Black Metal Banchan - Part 1: Sad Legend + Cheetos

Metal magazines and websites always talk about metal and beer, but what about metal and SNACKS?   Yeah, I know that anyone who listens to the excellent (and my favorite) podcast Illogical Contraption knows that they always do a snack chat segment during their show, but I always feel like I'm missing out on all the good stuff they're talking about because I'm not in the US right now!   Well, I've decided to make matters into my own hands by not just doing my own snack chat (with local Korean snacks since that's where I'm living at the moment), but also making it relevant to metalheads the world over by exploring the mysterious realm of the Korean black metal underground.   Obviously, Korea doesn't have a world-famous METAL scene at all, let alone a black metal one, but that doesn't mean there are some hidden gems lurking amidst the shadows...

Sad Legend - Sad Legend (1998)

First of all, that's a pretty cool album cover.   Yeah it looks a bit amateurish, and the Sad Legend logo is lame as fuck, but it definitely makes sense when you listen to the music itself.   Even if you didn't know this album was by a Korean band, this still feels kind of "exotic" or unique.   Being both atmospheric and melodic, it's kind of reminds me of like old-school Graveworm or something like that (even though most of Graveworm's stuff actually came out after this album was released).   Anyway, what's cool about this album is that it's absolutely drenched in gloomy keyboards, wailing female vocals, haunting male clean vocals, enchanting melodies, and mournful guitar leads, with all the other typical characteristics of the genre such as rasps, blastbeats, etc.  It all feels very late '90s and slightly dated, but I feel like that's part of its charm.

I really wish I could provide a link to their Bandcamp or something, but I have a feeling this CD is long out of print (it's going for between $55-$200 on Amazon right now!) and the band seems to be currently inactive.   Maybe it's on iTunes?   I don't know.   Anyway, you can find it on Youtube (sounds like a low quality upload, but whatever), so check it out if you want!

Sad Legend - classic lineup

The cover art also perfectly captures the mood, I'd say.   I feel like overall thematically what they're going for is represented in the title of the first track, "Han".   In this case, I believe what han is referring to is the Korean phenomenon of a kind of collective feeling or consciousness of the Korean people who constantly feel "oppression and isolation in the face of insurmountable odds (the overcoming of which is beyond the nation's capabilities on its own). It connotes aspects of lament and unavenged injustice" (Wikipedia).

I'm not exactly sure which incarnation
of Sad Legend this is, but thought it
was a fun pic so I decided to include it.

While the validity of this as an actual psychological phenomenon is questionable, my Korean girlfriend (her Malicious Intent black metal horde name is Gumiho) assures me that it's a real thing.   I feel like the music definitely seems to capture that emotion.   While it would have been cool for the band to maybe incorporate some traditional Korean instrumentation or something to further drive this concept home as "authentically Korean" or whatever, I think it's still really cool the way it is.   Anyway, even though I don't really listen to this kind of music anymore, I still found this to be a good album and worth checking out if you're interested in Korean metal or you're looking for some melodramatic, misty-forest-under-a pale-moon-at-midnight melodic black metal.

Your typical cheonyeo gwishin, being all creepy.
If you wake up in the middle of the night to find
THIS standing in the middle of your room,
you may be in trouble.

Also, I could be mistaken, but the woman on the cover reminds me of a cheonyeo gwishin (virgin ghost), a spirit that is commonly featured in many East Asian ghost stories, and, nowadays, movies.   If you've ever seen the American remakes of like Ringu (The Ring) or Ju-on (The Grudge), you'll know what I'm talking.   The girl/woman with the dirty long hair over her face, batshit insane facial expression, and contorted body lurching towards you?   That's a cheonyeo gwishin.   She may not look so bad on the album cover, but just do a quick google image search to see the actual face they have hiding under that creepy mane.   I wouldn't advise you to do this before attempting to go to sleep for the night.  

 Recommended tracks: "Han", "Dawn of Despair", and "Realm of the Soulless".  

Korean Cheetos

Surprisingly, this music seemed to go rather well with the snacks I'll be talking about tonight.   "Why?" you may ask.   Because we're talking about a legendary snack that's in a sad state of affairs right now here in The Land of the Morning Calm.   Korea, we need to talk about your Cheetos situation.   The trend right now is to have everything be honey-butter flavored or sweet and salty, and Korean Cheetos are no exception.   For one, everyone knows that Cheetos should be cheesy, or at least have that option should you want just some good ol' original Cheetos.   However, in Korea, sadly, you don't have that option unless you go to an international mart or something.   From what I've seen at least, you unfortunately only have three flavors to choose from on a regular basis: BBQ, Spicy & Sweet, and Honey Cheese (ugh).   

"Spicy" and Sweet

Let's start with the Spicy & Sweet first.   Honestly, it kind of sucks.   There's too strong of an imbalance with the taste, with it being too sweet and not spicy or salty enough.   In fact, if I didn't know that it was supposed to be spicy in the first place I wouldn't have even noticed.   If you thought maybe you wouldn't be able to handle it because you're in Korea (they love their spicy food!), not to mention also the fact that Chester Cheeto himself is belching flames on the front of the packaging, I can strongly assure you that your mouth will be fine.   It even has spicy peppers and garlic too on there, presumably to emphasize its heat!  C'mon guys!
5/10

BBQ...I have no idea what the fuck is supposed to be
going on in this artwork.

Next up is the BBQ.   First of all, this should be amazing because Korean BBQ kicks ass and is one of the best ways to spend an evening with your bros.   In fact, one of the best things about Korean metal shows is that afterwards everyone (bands and their fans) goes out for BBQ afterwards, all the while drinking plenty of Korean beer and gross soju (we'll talk about those another time).   Anyway, a slam dunk for Cheetos right?   Wrong!!  This shit is fucking wack, especially if you compare it to how great Korean BBQ is!   The Cheetos version of Korean BBQ is completely underwhelming- it has a weak taste, it's too sweet, and doesn't really taste like BBQ at all.   It kind of reminds me of like a shitty version of American BBQ chips or something.   It just doesn't really leave much of an impression, other than "blah".   Koreans deserve a Cheetos snack that truly represents what Korean BBQ is all about!   That moksal (pork chop) grilling on the packaging is false advertising!
5.5/10

Finally, we have the dreaded Honey Cheese...

...actually...these aren't too bad!   I spoke too soon!   I had assumed that they were going to be garbage because of the previous two disappointments, but these are surprisingly decent!   They're still a bit too sweet, but at least you can actually kind of taste the traditional Cheetos cheese flavoring or whatever insane chemical shit they use to get Cheetos to taste the way they do.   However, they're still too sweet (too much honey flavoring) and not salty or cheesy enough, and I find myself enjoying it less and less the more I eat.   But then again...ahhh! I don't know what to think, can't make up my mind.   I just wish there was, at the very least, a regular, original Cheetos option.   Anyway, this is arguably the least offensive of the bunch.
6.5/10

ASIA METALHEAD

When it comes to metal or extreme music, living in South Korea can be extremely frustrating.   It's obvious that there are enough bands and fans here to make a halfway decent "scene", so why is it that the turnout at most of these shows is always a little disappointing?

1.   There is very little in the way of any real organization.   There are random Facebook groups that have some upcoming show announcements.  There are various websites that occasionally do some promotion.   And, of course, there's word of mouth.   I guess it's also worth pointing out that there's a language barrier as well, since we are in Korea, after all.

2.   Metal (or any non-pop / soft rock for that matter really) just isn't that popular here.   However, in a nation of roughly 50 million people that is also literally HALF the size of Minnesota and with excellent, relatively cheap transportation, it blows my mind that there is a struggle to get even like 50-100 people to show up at a gig.

3.   Promotion itself is abysmal.   Of course, it's possible that this could be a language issue and that most foreigners are then just left out in the cold since most of us don't speak Korean (and thus, don't check Korean websites and that kind of thing), but I doubt it.   I'd say that at any given show, roughly half of the people there are usually foreigners.   If the show was really well promoted for the Korean fans, then I'd expect the ratio of the attendees to be a lot more unbalanced.

Even North Korea is excited about Asia Metalhead finally going live!

When I was living in Sydney I had no problem whatsoever learning about shows, and this had nothing to do with the fact that I'm an English speaker.    The scene itself was just extremely well-organized, in large part due to the Gig Guide at Australian Metal Guide.   Even a non-English speaker would be able to figure out what was going on based on the clear design and layout of that site.

Well, finally metal fans living in Korea and East Asia have something that offers some hope!   My buddy Dan Orozco started a website, "Asia Metalhead", which aims to make it easier for everyone to keep up with what the fuck is going on in terms of gigs and shit here in the Far East!    Metal fans in Japan, South Korea, China, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, and Indonesia should all check it out!

Also, if you have any news of upcoming shows, no matter how big or small, I'm sure Dan would appreciate it, plus anyone else who just wants to keep up with what's going on.  

BONUS:


The video above features the killer Korean death metal band, Seed, but also some rare footage of Wulf (denim vest with Bathory backpatch) and Judge Dredd (bro in the flannel to my left) drunk as fuck and looking like noobs, but having a goddamn blast!!  You, too, can partake in the blasphemic ritual chaos!!  Go to Asia Metalhead, find out about the next show, and if you're extremely lucky you may even see one (or BOTH!!!!) of us there!!!

DAN OROZCO INFO:
You can stalk him at: https://www.facebook.com/metalsamurai?fref=ts
You can hit him up on Kakao Talk at: danorozco666
You can spam his email at: daniel-orozco@live.com
You can try to get him to do a live striptease via Skype at: dan.orozco

Interview with Kwan Yong-man of Christfuck!!

Interview conducted between May-July 2014 via email.   

Special thanks to Gumiho for working so hard on the translations!!

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Christfuck/219784248039001

WULF: Your band name could be really shocking to a lot of people, especially Christians.  Is it because you guys are anti-Christian, or do you just want to be shocking with your name?  What's the reaction when people hear about your band or your music?  Also, there's not much information about your band, at least in English.  Please tell me about the history of your band.

Yong-man:  Hi, I'm the drummer of this band, Kwan Yong-man.  Our band was formed by bassist Shim Ji-hoon, guitarist Lee Jae-yeong, and vocalist Jeong Jin-yong, in 2011.  We had no drummer at first, so we just practiced with session drummers, and later on I joined.  There use to be four members in this band, but Ji-hoon quit in order to concentrate on playing black metal.  So we only have three members now.

Also, We are not an anti-Christian band.  However, although we still dislike Christians, the reason why we named our band "Christfuck" was because it was just the most stupid and aggressive name we could think of, so we chose it.

WULF:  What do you hope to ultimately accomplish with this band?  Maybe something like touring Asia or Europe?  

Yong-man:  Grindcore isn't a big deal in Korea.  For now, all of the members of Christfuck are busy with other things so we don't make much of an effort with this band. However, we do still want to make a new album and make connections with other grindcore bands eventually.  We also want to have fun when we perform live, but that's about it.

WULF:  What do you think about the punk/metal scene in Korea?  Is it getting popular along with other Korean popular music due to the Korean Wave (hallyu)?  Where does your band fit within the Korean underground music scene? 

Yong-man:  It's a totally different world with Korean punk/metal bands and KPop/hip-hop groups.  It's not our business at all if K-Pop is popular or not.  There are only a few people (bands, fans) in the Korean punk/metal scene and it's pretty small, but it's run well though.  Of course, it's still not that fun. Anyway, Hallyu (Korean Wave) has nothing to do with us and we don't really have any opinion on it. We're a part of the non-existent Korean grindcore scene.  There are just five or six other bands that know each other.   Grindcore bands usually play when punk or metal bands play.  Punk and metal just isn't popular here and barely any new people ever join in.  But there are a few bands that still continue to play.  I guess it would be similar to punk/metal scenes in other countries as well.   There are a few fans of Christfuck here, but we don't play that often.

WULF:  How can people listen to your music?  Do you have CDs or vinyl, or is it only available on the internet?

Yong-man:  We used to sell our CDs at shows but now they're all sold out.   It could be good if we put our songs or music on the internet but we are too lazy to do that.  We are a really lazy band.   You would know that by our answers to your interview, because it was so delayed.   We're not only lazy, but we also don't play very hard in our band.  

WULF:  Usually, most grindcore bands have political or societal critiques or messages in their music.  What does your band sing about?   Does your band have any specific philosophy or belief that you adhere to?

Yong-man:  Each member has different thoughts and philosophies about music, but we rarely talk about that.   Shim Jihoon usually wrote critical or radical lyrics when he used to be our bassist, but nobody wants to write lyrics now.  Jeong Jinyeong, our vocalist, is too lazy to write.   I'm the drummer, so I just choose some of the titles for the songs.   I don't want to show my personal beliefs or philosophy in this band at all, so I just made the song titles really dumb or stupid without much thought involved.  We actually don't know the lyrics to the songs which we wrote after Shim Jihoon left.   Even Jeong Jinyeong just shouts when he sings.   We just sing about stupid or dumb stuff in this band.

WULF:  Are you inspired by anything outside of music, such as film or literature?

Yong-man:  We are mostly influenced by stupid action or zombie movies.   It seems that they have a religious message or are critical of society, but it actually just doesn't matter, like in Troma movies.

WULF:  What can people expect to see at your shows?  

Yong-man:  You can enjoy our stupid, fun, loud, and smelly band at our shows, although it's not very innovative or smart.   We don't use our brains when we play, just our muscles.   

WULF:  Thanks for the interview!!  Any final comments are yours...

Yong-man:  We are preparing a split album with Cave Have Rod, a Chinese band.   We are just a stupid and dumb band and we have no excuse (for why we are the way we are).   It's not because we are actually stupid in real life, it's just because we don't put much thought in the band.   Enjoy our dumb band in a dumb way.

ORIGINAL INTERVIEW (Hangeul):
WULF:  밴드 이름이 많은 사람들에게 충격적일 수 도 있는데, 특히 기독교인들에게요.  멤버들이 반기독교적이기 때문인가요, 아니면 단지 밴드이름을 통해 사람들에게 강한 인상을 주고 싶었던 건가요?
 밴드이름을 듣는 사람들 또는 밴드의 존재에 대한 사람들의 반응은 어떠한가요? 밴드에 대한 정보가 그리 많지 않은 데요(특히 영어로 된), 밴드에 대해 묻고 싶습니다. 밴드의 역사에 대한 간단한 소개 부탁 드려요.

KWAN YONGMAN: 안녕하세요. 밴드 Christfuck의 드러머 Yongman Kwon입니다.  밴드의 역사. 밴드의 정보 Christfuck은 2011년 베이시스트 심지훈을 주축으로 기타 이재영, 보컬 정진용과 함께 결성되었습니다. 처음에는 드러머가 없어서 세션 드러머들을 데려다가 연습하던 중, 그라인드코어 밴드 밤섬해적단의 드러머 권용만을 섭외하여 멤버로 영입하였습니다.  4인조로 활동하던 도중, 베이시스트 심지훈이 블랙메탈을 하고 싶다면서 탈퇴하였고 현재는3인조로 활동중입니다. 밴드 이름에 대해.  저희는 반기독교를 내세우는 밴드는 아닙니다. 물론 멤버들은 기독교를 싫어합니다. 그렇지만 밴드 이름을 Christfuck으로 정한 이유는 그냥 가장 멍청하고 공격적인 이름을 찾다가 아무거나 정한 겁니다.
WULF:  밴드가 궁극적으로 하고 싶은 것은 무엇인가요. 이를테면 아시아투어, 유럽 등으로의 공연 등이요.

KWAN YONGMAN:  밴드가 궁극적으로 하고 싶은 것. 한국에서는 grindcore밴드를 한다는 것이 거의 아무런 의미가 없습니다. 현재는 Christfuck 멤버들 모두 각자 다른 일로 바쁘기 때문에 밴드에 많은 노력을 쏟지 못하고 있습니다만, 천천히 새로운 앨범도 만들면서 해외의 grindcore 밴드들과 교류하고 싶습니다. 그게 전부입니다. 다른 그라인드코어 밴드들과 교류하고, 재밌게 공연하는 것.
WULF:   밴드가 생각하는 한국의 펑크락 이나 메탈 문화에 대해 말씀해 주세요.
펑크나 메탈락 또한 K팝이나 힙합 등의 한류 열풍처럼 인기를 얻고 있나요?  당신의 밴드는 한국의 언더그라운드뮤직 문화에서 어떠한 위치에 있다고 생각하나요? 예를 들어, 언더락 부분에서 많은 팬이 있다 또는 다른 밴드들에 생각하기에 당신의 밴드가 특이하다고 생각 한다 등등이요.
KWAN YONGMAN: 한국의 펑크/메탈 문화. K팝. 한국의 펑크/메탈과 K팝/힙합은 완전히 다른 세계입니다. K팝이 인기를 끌든 말든 우리와는 아무런 상관이 없습니다. 한국의 펑크/메탈 씬은 작고 사람도 별로 없지만 적당히 잘 돌아가고 있습니다. 물론 별로 재미는 없습니다만.
여튼 한류열풍이니 뭐니 하는 것은 우리와 전혀 상관없는 이야기이며, 이것에 대해 싫다거나 좋다거나 하는 생각조차 없습니다. 당신의 밴드는 한국의 언더그라운드뮤직 문화에서 어떠한 위치에 있다고 생각하나요? Christfuck이 있는 위치는 한국의 그라인드코어씬이라고 부를 수 있을 겁니다. 그렇다면 이 그라인드코어씬은 무엇일까요? 씬이 없습니다. 그저 5~6개의 그라인드코어 밴드들끼리 서로 알고 지내는 것이 다입니다. 그라인드코어 밴드들은 펑크나 메탈 공연에 끼어서 같이 공연하곤 합니다. 그렇다면 펑크나 메탈은 한국의 언더그라운드 뮤직 문화에서 어떠한 위치일까요? 펑크/메탈은 딱히 별로 인기도 없고 새로운 사람이 들어오지 않는 곳입니다. 하지만 소수의 사람들로 꾸준히 명맥을 유지하고 있는 곳이지요. 아마 어느 나라나 마찬가지일 것입니다. Christfuck은 그다지 팬이 많지도 않으며 활동을 활발하게 하지도 않기 때문에 별로 인기가 없습니다.
WULF: 사람들이 어디에서 여러분의 음악을 들을 수 있나요? CD나 기타 구매 가능한 다른 레코드판(vinyl)등이 있나요? 아니면 모든 음악을 인터넷을 통해서만 들을 수 있나요?
KWAN YONGMAN: 공연장에서 CD를 판매했었지만 지금은 절판되었습니다. 저희의 음원을 인터넷에 올리면 좋겠지만 멤버들이 게을러서 아무도 하고 있지 않습니다. 저희는 매우 게으른 사람들입니다.인터뷰에 대한 답변도 이렇게 늦게까지 끌다가 하는 것을 보십시오. 저희는 너무나 게으르고 밴드를 열심히 하지도 않습니다.
WULF:  그라인드코어 (Grindcore Bands) 밴드들은 거의 항상 정치, 종교 또는 현대 사회에 대해 비판적인 노래들을 가지고 있는데요, 여러분  밴드는 무엇에 관한 노래를 하나요? 특별히 옹호하거나 믿고 있는 철학이 있나요?
KWAN YONGMAN: 멤버들마다 서로 생각과 철학이 다릅니다. 하지만 각자 어떤 생각을 하고 있는지에 대해 대화하지 않습니다. 베이시스트 심지훈이 있던 시절에는 급진적이거나 비판적인 가사들을 주로 썼지만 이제는 아무도 딱히 가사를 쓰려고 하지도 않습니다. 보컬리스트 정진용이 가사를 쓰는 것을 귀찮아하고 있습니다. 몇몇 곡 제목은 드럼을 치는 제가 정합니다. 저는 이 밴드에서 저의 철학을 드러내고 싶은 생각이 전혀 없습니다. 그래서 최대한 바보같고 아무런 생각없는 제목을 짓습니다. 베이시스트 심지훈이 탈퇴한 후 만든 곡들에 대해서는, 멤버들 그 누구도 곡의 가사를 모릅니다. 심지어 보컬리스트 정진용 역시 그냥 소리만 지릅니다. 무엇에 대해 노래하는가? 라는 질문에 딱히 대답하라면,우리는 멍청함에 대해 노래합니다. 왜냐하면 적어도 멤버들 모두는 이 밴드 안에서는 굉장히 멍청하기 때문입니다.
WULF:  인터뷰하는 사람들은 항상 밴드에게 그들의 음악적 영향에 대해 묻곤 합니다. 그러나 저는 항상 밴드에게 음악 이외의 영향을 준 것들에 대해 흥미가 있어왔습니다. 당신들에게 영향을 준 어떤 책이나 영화가 있었나요? 당신이 추천하는 어떤 문학작품이 있나요?
KWAN YONGMAN:  영향을 준 책이나 영화. 멍청한 액션영화나 멍청한 좀비영화에서 영향을 받았습니다. 종교적이고 사회적인 메시지가 있는 것 같아 보이지만 사실은 그런 것이 별로 중요하지 않는 Troma의 영화 같은 것들 말입니다.
WULF:  당신의 Live공연을 한번도 본적이 없는 누군가에게 사람들은 Christfuck show에서 무엇을 예상할 수 있을 까요?
KWAN YONGMAN:  Christfuck show에서 기대할 수 있는 것? 참신하지도 똑똑하지도 않지만,바보같고 즐거우며 일단 귀는 시끄럽고 땀냄새 나는 멍청한 공연을 보실 수 있습니다. 저희는 연주할때도 뇌는 사용하지 않습니다. 근육만 사용합니다.
WULF:  여기까지가 마지막 질문이었습니다. 마직막으로 코멘트 부탁드려요 ^^
KWAN YONGMAN:  마지막 코멘트 첫째, 중국의 Cave have rod와 스플릿 앨범을 준비하고 있습니다. 둘째, 우리는 멍청한 밴드입니다. 변명의 여지가 없습니다. 멤버들이 멍청해서 멍청한 밴드가 된 것이 아닙니다. 밴드를 하면서 아무 생각이 없어서 멍청한 밴드가 되었습니다. 멍청한 음악을 멍청하게 즐겨주세요.

Asia Metal Festival 2014 in Seoul!!

Ahhhh!!!  I can't believe I didn't know about this!!  I also can't believe it's already been a year since the last one!!  If you remember, Malicious Intent did a bit of coverage of the show last time around for Asia Metal Festival 2013, but I've been a bit busy and distracted with other shit so this totally snuck up on me!!  Anyway, check it out!!

It looks like it's gonna be a great show, including:
Metamorphosis  (if anyone has a link to this band's official website or Facebook, please let me know!!)
Silent Eye
Method
Oathean
Earth Rot (Australia!!)
Survive  (Japan!!)
DARK TRANQUILLITY   (Sweden!!!)

Looks like the show is on March 22 (Saturday) at 4:30 PM at the Alleh Square Dream Hall in Seoul!!

Hopefully I can make it, and if I do I hope to see you there!!

Hellride: Resurrection of Death Party 2013!!

After a bit of silence, the time has come to make a couple announcements!!  Prepare yourself for a series of interviews that will further probe into the mysterious depths of the Korean heavy metal scene, with a focus on some of the bands performing at the upcoming HELLRIDE: Resurrection of Death Party 2013 here in Seoul on Saturday, October 5, 2013!!   It's going to be a great show, and I'm looking forward to seeing more of what the Korean metal scene has to offer.  The last time I tried to do interviews for Asia Metal Fest it was on too short of notice for many of the bands, so this time I'm a bit more prepared.  

Also, I'm planning on doing some interviews with bands/artists from the Kansas City/Lawrence/Topeka area.  I'm not homesick, but I want to get a better idea of what's been going on there these past couple of years and feel like surely there are some tales to be told!!  Stay tuned!!

Asia Metal Fest

Because I'm a master procrastinator, I've decided to wait to the very last second to announce that Judge Dredd and yours truly will officially be attending ASIA METAL FESTIVAL 2013 in Seoul!! Should be a great show whether you're a diehard metalhead or just curious, I highly recommend you check it out!! At the very least you can just get drunk with us for two nights back to back!! However, because we've received SO MANY emails from people begging us to cover the show, we've decided to try and help out by getting our hands dirty and doing some interviews with a few of the bands playing the show (as well as an after-show wrap-up if we're not too lazy). Stay tuned!! :D