SCREAMING SAVIOR is one of the most popular Symphonic Extreme Metal bands from the People’s Republic of China. After their first record “Eclipse of the Dark Lunar” (2009) and an EP entitled “Ocean of Asura” (2011), they released a second full length album called “Infinity” (2012). This last record will soon be released to the North American market by Metal Hell Records in a remastered form with two bonus tracks. In order to promote this re-release, I decided to contact the band via e-mail and talk with guitar player and song writer Chen Jie Jun as well as with singer and lyricist Yang Cheng. In this interview, we discuss about the band’s first difficult steps on their career ladder, the emerging metal scene in the People’s Republic and China and its diverse challenges and their homage to ancient Chinese culture and history.

Before you start reading the entire interview, the band and me highly suggest you to check out the band’s music first under the following addresses:

http://www.facebook.com/ScreamingSavior
http://screamingsavior.bandcamp.com/

SEBASTIAN KLUTH: Hello and thank you a lot for taking your precious time for an interview. First of all, may you introduce yourselves? Tell us a little bit about your band history. What does your music sounds like? Tell us about your inspirations for the lyrics. What are you doing for a life time apart of being musicians?

CHEN JIEJUN: Hi, this is Jiejun Chen, guitarist of SCREAMING SAVIOR. We play Symphonic Black Metal in Shanghai of China. SCREAMING SAVIOR were formed in 2001 by Tilo (bass), Xuan Zhu (guitar), Shaun Tian (keyboard) and me. At the beginning, we couldn’t even find a drummer. We were just some friends who covered metal songs with the help of a drum machine. Several years later, we started to write some own songs and became more and more famous in Shanghai. But in 2005, our bassist Tilo, burned his hands in a fire accident. The doctor said he could never play any instrument. So we had to dismiss the band at that time, and I entered TERMINAL LOST as keyboarder. Fortunately, more than one year later, Tilo recovered his hands. So we (Tilo, me and Tian) formed the band again and found three other young members: Yang (vocals), Feng (lead guitar) and Zhao (drums). This time, the members became much more stable, so we could grow stronger and then released two albums and one EP smoothly. Recently, Zhao left us because of his life. We found Shi as our new drummer. That’s what we are now. About life time, I’m an algorithm engineer of electronic music instruments.

YANG CHENG: This is Cheng Yang, vocalist of SCREAMING SAVIOR. About inspirations for the lyrics, we are always trying to express our respect for the spirits of ancient saints in Chinese history, or legends maybe, the true, native, local Chinese style things, but the saddest thing we found was that most of the culture heritage was destroyed during the so called “Culture Revolution” and the rest was abused with commercial orientation. People started to lose their faiths, or maybe have some faiths only in RMB (Renminbi, the official currency of the People’s Republic of China), and even do not know how to be respectful. On the other hand, we also find that such a blank of ancient traditions gives us the chance and space to discover the heritage and re-build people’s faith and belief with our music and lyrics.

SEBASTIAN: Your band name is quite intriguing. Where did you get the inspiration for the name? Does your band name mean exactly the same thing in English as in Mandarin? What’s the meaning behind it?

CHEN: In fact, it’s just a name. Our first guitarist Xuan Zhu created the name 12 years ago and then left the band. So I can’t tell anything about that.

SEBASTIAN: Many critics and fans compare your band to the Taiwanese Extreme Metal formation Chthonic. Are they an inspiration for you or would you point out other bands?

CHEN: No, I don’t think we are similar to them. We are both Symphonic Black Metal bands from China, so the comparison is unavoidable. Though I like their music too, the temperaments of our music are totally different. I think our main inspiration is from EMPEROR.

SEBASTIAN: You are also involved as keyboarder in the melodic black metal band TERMINAL LOST which I also like quite a lot. On the other side, SCREAMING SAVIOR have a different own keyboarder with Tian Shen. Do you take any influences from your involvement in the other band?

CHEN: Yeah, as I said before. I entered TERMINAL LOST when SCREAMING SAVIOR was dismissed in 2005. But I’ve already left TERMINAL LOST in 2009 because things within SCREAMING SAVIOR were getting always busier. But I still took part in some keyboard compositions of the second album of TERMINAL LOST “Phoenix Mountain”. I think the experience in TERMINAL LOST is quite valuable for me. It also affects my music composition in Screaming Savior.

SEBASTIAN: According to several sources, your band has been founded back in 2001 but it took you eight years to release your first record “Eclipse of the Dark Lunar”. Why did it take so long and how would you analyze your first record today? Are there any plans to rerelease the record or parts of it in the near future and make it available to a larger crowd?

CHEN: Concerning the band history, when we reformed at the end of 2006, we decided to discard all the songs written before and to begin a new start. So it took us three years to write and record the first album “Eclipse of the Dark Lunar”. Today, I still like some songs on the album, but the record and mix seem awful to me now. Now, we are writing our next album. And once we have completed this, I’d really want to record and mix the first album again. Or it will always be a pity to us.

SEBASTIAN: On your EP and second output “Ocean of Asura”, you did an amazing cover version of the song “A Dream Return to Tang Dynasty” from one of the People’s Republic of China’s first metal bands ever which is TANG DYNASTY. Thanks to this cover, I got to know this band and listened to all of their records by now which I find truly amazing. What’s your opinion about them and why did you chose to cover this song? Would you cover other tracks in the future and which bands would you chose?

CHEN: TANG DYNASTY was my favorite metal band for very a long time. This song was also my favorite one of them. It’s TANG DYNASTY who made me begin to love metal music. So cover this song as a tribute to them is our pleasure. We haven’t any plans for another cover in the future.

SEBASTIAN: The Metal scene is emerging more and more in the People’s Republic of China but it’s still rather hard for many fans from the Western world to purchase merchandise or see bands live. Might you describe us the contemporary metal scene in China and especially in your home town Shanghai? Are there any bands one should absolutely check out?

CHEN: There are many cool Metal bands in China. But in comparison to the giant population of China, there aren’t that many Metal fans. Most of the Chinese Metal bands can’t earn money from albums and concerts. In fact, most of us are losing money when we play live as Metal bands. And due to the GFW (the Great Firewall of China, a well-known part of the Chinese government’s censorship of the Internet), it's difficult for Chinese bands to spread their music outside of China. We even can’t connect to Facebook, Youtube or Twitter without GoAgent. So in China, there are good Metal bands, but making Metal music is difficult here. But it’s getting better and better now. Some Metal bands start to appear in important TV shows such as SUFFOCATED. And more and more bands start to have performances out of China, such as SUFFOCATED, YAKSA and THE FALLING that took part at the Wacken Open Air in 2012.

SEBASTIAN: Your latest record “Infinity” gets a US release in early 2013. How did you come to this opportunity? Are there any differences between the original version and the new one? Is there any chance for some international tour dates?

CHEN: It’s Metal Hell Records who invited us to remix and re-release the album out of China. The remixed version will sound better than the Mort Productions version, especially the guitar and drum parts. I wish one day we can have an international tour but maybe that day is still far away.

SEBASTIAN: Do you think other Chinese metal bands could soon get a similar access to the American and European market?

CHEN: Yeah, now three Chinese bands have already signed MHR. Besides us, there are TENGGER CAVALRY and NINE TREASURES. I’m sure Chinese Metal will get more and more attention in the future.

SEBASTIAN: I really adore Mandarin as it’s a very rich and poetic language but most metal bands that perform in their mother's tongue and not in English fail to get international attention or a commercial breakthrough. What's your opinion about that phenomenon? Would you one day perform your songs in English to get more attention or do you want to stay faithful to your language and culture at all costs?

CHEN: I don’t think Chinese bands fail to get international attention just because of the language problem. There are some Chinese bands that perform in English and they also haven’t much more attention than those bands singing in Chinese. I think language will never become an obstacle for spreading music unless your lyrics are more important than the music, then that is poetry recitation with music background rather than a song. So we will continue to write lyrics in Chinese because we love to.

SEBASTIAN: What are your plans for the future? Do you have already written material for a third full length release?

CHEN: Yes, we are writing songs for the third album and already have finished some.

SEBASTIAN: Thank you for the interview. Do you have any last words for the metal fans around the world?

Chen: Thanks Sebastian for the interview. Definitely we are from different places, have different minds, cultures & so on. But I believe music will be one of the best tools to let us know each other much better. I hope one day we can play and celebrate our gigs with you guys.

Thormesis is a German band that plays a very emotional form of black and pagan metal. The riffs but also the bass guitar sound dark and heavy. The fast drum passages are completely insane but also technically intriguing without sounding to progressive and make listeners go crazy. The band doesn't forget to include atmospheric and calm passages in their bleak and thundering madness. These moments are short, efficient and very important as they give you a short break from the blizzering darkness. Apart of the harmonious introduction and the Grabfeld cover, the songs are all really long and include many changes and ideas. For some people, this might be rather tough to digest but I immediately got a connection to the tracks as they never sound boring or complicated. It's though a change for the band as the songs of the first two records were shorter and more traditional while this material is epic and sometimes pagan influenced or even slightly progressive. Let's not forget to mention the unchained vocals are among the greatest or maybe even the best of their genre because they are always at the limite from an emotional and technical point of view. As you might guess, this record is quite a catch and the best pure black metal album of the year 2012.

While all songs have a gripping atmosphere, pitiless instrumental sections but also catchy melodies or vocal lines, there is one song that truly stands out from the rest in my humble opinion. I would even go as far to say that this is the best black metal song I have ever listend to. I know and appreciate certain records made by bands such as Bathory, Burzum, Celtic Frost, Chthonic, Cradle of Filth, Darkthrone, Dimmu Borgir, Emperor or Mayhem, have discovered more and more black metal bands lately and admit that all of these bands have written great songs but there is one song in here from this rather unknown German band that beats them all. This track is called "Türme des Schattens". I have never listened to such an emotional song that mixes a feeling of pure despair with amazing guitar melodies, harsh riffs, vivid transitions, profound calm passages, an unbelievable drum performance, unchained vocals and melancholic choral chants towards the epic end. Nevertheless, the track sounds coherent and fluid and not as overloaded as many similar bands tend to be nowadays. I highly recommand you to experience this stunning masterpiece and hope it will blow your mind as it did with mine.

Any fan of emotionally driven black or extreme metal in general with a sophisticated but not overambitious song writing and a few pagan metal inspirations should get this release. Along with the latest release of the Chinese melodic black metal band Terminal Lost, this release is the essential extreme metal record of the year 2012 and you shouldn't miss it out.

This movie is directed by the legendary Tsui Hark, features one of my favourite actors with Jet Li and is about Chinese legends and myths. This sounds quite promising but the final result is only of an average quality and therefor rather disappointing.

The main problem is that Tsui Hark and Jet Li have become older but especially the director forgot to progress. He still does his movies the same way he did it in the late eighties or in the early nineties when they became international blockbusters. This style simply fails to impress nowadays. The choreographies are still bombastic and detailed but they feel even more exaggerated and artificial than usual because this movie is completely overloaded with special CGI effects. Jet Li has also become older and doesn't do the impressive fighting scenes he did in the past. He is quite underused in this flick.

All these things wouldn't be so bad if Jet Li incarnated a good character. In movies such as "Fearless", he proved that he is not only an excellent fighter but also a credible actor. If Tsui Hark had created an intriguing story, the high amount of effects wouldn't have harmed this movie. That's what the main problem is. The movie includes no interesting story line and is rather confusing. The story is very tough to follow because there are many impostors and conspiracies going on which would normally be interesting but as the amount of intrigues is too elevated, the formula simply doesn't work and one gets quite mixed up in the end. A few potentially interesting characters play only minor roles such as the Tartars while I feel almost no empathy with the main actors. Jet Li's acting remains faceless and if there are a few good actors in this film, then these are the female ones such as Xun Zhou and especially Gwei Lun-Mei.

Both Tsui Hark and Jet Li must though change their styles and skills to still create stunning movies these years. Both deliver a rather lukewarm performance and can't convince. The movie kicks off with a few interesting scenes and special effects but as soon as the story takes places in the desert tavern, the movie gets worse. The effects in the final third of the film are overwhelming and unnecessary and make the whole thing rather hard to sit through as it feels like a cheesy Walt Disney production. Any fan of both the main actor and the director should go for the original movies and ignore this one. The People's Republic of China seems to do the same mistakes as Hollywood these days and invests in useless remakes and sequels instead of focusing on fresh stories which I simply can't support as the originals were way better and innovating for their time. This here is for true fans only.

"Red Dawn" is a lukewarm remake of a classic with an incredibly stupid story line when North Korean invaders attack the United States of America with the help of the Russians and impose their ideology. A few young men seek refuge in the forests and try to fight the invaders by organizing a guerrilla. In the beginning, they are very unexperienced and a few of them won't survive their brave acts which leads to important tensions within the team but the guerrilla gets better and better and finally decides to attack the main building of the enemies.

The positive thing about the movie is its short length and the fact that it never gets boring. The dialogues and the acting are a little bit weak but better than I would have expected. The action scenes are a little bit ordinary in the beginning but get better and better towards the explosive and entertaining end. I also liked the fact that the ending was rather surprising and dramatic. It's not your usual happy end and included two rather sad scenes even though the final message happens to be positive and warlike again.

On the negative side, the story is completely stupid and unreal and the movie's intentions are not a far call from propaganda movies of the Cold War which feels rather inappropriate in modern times of globalization. The American screenwriters still seem to think that their government is the best in the world and that anybody who disagrees such as communists are automatically evil. This kind of movie only supports the propagandistic ideas of the North Korean government who takes the Americans for their worst enemies. While the North Korean government slowly opens for economy, diplomacy and modernization, Americans are still stuck in the past and release this kind of questionable movie. Some people might identify with the closed minded attitude to fight anything and anybody who attacks your country at all costs and that's what creates more and more conflicts but I simply can't agree on that point. As a German I can only say that I'm glad that my own country which I still love and respect a lot got defeated during the Second World War and I wouldn't have defended it if I had been able to chose. It's always a mistake to blindly follow a government and accept anything it asks you to do. American governments have created lots of wars, sometimes with good, sometimes with bad intentions, and it's strange that such a story line comes from this country because they haven't been the victims apart of 9/11 which was a terrible incident but definitely not a year long war as what happened in Korea or Vietnam. When arts and politics mix, the final result is always extremely biased and that's also the case of this movie. I'm surprised that these kinds of stories are still written today and one simply can't ignore this aspect if one watches this film. If there wasn't the political dimension of this movie and if the invaders would have been anonymous, I would have given one more point to the flick but this movie is still only of an average quality.

In the end, I can only recommend this movie for those who are looking for a patriotic action flick. It's quite entertaining and gets better and better towards the end but the acting and the story are rather bad. Anything who expects a thought out story line or a strong acting shouldn't watch this movie. If you like war movies, you should go for the Korean "Tae Guk Gi" who shows you a very balanced and realistic view of what happened during the Korean War.