Taiwan has some of the most hardcore Slayer fans on the planet.
Somehow, from this pre-deadline past I find myself mired in, I can already hear the haughty guffaws of a future wherein that opening line inspires many a spit-take and perhaps more than its fair share of choking fits.
Don’t believe me? Let’s take a look at the evidence.
Photo courtesy of Doodle
A search for “Slayer carving” in Google Images turns up photographs of fanatics of the Bay Area thrash legends who have carved the band’s moniker into varying regions of their corporeal selves in the ultimate display of devotion.
Think Taiwan is too buttoned-down to have its very own flesh-defiling Slayer devotees? Well, there’s the well-known Taipei surf/punk musician Floaty (Keith Saunders), who named his own flesh and blood after band bassist/vocalist Tom Araya.
Thankfully for Floaty’s daughter, he forwent bestowing upon her the man’s given name and settled upon the surname — a uniquely beautiful handle for the girl and a one-of-its-kind tribute as well.
Photo courtesy of Bazooka
No word yet if she can hit the high notes from Angel of Death when a toddler tantrum ramps into high gear.
For further proof, one need look no further than the moment when a band playing in Taiwan drops the iconic triumvirate beat on the floor toms — the signal that the timeless Slayer classic and staple of metal cover bands the world over Raining Blood has begun.
Outside of the hits of local bands such as Infernal Chaos and Chthonic (閃靈), you’ll never see a more impassioned response to a song on these shores.
This weekend, there’s a night especially for these and other card-carrying members of the Slatanic Wehrmacht (the name of one of the band’s various fan clubs scattered around the globe), when Revolver hosts a tribute to the pioneering band.
One of the two local bands hitting the stage on the night will be Bazooka, fitting in that the Taipei five-piece is one of the longest-running thrash acts in the country, and worship punk as equally as they do metal, much like their Los Angeles counterparts.
Also on the bill is a relative newcomer, Iron Fist (鐵拳) — a death metal/thrash band that will be hitting the stage for the first time following a recent shakeup in the vocalist position.
Once the bands are done Vic Zhao, bassist of Bazooka, along with Eric Lee of Ximen metal shop Pub Metal Merchandise (陰府門) will take to the turntables to blast some Slayer tunes deep into the night.
■ Slayer Tribute Night (進貢之夜) takes place tomorrow night at Revolver, 1-2 Roosevelt Road, Sec 1, Taipei (台北市中正區羅斯福路一段1-2號). Doors open at 10pm and the first band is on at 10:30pm. Tickets are NT$300 at the door with one drink, and all punters wearing Slayer merchandise will get a free “blood shot.”
For something entirely different tonight, longstanding Taipei psychedelic rockers Doodle host the release party for their latest album, Endless Dreamless, along with a pair of bands also pushing new releases.
Doodle has enjoyed a slow-burn of a career since forming in 2004, taking their time and helping to craft a small psych scene over the last decade-plus. It took a long time to get things going, but in the past five years or so, few bands in the Taiwan scene have found themselves riding a higher arc.
In 2012, the band was recognized with the award for Best Newcomer at the third edition of the Golden Indie Music Awards (第三屆金音創作獎) on the strength of their debut album, Sacrifice In Despair.
Last year, Doodle returned with an EP, Dark Fetish/Only Dreaming, and in a display of unfettered momentum find themselves coming back with yet another release just a year later.
It’s not the kind of productivity you might expect from purveyors of densely layered, drawn-out soundscapes heavy on the spacious ambiance — the kind of music the album’s mastering engineer JJ Golden said “...carried me into a dream world.” But clearly the “lazy stoner” trope doesn’t apply here.
Taking to the stage alongside Doodle will be their brothers and sisters of the psychedelic cloth Super Napkin. The band is currently promoting its new album, one with a title that seems straight out of a Jim Morrison book of poetry, Rhythmic Lizard Moon.
Rather than go for a traditional physical format, Super Napkin have instead put the entire album up on Bandcamp as a “name your price” download, and beat the file sharers to the punch by putting it up on MEGA themselves.
Rounding out the bill is the near indefinable Be Bop Kids. Drone. Dream Pop. Shoegaze. Noise. Take your pick. The band’s latest slab of electronically-induced sadness, Drones, also just popped up on Bandcamp for the price of whatever you deem worthy.
To modernize Timothy Leary: Download, tune in, drop out.
■ Doodle, Super Napkin and Be Bop Kids play tonight at Revolver, 1-2 Roosevelt Road, Sec 1, Taipei City (台北市中正區羅斯福路一段1-2號). Tickets are NT$350 at the door with one drink, students get in for NT$200. The first band starts at 8:15pm.
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