The band's latest album compares hell to Feb. 28, 1947, when strongman Chiang Kai-shek, whose authoritarian government had recently fled to Taiwan from China, began a crackdown on dissent. Thousands were killed in the years that followed.

 

"Taiwan was once colonised by China and Japan, and at the same time it's an island intertwined with the Western world," said Taipei fan Chiu Li-wei, 29. "Therefore, whether melody or lyrics, Chthonic's music fiercely shows these features."

 

The band calls itself "Chthonic", a Greek word referring to the underworld deities, because Lim likes mythology and the name "looked cool", he said.

 

Lim gained his global fame partly because of partnerships in Europe and the United States, where extreme metal is relatively mainstream, said David Frazier, a Taipei-based arts and entertainment writer. Anthrax guitarist Rob Caggiano produced the latest album and a 2006 album was recorded in Denmark.

"Taiwan can add a little bit of exotic identity to it with this band," Frazier said.

 

(Editing by Miral Fahmy)