Three Taiwanese bands are to join Finnish music groups in Helsinki at the end of this month to engage in “heavy metal diplomacy” at a festival organized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the General Association of Chinese Culture.
Taiwan’s Crescent Lament (恆月三途), Flesh Juicer (血肉果汁機) and Chthonic (閃靈) would join Finnish folk metal band Korpiklaani, metal band Lost Society and folk metal violinist Olli Vanska at “F:F:F — Formosa:Finland:Fest,” which is to take place on Thursday next week at the Helsinki event venue Tiivistamo.
The Taiwanese heavy metal delegation would be led by Crescent Lament frontwoman Muer Chou (周慕姿), who is also a well-known, published counseling psychologist in Taiwan.
Photo: CNA
Ahead of the concert, Chou praised Finland for being the happiest country in the world and the mecca of heavy metal, and said she looked forward to collaborating with Finnish musicians.
“I believe that the collision between an extremely cold country and a super-hot country will create new sparks,” Chou said.
When they arrive in Finland, Chou and the other members of the Taiwanese bands would meet up with Chthonic leader Doris Yeh (葉湘怡) and lead singer Freddy Lim (林昶佐). The couple reside there because Lim is Taiwan’s representative to the Nordic country.
Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) last week said that it was President William Lai’s (賴清德) idea to launch a “Rock in the North and Classical in the South” diplomacy initiative in Europe due to Lim’s heavy metal background.
Representative to Austria Liu Suan-yung (劉玄詠) made up the second half of Lai’s plan, Lin said, as Liu is not only a renowned trombonist, but also a former director of the National Taiwan Symphony Orchestra.
Finland’s top representative in Taipei, Lauri Raunio, said that Finland has the highest density of metal musicians of any country in the world.
The cultural collaboration between Taiwan and Finland is an exciting phenomenon to look forward to, Raunio said.
Lin said the heavy metal diplomacy was part of the “Taiwan Culture in Europe 2025” campaign, which was launched following the success of the Taiwanese program at last year’s Paris Cultural Olympiad.
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