Hailing from the most shrouded shores of Xiamen come the epic black metal act Holyarrow. For those unaware, Holyarrow takes inspiration from the gloriously bloody history of China and the Han people, retelling of ancient battles, honorable deaths, and heroic martyrs. With their latest release Long Live Victory, they take a look at more recent history, touching upon the tragic events of early 20th century China. Between the 1911 revolution and the second Sino-Japanese war, Holyarrow were able to take these tragic events and honor those brave warriors and martyrs who stood for their homeland and showed their might through combined strength.
You might be thinking what all of this has to do with the album at hand? Well, the themes are inescapable within this album, as the music and instrumentation go hand in hand with the nationalistic pride that seeps from the pores of this album. With a combined mix of traditional folk rhythms, blackened riffs, and epic synths, there’s a unique and timeless sound that the band captures. With a clear influence from the old and symphonic black metal of the 90s, they don’t lean too hard into either sound, striking a perfect balance between the synthetic symphony and the gritty black metal sounds. Blend heavy power metal elements to create an album that stands out with its distinct sound. Throughout the album the production is crisp, clean, but razor sharp, emphasizing the heaviness of the guitars and vocals, but keeping the drums springy and light, almost having a military sound to it all.
There are so many little things about this album that gets me incredibly excited and wanting to consume more of Holyarrow’s mighty sound. The lyrics and vocals being one of the main points. Probably the only black metal band that sings in Hokkien, a regional language originating from the Southeastern region of Fujian. It’s different hearing such an interesting language sung in a harsh and ghoulish black metal style. While the band’s past releases hold onto that old folk and symphonic style, with Long Live Victory there’s a heavier emphasis on 20th century melodies and samples taken from old propaganda pieces that push that prideful sound further and really riles up the listener’s spirit of battle. The album truly does feel like a love letter to those brave men who fought against their invaders and defended their homeland.
I was personally blown away with this release. Typically that fusion of symphonic black metal and heavy metal tends to put me off and makes me cringe at times. But, Holyarrow proved me wrong, and showed me that you can still have that bleeding edge and grit to your sound while still adding in more out of the ordinary elements that sets itself apart from black metal. I have fallen in love with this band and this album helped with that. Going back and listening to their previous records only cemented that feeling even further and makes me incredibly excited to see what’s next for the band, as they’re a very talented bunch. Highly recommend giving Long Live Victory a listen as well as their previous records.