YIDUAN (China)
Hymnology
So Rock!, 2000
This is my first full-length from China. Since everything is Chinese-written, I can only figure out the band name and got the some translation from a friend. 10 tracks, 40+ minutes of death metal. Not fast death metal like you might assume, just mid pace like slower version of Sil Khannaz. The growl is not harsh or deep enough. You can clearly hear the words spit out by the vocalist. Good guitar playing and solos. An above average release but this is not extreme enough.
3/5

HERESY (China)
Foggy Town
So Rock!, 2003
HERESY was formed in the cold winter of 1997 from Nanchang/China. New materials have been prepared before the release of "Hymnody". This time they wanted to make it more symphonic and atmosphere as they got lots of inspiration from this kind of bands, and they even tried to write lyrics in English. In August 2002, After some rehearsals, their second full length album was recorded and produced by the band themselves in So Rock! Studio in Shijiazhuang/China. The rhythm parts of the album were done by software instead of real drumer due to lack of proper recording equipments. The band currently does not have a clear music style. The band members have great interesting in dramatic scenes and like the solo parts of neoclassic metal bands very much. They will try to combine these 2 elements in their new songs. Though still lots of defects, the new album sounds much better than "Hymnody". some great black metal chaos with this make them more symphonic and atmosphere.
4/5-Wang Xiao