(In 2021 Ryan Dyer made his NCS debut touting the insanity of one-man bands in China, followed that by trumpeting the destructiveness of Calgary’s Whorrify, and then returned to the Chinese scene with a review of an EP by Horror of Pestilence. After an extended absence he’s back, and again focused on the Chinese underground.)
The Underground in China: Metal, Punk, Hardcore and Noise (2013-2021) showcases bands across the spectrum of genres in China. I have handpicked ten of the more extreme bands found within the book to showcase here. To learn about 90+ more, pick up The Underground in China, releasing on June 12 via Earth Island Books (see the link at the end of this feature).
Cave Have Rod
The legendary (at least in my mind) Obscene Extreme-approved, Beijing-based goregrind/pornogrind band that organized the Gore Feast festivals, along with Rectal Wench. They always arrive with a picnic basket full of maxi pads, inner tubes, summer dresses, and songs about buying vegetables.
Rectal Wench
The anal surfers brought the Filthy Parties to the people of China, building a community with like-minded sickos including the Godfather of Chinese Grindcore, Gore Geng. Live shows included flying dildos and nefarious blow-up aliens and blow-up dolls – both deflated by the end of the filth.
Impure Injection
Gore Geng’s grind project is some of the nastiest sounding music you’ll hear coming out of China. No serious extreme festival would leave out the Godfather. In fact, he might be the one curating it.
Torturing Nurse
Harsh, extreme, nihilistic noise from the one-man wrecking crew Junky, who has now been at it for several decades and has his own venue called trigger in Shanghai where he routinely brings the noise with friends.
The Dark Prison Massacre
You may know of the slamming, brutal death metal band The Dark Prison Massacre, but the true way to experience the band is in the middle of the pit (in their hometown of Tianjin for extra energy). A band that has produced a strong fanbase in China, and for good reason, but time will tell if they make their way across the pond.
Ready to Die
The first Chinese death metal band to utilize old-school Barnes-esque guttural vocals, albeit via a female singer, Ready to Die are very good but underrated and a bit overlooked. This could be due to their online identity not being so prominent, especially in the West.
Skyfire
Skyfire is a meat-and-potatoes-style death metal band. Fairly standard but very meaty, and because of that, I find them endearing and in a live setting extremely enjoyable in a Cavalera-esque way. Uncles bringing the brutality.
Armed Conflict
The new kids are on the block and are looking for trouble. Armed Conflict is a streetwise brutal death metal band from Qingdao, which is known for the DMC bar and streets of Tsingtao bars. The future of Chinese extreme music may just be in their hands.
Leviathan
Xi’An is known for the Terracotta Warriors and also a deathcore band that shares its name with the legendary aquatic beast. If already aware of anime slam band Dehumanizing Itatrain Worship, guitarist Jiakang Hu performs in both bands.
Lie to the Silence
The One of Us festival in China is much like Summer Slaughter – being a place for core bands to introduce themselves to listeners. Lie to the Silence introduced themselves to me in this way. The Hangzhou band showcases both intensity and innovation in songwriting.
The Underground in China: Metal, Punk, Hardcore and Noise (2013-2021) is out June 12 via Earth Island Books: