Times are interesting in Taiwan. Amidst a myriad of social and political changes in recent years that have really put the partially-recognised nation on the map, they have also started to develop quite the metal scene, in the wake of Chthonic's huge successes both domestically and internationally. As part of this New Wave of Taiwanese Heavy Metal, Greedy Black Hole are still perhaps some distance from being on that sort of level. But their new single, entitled FEA (meaning "Fuck 'Em All"), is a blistering attack on homophobia which spreads an important message during an important time for LGBT+ rights in Taiwan and across the world. Recently I spoke to lead vocalist Yvonne Yang about the new song, how things are in Taiwan right now and what their future plans are.
First off, for those unfamiliar with you guys, how would you describe Greedy Black Hole to new listeners?
We are Greedy Black Hole, a metal band from Taiwan, consisting of vocalist Yvonne Yang, lead guitarist Kevin Chen, rhythm guitarist Jerry Yuan, bassist Kai Lee and drummer Wen Chang. We don’t like to be defined by certain genres but if it has to be defined, we are probably a mash between melodic death metal and metal core. We’ve been around since 2011. We are not full time musicians although we hope we are, we all have a day job besides the band.
You’ve just released a new single, titled “FEA”. The song has a strong message about LGBT+ rights in Taiwan at a time when same-sex marriage is a major talking point in the Legislative Yuan. What inspired you to write a song with such a strong message?
Well, LGBT+ rights is something I care about deeply. We actually have a song about this topic in our album Self called “Before Sunset (Will you stay we me?)”, that one is more of a “love song” if you will. And then late last year (2016) the marriage equality subject was brought up to public again as you know, it’s in discussion in the Legislative Yuan. Since then, a lot of “anti-gay marriage” or “homophobic” people have started to attack the LGBT+ community verbally and sometimes physically. They spread lies about LGBT+ community and rose opposition in our society. Some of our families and friends who weren’t quite understand LGBT+ community started to believe their lies and that tore our hearts apart. So with anger and disappointment, we decided to write a song about it and make it a single. It’s funny we didn’t have any plan of releasing anything at the time but the song just came out in a blink. We finished the writing, arranging, recording and mixing within a month then we released it.
The song’s lyrics feel very personal when describing the homophobic attitudes that LGBT+ couples can experience on a day-to-day basis. Did the lyrics take from any real world scenarios that you may have encountered?
Hahaha I don’t know if I should be happy or sad about this but no, this is not taken from any of our real-life experience. Although I did take inspirations from many videos, articles and the stories I’ve watched, read or heard. The chorus is what I really want to say to the LGBT+ community, especially the line “Despise their heaven, for you I’d go to hell.” No matter how many people have heard this song, I want them to know I’d be with them and fight with them even if it means going to hell (by “SOME” Christians’ standard).
What are current attitudes among the public like towards same-sex marriage in Taiwan? The country has an international reputation as being one of the most progressive in Asia, but this issue has proven divisive among some.
That shocked me as well. I mean, from my personal experiences, no one ever forced me the idea that loving the person of same sex is wrong, this just seems so normal to me. Not until the issue being brought up to public did I know there are A LOT of people can’t accept LGBT+. From what I know, those who are against same-sex marriage are mostly older like 40 years old up and those who are influenced by a certain Christian group which spread lies about LGBT+. I believe I have read this article somewhere that the percentage of people who support same-sex marriage under the age of 30 is 80%. So I think it’s just a matter of time, we will get there eventually.
The political environment in Taiwan experienced a seismic shift last year when the Pan-Green movement (DPP) took power in the elections, while Chthonic frontman Freddy Lim’s New Power Party (NPP) gained a number of seats in the Yuan too. This has been in stark contrast to the increasingly hardline views being expressed in Western countries. Has this affected your approach to songwriting as you work on your new album?
First of all, you really did your homework about my country hahaha thank you for that.Umm… to be honest, we haven’t even started to prepare for our new album just yet but we are going to start very soon. We don’t want our work to be political, I mean not being political on purpose. Back to your questions, I don’t think it would affect our approach to songwriting much. I write about things I care, doesn’t matter “who’s” making influences.
Do you have any ambitions to tour in Europe in the near future?
Of course we have ambitions to tour in Europe and the world, it would be a dream come true for us but I don’t think we’re there yet. We still need more exposure for now.
Since Chthonic’s international breakthrough, and aided by music festivals such as Formoz and Megaport, Taiwan has become a hotbed for up and coming metal bands. With groups such as yourselves, Beyond Cure and Flesh Juicer all bubbling under the surface of this scene, do you see Taiwan becoming the centre of a new Asian death metal movement in the near future?
There are lots of metal bands in Taiwan for sure, but I think, to be the center of a new death metal movement, we still have a long way to go. Our audience here in Taiwan isn’t big enough and our overall quality like music or live performing need to be improved to match the international standard.
Lastly, are there any other Taiwanese metal acts you can recommend that readers check out?
Bloody Tyrant, Emerging From The Cocoon.
We are Greedy Black Hole, a metal band from Taiwan, consisting of vocalist Yvonne Yang, lead guitarist Kevin Chen, rhythm guitarist Jerry Yuan, bassist Kai Lee and drummer Wen Chang. We don’t like to be defined by certain genres but if it has to be defined, we are probably a mash between melodic death metal and metal core. We’ve been around since 2011. We are not full time musicians although we hope we are, we all have a day job besides the band.
You’ve just released a new single, titled “FEA”. The song has a strong message about LGBT+ rights in Taiwan at a time when same-sex marriage is a major talking point in the Legislative Yuan. What inspired you to write a song with such a strong message?
Hahaha I don’t know if I should be happy or sad about this but no, this is not taken from any of our real-life experience. Although I did take inspirations from many videos, articles and the stories I’ve watched, read or heard. The chorus is what I really want to say to the LGBT+ community, especially the line “Despise their heaven, for you I’d go to hell.” No matter how many people have heard this song, I want them to know I’d be with them and fight with them even if it means going to hell (by “SOME” Christians’ standard).
What are current attitudes among the public like towards same-sex marriage in Taiwan? The country has an international reputation as being one of the most progressive in Asia, but this issue has proven divisive among some.
The political environment in Taiwan experienced a seismic shift last year when the Pan-Green movement (DPP) took power in the elections, while Chthonic frontman Freddy Lim’s New Power Party (NPP) gained a number of seats in the Yuan too. This has been in stark contrast to the increasingly hardline views being expressed in Western countries. Has this affected your approach to songwriting as you work on your new album?
Do you have any ambitions to tour in Europe in the near future?
Since Chthonic’s international breakthrough, and aided by music festivals such as Formoz and Megaport, Taiwan has become a hotbed for up and coming metal bands. With groups such as yourselves, Beyond Cure and Flesh Juicer all bubbling under the surface of this scene, do you see Taiwan becoming the centre of a new Asian death metal movement in the near future?
Lastly, are there any other Taiwanese metal acts you can recommend that readers check out?
Greedy Black Hole released their new song, FEA, last month. Their latest album, Self, is out now. Check out the band here.