CHTHONIC: European Dates With ENSIFERUM Announced

Taiwanese extreme metalists CHTHONIC — fresh from a tour of duty with Ozzfest and currently in the midst of their first-ever North American headline shows, which precede a brief tour with CRADLE OF FILTH — have confirmed their first batch of fall European tour dates. They are as follows:

Nov. 09 - Hard Rock Hell Festival - Minehead, U.K.
Nov. 30 - Markthalle - Hamburg, Germany
Dec. 01 - Lindenpark - Potsdam, Germany
Dec. 02 - Alte Spinnerei - Glauchau, Germany
Dec. 04 - Bastard Club - Osnabruck, Germany
Dec. 06 - Romein - Leeuwarden, Holland
Dec. 07 - Biebob - Vosselaar, Belgium
Dec. 09 - Substage - Karlsruhe, Germany
Dec. 11 - Wigwam - Budapest, Hungary
Dec. 12 - Fleda - Brno, Czech Republic
Dec. 13 - Colos Saal - Aschaffenburg, Germany
Dec. 14 - Z7 - Pratteln, Switzerland
Dec. 15 - Hexentanz Festival - Illingen, Germany

All concerts in continental Europe will see CHTHONIC play alongside Finnish "heroic folk metal" warriors ENSIFERUM (Spinefarm Records). Additional performances — including the band's first-ever U.K. tour — will be announced shortly.

CHTHONIC will hold a press conference at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. on Sept. 13, just hours before they play the nearby Jaxx nightclub in West Springfield, Virginia.

At the press conference, which will be moderated by Jaxx owner Jay Nedry, the band will discuss the message behind their current tour, which they've dubbed "UNlimited" to protest how the United Nations (UN) limits Taiwan's full participation as an independent country. The Washington Post and the International Herald Tribune, among others, have recently devoted lengthy features to the message behind the tour.

CHTHONIC will continue its historic "UNlimited" tour later this month, when it will perform its first headlining concerts in America.

"Ozzfest has been a great experience for CHTHONIC, but we're excited to perform for our fans for longer than 20 minutes," Freddy Lim stated.

In concert, CHTHONIC (pronounced "THON-ick") will continue to perform the tour's theme song, "UNlimited Taiwan", written and recorded this spring "to emphasize the 'UNlimited' potential of Taiwan and the Taiwanese people," Lim says. Like the tour — which kicked off in Taipei earlier this summer following the international re-release of 2002's "Relentless Recurrence" and last year's "A Decade On The Throne" two-CD/DVD live set — the song was named to protest how the United Nations (UN) limits Taiwan's full participation as an independent country. The Washington Post and the International Herald Tribune, among others, have recently devoted lengthy features to the message behind the tour.

With a new session of the United Nations General Assembly scheduled to open in New York on Sept. 18, many pro-Taiwan rallies will be held around the city in the days beforehand. To coincide with the UN session's kickoff — where Taiwan will once again petition to be formally recognized as an independent country, and not a Chinese province — CHTHONIC will hold a special "UNlimited New York" concert at Manhattan's Highline Ballroom, located less than three miles from the UN, on Sept. 16.

Because this is the group's third New York City concert in recent weeks, coming on the heels of an Aug. 21 performance with NILE and a Sept. 6 concert alongside KATATONIA, CHTHONIC has arranged for the Highline Ballroom to offer tickets for only $5 to anyone who redeems a ticket stub from one of their previous shows at the venue's box office. For everyone else, a $2 discount can be obtained by purchasing the tickets online at www.highlineballroom.com (enter "un4taiwan" in the access code field). Furthermore, the first 100 fans in the doors will receive a free set of CHTHONIC "paper dolls," which are sold in toy stores throughout Asia. (A photo can be seen here.)

The "UNlimited New York" concert will be videotaped, and CHTHONIC hopes that people of all nationalities will join them in this historic plea for freedom and independence.

Good News Broadcast recently spoke to vocalist Freddy Lim of the Taiwanese black metal band CHTHONIC about Taiwan and the Republic of China's representation in the United Nations. Watch the interview below.