CHTHONIC: 'Broken Jade' Video Released

"Broken Jade", the new video from Taiwanese metallers CHTHONIC, can be viewed below. The song comes off the band's new album, "Takasago Army", which will be released this summer via Spinefarm Records. Produced by Rickard Bengtsson (ARCH ENEMY, NEMESIS) at Sweet Spot Studios in Halmstad, Sweden, this 10-track outing completes a trilogy of CHTHONIC releases, telling a story that binds together the band's "Seediq Bale" and "Mirror Of Retribution" albums, released in 2007 and 2009, respectively.

"Takasago Army" track listing:

01. The Island
02. Legacy Of The Seediq
03. Takao
04. Oceanquake
05. Southern Cross
06. Kaoru
07. Broken Jade
08. Root Regeneration
09. Mahakala
10. Quell The Souls In Sing Ling Temple

"Broken Jade" lyrics:

Steel, ocean winds
Fly to their kin
Smoke clouds the sky
Burns my black eyes

They come for me driven by unseen force
Through the thick smoke on a fateful course
Unseen am I, unmatched is my iron will
The smoke of gunfire growing even thicker still

They come for me
With unseen force
Through the thick smoke
Drawn by fate's course

Past lives return
Trapped within we burn
Longing returns
As my brothers burn

Lights of ancestors' eyes shine so bright in the dark
Guiding me knowingly toward my end
Steady hands carry me toward my perfect death
One last time I ask that you will defend

Cold comfort as I fall
Death coming for you all
Give my life for the sun
In fire existence undone

Past lives return
Propellers burn
Longing returns
As my brothers burn

Blades keep swirling around
Memories cannot be found

Lights of my true love's eyes shine so bright in the dark
Guiding me knowingly toward my end
Steady hands carry me toward my perfect death
One last time I ask that you will defend

Cold comfort as I fall
Death coming for you all
Give my life for the sun
In fire existence undone

Carry my soul on the winds of the sea
To darkened depths, I commend my body
Carry my soul on the winds of the sea
To mother island for all eternity (End of lyrics)

Comments bassist Doris Yeh: "The Takasago Army was a Taiwanese troop of Japanese force/Axis powers that fought in the Pacific War/World War II between 1940 and 1944. The Takasago soldiers were descendants of a brave and powerful people from the mountains of Taiwan, people with a strong warrior tradition. They impressed their rivals with their cunning, tenacity and skill on the battlefield, and they became the most revered and most feared combat unit in the Japanese Imperial Army."

At its recent U.K. shows (a Hammerfest appearance plus a headline date at the Underworld in London),CHTHONIC announced that "Takasago Army" would not only see the band producing its most "brutal" compositions to date, but would also see it further exploring the concept of "orient metal."

"We have been categorized as black metal, death metal, melodic death, symphonic black metal and folk metal by different critics, and we appreciate that it's very hard to put us into a precise genre," says Doris. "On the one hand, we are inspired by some western metal music, but on the other, we are influenced by traditional Asian music forms, such as pentatonic scales, 'enka' music, and Taiwanese opera.

"When we were writing this new album, we tried to find the perfect balance between these two traditions, so that is why weve decided to use the 'orient metal' banner to define what we do. Plus, it provides a reference point for other Asian bands who want to head in the same direction

"Take it from me, 'Takasago Army' is going to be epic!"