LAANG is a “terror black metal from Taiwan based on the trauma of a survivor.” The new album is called “Riluo,” and it has eight songs. “Baoyu” is first. There is a lot of anger behind the vocals, and the music uses a combination of guitars and keyboards, rounding out the sound. “Liuxue de Taiyang” is next, and so far, the sound borders on Melodic Death Metal with all of the melody that the band uses. You don’t often here this in the Black Metal genre, and it is refreshing. “Honghai” is next, and the intensity doesn’t let up. Tinged with symphonic elements, the song has a strong combination of aggression and melody.

“Zhemo” uses sharp string arrangements with contentious guitars and vocals. Through four songs, the only critique I have so far is the similarity from song to song, but this one uses some traditional Taiwanese elements as well. “Gui Xiang” begins with clean and solemn guitars but seques rather quickly back to an intense and painful sound, and you can hear the laments in the vocals. “Yegu” has a slower and more weighted sound, especially from the deep accents that groove along the way. The drummer’s kit work is very strong here as well. “Juren” uses a tension that is so thick, it’s like a fog in front of the listener so he doesn’t know what horrors might be forthcoming. The vocals are cadenced in a deadly manner as well.

The title track closes the album, and it’s a weary sound, as if there is no anger left to muster, and female cleans vocals help to tell the tale. Overall, this was a strong release in the genre that did not rely on old, moldy formulas of the past. Instead, the band moved forward with modern elements while keeping a backbone of hardened Metal that keeps the listener engaged with the music.