Hailing from Sichuan Province in China, comes a somber atmospheric black metal act known as 山神廟 in their native tongue (roughly translating to Temple of Mountain God). With conspirators 杨厄 (DoomYang) and J. they take the very essence of classical Chinese art and translate it into a ravishingly beautiful approach to black metal as a whole. Imagery of misty mountain tops, lush jade forestry, and rejuvenating streams that cut through the scenery are all present on their debut album 雲山夢樹 (Clouds, Mountains, Dreams, Woods). With a beautiful blending of pianos, dongxiao (a traditional Chinese wind instrument), blackened guitar riffs, precise drumming, and some ghastly vocals, there’s a lot going on with this album with many layers to unpack, but at the same time keeping it simple and straight to the point. There’s also an accompanying sister album titled, 溪山清遠 (Streamy Mountains, Limpid Remoteness), which throws away all the metal to sport a purely acoustic and folk sound, comprising its self primarily of piano and the dongxiao. Both albums are dripping with emotion and sound like a pure meditation on nature itself.
Jumping into the first album, the first track translated to Mist serves as just that. A calming mist that falls over the listener as they introduce themselves to this album. An acoustic guitar playing somber melodies eventually evolve into a screeching electric shock, playing many of these same melodies but in a much more harsher and darker tone, those who are familiar with any sort of atmospheric black metal act like Drudkh, Agalloch, or Alcest might find these sounds familiar. Those ubiquitous spacey guitar riffs, drawn out harsh vocals, and plenty of hard hitting mid-paced drums, are rather par for the course with the metal passages through out the album. Intermix some folk melodies and a heavy appreciation to nature, and this seems like something one may have heard before. 山神廟 start to stand out when they start leaning more into their roots and their cultural traditions within their music, as, at least from a Western perspective, is rather fresh and unique especially within a black metal context. There’s something incredibly charming hearing these beautiful passages presented on a beautifully distorted guitar with pianos glimmering in the background with hellish vocals right in the foreground. I certainly found my self coming again and again to the third and fourth tracks as they really complement each other with the heavier use of pianos and the faster pace each song takes compared to the rest of the album. All in all, 雲山夢樹 is a rather straight forward and amusing atmospheric black metal album that definitely stands out from the rest of the crowd, especially out here in the west.
Now I really feel the band shines the most on the sister album, 溪山清遠. This could simply be because I am not too familiar with classical Chinese music, but I was hooked right from the first note played on the piano. The emotions are simply so heavy and once the beautifully performed dongxiao kicks in, you’re transported to the top of a mountain, overlooking a beautiful landscape that one can only find on classical Chinese paintings. But this landscape is haunted by a long forgotten ghost that I feel the dongxiao represents in such a creative and glorious way. The piano all through out is also so incredibly performed and the melodies, as mentioned before, are dripping with melancholic emotion that can be a real tear jerker given the right context. I found myself meditating on these tracks, transporting my mind’s eye out to that very landscape I mentioned before. Not many pieces of music can do that, but this particular album can, which is saying a lot. That pure immersion is something I always seek in what ever art form I’m consuming and these talented individuals nailed it with this release.
As a whole, both albums should be listened back to back, as they really complement each other, despite 溪山清遠 simply being a retelling of the metal album in an acoustic and stripped back fashion. Its just different enough where the melodies blend together into this beautiful harmony that explodes into a wonderous musical scenery. Defiantly listen to the acoustic release, and then the metal one following after, as it feels like the progression of a painting, slowly coming together line by line into a loud and colorful piece given all of the added guitars and drums and such. Either way, I’d highly recommend giving these two releases a listen as you’ll for sure walk away with some emotions attached to them.