt Fearless will ever make another EP, as they seem to have stopped updating social media, but they were one of the best melodic death metal bands out there! Their theme of death and darkness mixed with a great melodeath score and both Chinese folk and symphonic elements made listening to the Lord of Twilight EP an unforgettable experience.

If you want a less popular Chthonic with less Taiwanese propaganda and more folk, this is the perfect band. Mix that with a perfect atmosphere in each song, and you have an unforgettable black metal band.

The music of Nine Treasures originates from Mongolia, with the band using instruments such as the balalaika and morin khuur, honoring their traditional and ancestral origins. It's truly a great experience to listen to a folk metal band that doesn't come from Western culture. It's no wonder they won China's Wacken Metal Battle some time back.

When people think of "extreme metal," black, death, and thrash usually come to mind. While Voodoo Kungfu is certainly extreme, it is anything but typical. The intriguing symbolism they display on stage (the vocalist wears a Chinese or Mongolian robe with calligraphy on the right side of his body, the drummer is blindfolded, and all of them are covered in blood) combined with their wild performances of songs like "Bruce Lee," "Temporal Side," and "Tibet" make listening to Voodoo Kungfu a unique experience. Their performances earned them the title of winners of China's 2015 MIDI Festival (and got them kicked out of the festival five years earlier).

Groove metal sometimes gets a bad rap, but for me, Silent Hell never disappointed while Kin Lin was the singer. Her clean and harsh vocals had good chemistry with the style the musicians played in and made some really memorable songs. Let's hope that the new lineup is just as good.

Tang Dynasty are great musicians! Definitely one of the best!