Taiwanese metal titan CHTHONIC releases its new single ENDLESS AEONS

After having stayed low-profile for some years, CHTHONIC surprised its fans by announcing a new music video ENDLESS AEONS on April 28th.

CHTHONIC has released several albums including MIRROR OF RETRIBUTION (2009), TAKASAGO ARMY (2011), and BUTIK (2013) with Spinefarm/Universal Music, and performed at Ozzfest, Download Festival, W.O.A. and a number of tours in Europe and North America. However, the band turned low-key when its lead vocalist Freddy Lim was elected to the Taiwanese Parliament in 2016.

For almost a decade, Freddy Lim has been occupied with parliamentary work, and other members have been working on their own projects, therefore CHTHONIC only had occasional large performances in Taiwan. It released some new works, such as the album Battlefields of Asura (2018) and the single PATTONKAN (2023), but stopped almost all performances overseas.

People say rock can change the world, and Freddy Lim made that a reality during his two terms in the Parliament when he advocated for reforms. He pushed for legislation to make Taiwan’s first country in Asia to have marriage equality and to better protect indigenous rights. He also pushed for passage of budgets to provide humanitarian assistance to Ukraine. He advocated “transitional justice”, demanding that government declassify files from the authoritarian era in the past, so that there may be truth and justice in the society.

In 2023, unexpectedly, declassified files revealed the sorrowful and previously unknown past of Freddy’s family. Combining history and mythology, it was perhaps not merely coincidental that Chthonic’s music told the sorrowful yet brave stories of Freddy’s grandparents. Freddy was deeply shocked when he learned that. Overwhelmed by complicated emotions, he decided to end his 8-year service in the parliament, and announced that he would not seek reelection. He paused to rethink what life means to him, and where he will go with his music.

The Taiwanese title of the song Endless Aeons is “百萬遍 Pah-bān-piàn”, a Buddhist term whose explanation could be found online easily. It’s a practice of gathering many people to chant Buddhist sutras to break the karma. “CHTHONIC’s music is always about reincarnation and catastrophe–it’s very religious.

Freddy said: “in the past, our works told about Taiwan’s ever-reincarnating catastrophes. When I discovered that actually someone close in my family is a victim of such catastrophe, it became personal, and started writing Endless Aeons and other songs.” “When will these catastrophes be over? If we could start our lives all over again, would it be possible for us to be without remorse? This song is a question, and the answer”. Guitarist Jesse, who took part in creation of the song, said: “this is a song that sounds complicated, but actually simplistic. Answering a complicated question with simple words, this is how the song is supposed to be.”

In this single, bassist Doris sings in the Taiwanese enka style, which impressed her colleagues. Doris said: “I’ve been practicing for some years, and I did my best, but frankly I was quite nervous during recording.”

The MV of Endless Aeons is a continuation of many of the past MVs, including Defenders of Bu Tik Palace Acoustic Version, KAORU, Millenia’s Faith Undone, and Pattonkan. Characters in the song are victims of the 228 Uprising and Massacre in 1947, they fell into infernal reincarnation, they sacrifice after rebirth, and are reborn following sacrifice. Through the song Endless Aeons, they are reborn again, but fall through the tunnel of space and time onto a CHTHONIC concert, a development that signifies interruption of the reincarnation.

(this part could be a surprise-drop, and not be included in the press release: CHTHONIC on May ?th will also release its Live EP “MEGAPORTAL 2425” which has the live version of 5 songs, including the 2 songs performed jointly by Chthonic and the characters who traveled across times described above.)

Freddy Lim has finished his parliamentary term in 2024. At the moment, on top of the new single Endless Aeons, CHTHONIC is working on new songs, and could possibly have concerts abroad again in the future.