Zuriaake () is a

Chinese Chinese may refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people identified with China, through nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **Han Chinese, East Asian ethnic group native to China. **'' Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic ...

black metal Black metal is an extreme metal, extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. Common traits include Tempo#Beats per minute, fast tempos, a Screaming (music)#Black metal, shrieking vocal style, heavily distorted Electric guitar, guitars played with tr ...

band formed in

Jinan Jinan is the capital of the province of Shandong in East China. With a population of 9.2 million, it is one of the largest cities in Shandong in terms of population. The area of present-day Jinan has played an important role in the history of ...

in 1998.

History

Zuriaake was formed in

Shandong Shandong is a coastal Provinces of China, province in East China. Shandong has played a major role in Chinese history since the beginning of Chinese civilization along the lower reaches of the Yellow River. It has served as a pivotal cultural ...

province in 1998 by Bloodsea and Bloodfire. In 2004 the band's lineup was completed by recruiting their third band member Deadsphere. According to an article by ''

South China Morning Post The ''South China Morning Post'' (''SCMP''), with its Sunday edition, the ''Sunday Morning Post'', is a Hong Kong-based English-language newspaper owned by Alibaba Group. Founded in 1903 by Tse Tsan-tai and Alfred Cunningham, it has remaine ...

'', Zuriaake is one of the longest active metal bands in China. Little is known of the group's history, but an article from

reported that the alleged singer is Liu Yao, a

professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other tertiary education, post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin ...

in the School of Materials Science and Engineering at

Shandong University Shandong University (; SDU) is a public university in Jinan, Shandong, China. It is affiliated with the Ministry of Education (China), Ministry of Education of China. The university is part of Project 211, Project 985, and the Double First-Clas ...

. After signing with Black Happiness Records, China's first music label specialized on

, Zuriaake released a split CD named ''Autumn of Sad Ode – Siming of Loulan'' alongside Bloodfires' other musical venture Yn Gizarm. Zuriaake got signed to Pest Productions in 2006 and released their debut album ''Afterimage of Autumn'' the following year. In 2015 Zuriaake released the ''Gu Yan'' EP with two tracks which was re-released as a full-length album with more tracks the same year. Due to Bloodfire being absent for four years between 2008 and 2012 where he studied in

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

the band was mostly inactive until the release of ''Gu Yan'' in 2015. The band recorded their concert in Beijing and released the ''Live in Beijing'' DVD in 2015 as well, which was not for sale but was sent to the attendees of the concert. In 2017 Zuriaake was invited to play at Steelfest Open Air in

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

which marked the very first performance for the band in Europe. At the same time Zuriaake became the first Chinese metal band to play a concert in Northern Europe territories. Between August 2, 2019, and August 19, 2019, the band toured throughout

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

and played several music festivals such as the

Wacken Open Air Wacken Open Air (, abbreviated as W:O:A) is a Heavy metal music, heavy metal music festival, held annually since 1990 on the first weekend of August in the village of Wacken, Schleswig-Holstein, Wacken in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. Almost all ...

. In 2018 Zuriaake played at

Roadburn Festival The Roadburn Festival is an annual music festival held each April in Tilburg, Netherlands. It was founded by Walter Hoeijmakers and Jurgen van den Brand in 1999, who ran a stoner rock blog of the same name. The festival has been held at Tilburg ...

in the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

and

Brutal Assault Brutal Assault is an Open-air concert, open-air extreme metal rock festival, festival that takes place in the 18th-century army fortress Josefov Fortress, Josefov, located in Jaroměř, Czechia. It is held each August early in the month from Wed ...

in the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...

. In March 2020 French metal label

Season of Mist Season of Mist is an independent record label and record distributor with subsidiaries in France and the United States. The record label was founded in 1996 by Michael S. Berberian in Marseille, France. From the start releasing black metal, pa ...

announced the signing of Zuriaake with the plan to release their third album as well as the first two albums via the label. On July 26, 2024, a 3CD boxset under the title of ''Season of Mist Recordings'' was released. The box set includes the first two albums ''Afterimage of Autumn'' and ''Gu Yan'' on two CDs as well as the EPs ''Autumn of Sad Ode'', ''Winter Mirage'', ''The Sacrifice'' and ''Resentment in the Ancient Courtyard'' on the third CD.

Musical style

Zuriaake plays traditional

with Chinese musical influences. In an Interview Bloodsea stated that the group chose to play black metal because no other musical style in metal genre could express what the members of the band wanted to say. Black metal and its views on

human Humans (''Homo sapiens'') or modern humans are the most common and widespread species of primate, and the last surviving species of the genus ''Homo''. They are Hominidae, great apes characterized by their Prehistory of nakedness and clothing ...

ity,

nature Nature is an inherent character or constitution, particularly of the Ecosphere (planetary), ecosphere or the universe as a whole. In this general sense nature refers to the Scientific law, laws, elements and phenomenon, phenomena of the physic ...

polytheism Polytheism is the belief in or worship of more than one god. According to Oxford Reference, it is not easy to count gods, and so not always obvious whether an apparently polytheistic religion, such as Chinese folk religions, is really so, or whet ...

and

ancestor worship The veneration of the dead, including one's ancestors, is based on love and respect for the deceased. In some cultures, it is related to beliefs that the dead have a continued existence, and may possess the ability to influence the fortune of t ...

have a unique philosophical temperament which would fit to the band's music. The musicians believe that simple melodies are easier to understand than complex arrangements and ′using simple melodies to describe something magnificent is a superb way of expressing art.′ Next to the typical instruments used in black metal, the band uses samples of traditional Chinese instruments like

temple blocks Temple blocks are a type of percussion instrument consisting of a set of woodblocks. It is descended from the muyu or wooden bell, an instrument originating from eastern Asia, where it is commonly used in religious ceremonies. Description It ...

handbell A handbell is a bell designed to be rung by hand. To ring a handbell, a ringer grasps the bell by its slightly flexible handle – traditionally made of leather, but often now made of plastic – and moves the arm to make the hinged cla ...

s and Xun. During the calm and melodic passages the guitars create a traditional sound. Some songs of the band reach more than 20 minutes length. Bloodfire names bands like Bathory,

Mayhem Mayhem most commonly refers to: * Mayhem (crime), a type of crime Mayhem may also refer to: People * Monica Mayhem (born 1978), Australian pornographic actress * Jason "Mayhem" Miller, American mixed martial arts fighter * Mayhem Miller (dr ...

, Candlemass,

Abigor Abigor is an Austrian black metal band formed in 1993. They are named after an upper demon of war in Christian demonology. Origin The band was formed in 1993 by Peter Kubik and Thomas Tannenberger. After the release of several demos, origin ...

and

Burzum Burzum (; ) is a Norwegian music project founded by former Mayhem member Varg Vikernes in 1991. Although Burzum never played live performances, it became a staple of the early Norwegian black metal scene and is considered one of the most infl ...

as musical influences. In another interview the band states taking musical inspiration from

Mortiis Mortiis is an Electronic music, electronic band from Notodden, Norway fronted by Håvard Ellefsen, who is also known as the namesake of the band. The name is a misspelling of the word "mortis", which is the pronunciation used by the band. Morti ...

and

Ulver Ulver (Norwegian for "wolves") is a Norwegian Experimental electronic music, experimental electronica band founded in 1993, by vocalist Kristoffer Rygg. Their early works, such as debut album ''Bergtatt – Et eeventyr i 5 capitler, Bergtatt'', ...

as well. Lyrically the musicians take inspiration on traditional, folkloristic Chinese poems so the songs of Zuriaake are picking up on Chinese legends and

Chinese mythology Chinese mythology () is mythology that has been passed down in oral form or recorded in literature throughout the area now known as Greater China. Chinese mythology encompasses a diverse array of myths derived from regional and cultural tradit ...

. Furthermore the band stated that the timeline between 771 B.C. and 221 B.C (also particularly known as

Warring States period The Warring States period in history of China, Chinese history (221 BC) comprises the final two and a half centuries of the Zhou dynasty (256 BC), which were characterized by frequent warfare, bureaucratic and military reforms, and ...

) as their inspiration due to the fact that the publications during that time period showed emotional intensity and despair which would fit to the black metal genre. Due to the fact that China has no

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

origin, anti-Christian or satanic themes are not relevant to the musicians. Instead the musicians focus more on philosophy and Chinese history.

Stage appearance

During concerts the band extensively use

fog machine A fog machine, fog generator, or smoke machine is a device that emits a dense vapor that appears similar to fog or smoke. This artificial fog is most commonly used in professional entertainment applications, but smaller, more affordable fog mac ...

s. The band members except the drummer wear black traditional

hanfu ''Hanfu'' (, lit. "Han Chinese, Han clothing"), also known as ''Hanzhuang'' (), are the traditional styles of clothing worn by the Han Chinese since the 2nd millennium BCE. There are several representative styles of ''hanfu'', such as the (an ...

-like clothing as well as traditional Chinese farmer hats (dǒulì) which cover up the faces of the musicians with the intention of depicting an image of old fishermen. Those farmer hats based on the poem ''Jiang Xue''. The microphone stands are decorated with traditional

lantern A lantern is a source of lighting, often portable. It typically features a protective enclosure for the light sourcehistorically usually a candle, a oil lamp, wick in oil, or a thermoluminescence, thermoluminescent Gas mantle, mesh, and often a ...

s and branches. During concerts the members do not wear

corpse paint Corpse paint is a style of body painting, used mainly by black metal bands for concerts and band photos. The body painting is used to make the musicians appear inhuman, corpse-like, or demonic, and is perhaps "the most identifiable aspect of the ...

. After each song the band members bow to the audience and make traditional hand gestures to show them respect. Little information about the members exists. Bloodfire is the sole member of black metal project Yn Gizarm. Members of Zuriaake are also involved in the Chinese atmospheric black metal/dungeon synth project Demogorgon alongside members of Holyarrow and Destruction of Redemption.

Band name

According to English-languaged online magazines and newspapers the band name Zuriaake is a Chinglish

portmanteau In linguistics, a blend—also known as a blend word, lexical blend, or portmanteau—is a word formed by combining the meanings, and parts of the sounds, of two or more words together.

and means literally ′Lake of buried corpses′. The name is a

metaphor A metaphor is a figure of speech that, for rhetorical effect, directly refers to one thing by mentioning another. It may provide, or obscure, clarity or identify hidden similarities between two different ideas. Metaphors are usually meant to cr ...

for the Chinese poet

Qu Yuan Qu Yuan ( – 278 BC) was a Chinese poet and aristocrat in the State of Chu during the Warring States period. He is known for his patriotism and contributions to classical poetry and verses, especially through the poems of the '' ...

who drowned himself due to his hatred for the government. In a Chinese-languaged interview in 2016 the band members stated that the band's name is translateable as ''Zu'', a storm god, as well as ''(b)uria(l)'' and ''(l)ake''.

Discography

* 2005: ''Autumn of Sad Ode — Siming of Louian'' (Split release with Yn Gizarm, Black Happiness Production, Pest Productions, limited to 300 units) * 2007: ''Afterimage of Autumn'' (Album, Pest Productions) * 2012: ''Winter Mirage'' (EP, Pest Productions, limited to 500 units) * 2015: ''Gu Yan'' (EP, Pest Productions, limited to 200 units) * 2015: ''Yao Ji'' (Single, Nuclear War Now! Productions) * 2015: ''Live in Beijing'' (Live album, Pest Production, limited to 200 units) * 2015: ''Gu Yan'' (Album, Pest Productions) * 2019: ''Resentment in the Ancient Courtyard'' (EP, Pest Productions) * 2024: ''Season of Mist Recordings'' (3CD boxset, Back on Black)

References

External links

{{Commons category, Zuriaake
Zuriaake
at

Discogs Discogs ( ; short for " discographies") is a database of information about audio recordings, including commercial releases, promotional releases, and bootleg or off-label releases. Database contents are user-generated, and described in ''T ...

Chinese black metal musical groups Musical groups established in 1998 1998 establishments in China Chinese musical trios