I lived in China for eight years and when I was there, tried to absorb as much as I could about the music scene as I could. Looking back on my journey, it was really book-ended on both ends with 暗狱戮尸 or their English name, The Dark Prison Massacre. The Tianjin-based slamming, brutal death metal band were a part of the first and the last shows I saw in the country. Formed in 2005, by the time I arrived in China in 2013, they were already established, with a fan base and were regarded as one of the must-see brutal bands in the country. Their brand of slam being based in groove-based riffs you might hear in a Pantera song translated well in a live setting, and for fans of brutal music in China, the band provided a damn-near perfected formula of brutality laced with catchiness which made concertgoers go through a positive catharsis via the way of the mosh.
I was first surprised by the band’s popularity – no, they aren’t commercial: their name, album covers and even song names (for their first few releases at least) aren’t the most inviting, but it was the band’s effect on live audiences and the sense of unity and release that people felt when seeing The Dark Prison Massacre live, which made them rise. One of the band’s two vocalists, Xu Ze Yu, told me, in regards to the band’s popularity, “The aesthetic of young Chinese people has gradually diversified, and more and more young people are willing to accept these heavier, purer things.”
As the band evolved through the years, so did their message. The socially conscious aspect of the band was also appealing. For instance, the band’s very name refers to the conditions of prisons in China. By the time “No School Violence” was released, along with a minor shift in sound, the fans who were already on board could understand the band’s wishes to branch out and tackle subjects close to home, while a new generation of fans (including some abroad) got onto the Dark Prison train.
I left China just before their highly anticipated third album Triple Insanity album was released, and wished I could have stayed so see their progress from that point. For now, I’ll have to do it from afar. For all of their growth, playing outside of the country is still something the band has not done, but perhaps the momentum of that release will permit foreign tours in the future.
2013 – Gore Feast (13 Club, Beijing)
I arrived in Beijing in May of 2013 and after getting somewhat settled, started to look for shows that I’d be interested in seeing. My familiarity with Chinese metal music, at the time was limited. I’d watched Global Metal and knew of Tang Dynasty and Ritual Day, and of the 666 Rock Shop, but besides those examples, was naive of the various scenes in the country.
I lived in Wudaokou, a university district in Beijing, and sought out the closest rock bar to me. This would be the 13 Club. I saw that a show was coming up – Gore Feast. Many of the band names on the online advertisement were in Chinese, but one stood out – Rectal Wench. I knew this was a show I couldn’t miss.
At the Gore Feast, I caught some of the bands who I’d forge relationships with throughout my years in China and would write about in various articles. It was almost as if destiny brought us all together. Cave Have Rod, a goregrind band with members who had maxi pads attached to their microphone stands and would later play at the Obscene Extreme festival, made an instant impression. Rectal Wench wore ski-masks and butcher outfits, playing a more down-tuned, vicious type of goregrind. Ready to Die were a brutal death metal band with an engaging female vocalist.
I spoke with the club owner (a member of the band Ordnance) and a few of what looked to be concert regulars and they were all mostly excited for a band from Tianjin to play – a band called 暗狱戮尸 or The Dark Prison Massacre. Their brand of slam, featuring two vocalists, made the crowd go off, though at the time I didn’t really take it all in. I knew they were good, but was overwhelmed with the experience of A: seeing my first metal show in China and B: being amazed that bands like Rectal Wench and Cave Have Rod actually existed in China, to really let their set sink in. Still, I managed to exchange emails with the bands, which were pivotal to me at the time in doing interviews with them (I was still without a proper VPN and didn’t know how to use WeChat properly).
2013 – New Year’s Eve Gore Feast (13 Club, Beijing)
This second Gore Feast show at 13 Club would be the last I would attend, though the mini-brutal death festival would continue on for a few years afterwards. I left my bankcard in the bank machine the day of this concert, so to say I was stressed about that is putting it lightly. I felt distracted the whole time, worrying about how I would get a new bank card, though thankfully I bought the ticket for the Gore Feast prior and could at least see the show.
Cave Have Rod would play once again (the final time I would see them), along with Rectal Wench once again and death metal bands Skyfire and Hydrocyanic. Of course The Dark Prison Massacre also performed. I took note of their performance this time, noting that the level of excitement and energy when they went on was the peak of the festival. At this point in their career, they were still using their original logo and they had only released My Cock is the Truth and Secret of Black Silk Stockings – two brutal releases which would set the bar for the band for years to come. Due to the bank card issue, my mind wasn’t completely intact during their set. It was also unfortunately that I’d have to wait three years to see them again.
2017 – 330 Metal Fest (Tango Club, Beijing)
After living in Beijing for a year, I decided to try to see more of China and took a job in Suzhou, a city near Shanghai which is known for its world-famous gardens. While in Suzhou, I would travel to Shanghai nearly every weekend and caught some of the bands from around this area, including the noise artist Torturing Nurse. This was the first time I caught folk metal band Nine Treasures as well, seeing them on their stop in Suzhou at the Wave Livehouse.
I then moved back to Beijing in 2016 and caught word that the 330 Metal Festival would be taking place. This is the biggest metal festival in China, and for this edition, German brutal death metal band Defeated Sanity would be headlining, along with bands from various genres such as Nine Treasures, who made a lasting impression on me in Suzhou, Tumour Boy, Never Before, Ritual Day and of course The Dark Prison Massacre.I remembered my times seeing them at the Gore Feast and looked forward to them here, knowing they were one of the heaviest bands on this festival. Since the Gore Feast days, they had changed their logo into the iconic one they are known for and released the mammoth A Blood Clot Ejaculation album. At the Tango Club for 330, the set they delivered was in a word – explosive, and even when compared to Defeated Sanity later in the night, could hold more than their own and were one of the more memorable sets of the day, firmly establishing the band (at least to me) as one that was poignant in the scene.
2017 – With Suffocated (Pi Livehouse, Tianjin)
In late 2016, I would move to Tianjin, The Dark Prison Massacre’s home city. At this point, on their home turf, I was anxious to see how the people who had been with them since the beginning reacted to their live performances. When Chinese thrash metal legends Suffocated (not Suffocation) came through town, The Dark Prison Massacre would open the show.
I immediately noticed the amount of t-shirts for The Dark Prison Massacre were in the audience – it seemed almost as if the band had started a cult in their home town, bringing to mind a band like Korn having their base of die-hards in Bakersfield before expanding into a national sensation. Interestingly, no shirts were sold at this performance and when checking the band’s Facebook at this point and for the next few years, they would always say that their merchandise was “sold out.”
As for this show, like the next few in which The Dark Prison Massacre opened, the fans were extremely enthusiastic for The Dark Prison Massacre, opening up huge pits for their slam-breakdowns. When Suffocated played, the reaction was still positive, yet not ecstatic.
2018 – 330 Metal Festival New Year’s Eve Show (Pi Livehouse, Tianjin)
There always seemed to be a great New Year’s Eve show happening in China. While I don’t remember any sort of countdowns during the shows (as the Chinese have their own New Year), there seemed to be no better thing to do than to attend a big metal show on that night.
This show happened in Tianjin at the Pi Livehouse and featured some of the bands already mentioned here – Suffocated, Ritual Day, Ready to Die, as well as folk metal band Dreamspirit. I felt at this point that I was now really familiar with The Dark Prison Massacre and could anticipate their slam dynamics. While the band brought the energy, they were still not headlining – that privilege went to Suffocated.
2019 – With Yaksa (Join Young Livehouse, Tianjin)
Yaksa are known as one of the forerunners of groove/nu-metal in China, and this show was the only time I saw them. As with Suffocated, having The Dark Prison Massacre open was like combining a band with an older style with a modern one, though both were equally respected at this show.
This show happened at a venue called Join Young, which had a room in the back full of cats – which made it kind of like a half live music venue/half cat cafe. The stage was smaller than the other shows listed here, so it made for more of an intimate performance from both bands. The intimacy and close proximity of the band to the audience allowed me to get some good photos of both bands, and one was used for my “The Five Most Brutal Bands of China” article on Metalsucks.
2019 – With Frozen Moon (Pi Livehouse, Tianjin)
This was another sort of mini festival taking place at the Pi Livehouse, which saw black metal band Frozen Moon come up to Tianjin. Frozen Moon are one of the more impressive bands in the black metal scene, with live performances bringing to mind the theatricality of bands like Skinny Puppy.For this show, The Dark Prison Massacre used pink text for their logo – it was the first time I noticed this change, which they would later utilize on t-shirts and their Triple Insanity album. They were also down one vocalist for this show – which would turn out to be a one-off. The release they were promoting during this era was the Overtreated Cause Opposited EP, which I believe marks a high-point in their sound, being a brutal slam record with high production value and being released before the band started experimenting more with their core sound.
2020 – One of Us III Festival (66 Livehouse, Tianjin)
The One of Us festival is one that highlights more of the core bands in China – metalcore, deathcore and so on. The festival has introduced me to a lot of bands that I hadn’t seen on regular metal shows, and they are always sure to pick ones of high quality.
For One of Us III, it seemed as if the bands were divided into little sections – three brutal bands, three core bands and a few that could fit onto the side to create interest from fans outside of those genres. Bands like Scarlet Horizon represented the deathcore contingent – this band was unique due to their style being visual kei influenced (not many bands really have this style in China) and infectious mosh/dance parts.
Armed Conflict showcased street-style slam, being impossibly heavy but also youthful in their look and presentation – young guys not to fuck with who might very well surpass The Dark Prison Massacre someday as the premier brutal band in the country.
Stabbing performed downtuned, downtempo deathcore which was probably in the top 5 heaviest performances I’d seen in the country. Amusingly, I knew of this Stabbing band before the US-based band called Stabbing, so was a little confused when the US band started to get more traction.Compared to prior shows with Yaksa and Suffocated, in which The Dark Prison Massacre felt like the newer band supporting the old guard, One Of Us III was the first time I felt that things were switched and the band were now veterans. The band (who had just released the Conviction EP, which had Egyptian elements) performed a short, albeit very explosive set – along with their new English logo displayed behind their instruments (which if I’m being honest, didn’t look nearly as good as their iconic Chinese one). They showed the younger, newer bands just how it is supposed to be done – no wasted moments, a flurry of mosh parts that the crowd had been waiting all day for (they again didn’t headline, though).
2021 – Headlining Show (20 Years Livehouse, Tianjin)
During this time period, I was putting together a lot of articles on the Chinese metal scene and showcased The Dark Prison Massacre in several. The band were gearing up to release their new video for “No School Violence” which would see a shift in sound, utilizing more deathcore and nu metal elements. I met with the band and was able to see the video before it was released, and then somehow managed to get them into an anime-based magazine out of the UK called Neo (I have no idea why they accepted this article about a slam band, having it grace their pages filled with cute anime girls).
A special solo headlining show was announced at the new venue 20 Years Livehouse in Tianjin as a celebration between The Dark Prison Massacre and their loyal fans in Tianjin. For this show, when you bought a ticket, you were given the option of a free gift – either a t-shirt, slippers or a towel. I chose the t-shirt, which I was told was an experimental print. It was camouflage, with the band’s logo barely visible. I wasn’t disappointed though, as the band had pressed high-quality shirts for this concert, too. Black with green writing or white with pink writing. I chose the black one and felt that I was, after all this time, a member of The Dark Prison Massacre cult – basically a Tianjiner at this point.
The band would take photos with fans before the event officially begun, and when it came to my turn I felt a true kinship with these guys. I started out as just a curious foreigner who checked them out at Gore Feast several years ago, and now, feeling the passage of time, seeing the rise of the band and knowing that I might have helped them get exposed more to the Western world, if only just a little bit – there was a sense of accomplishment in the air.
The show had deathcore band Iron Throne open (whose singer would move to the UK soon after) and felt truly off the hook. I stood side-stage for this performance as to get a full view of the band and the audience. I saw many familiar faces in the crowd, who threw down at nearly every performance I’d seen of The Dark Prison Massacre. They played the longest set I would see of them and took a well-deserved group photo with the fans after it was all said and done and everyone was drenched in sweat but smiling from ear-to-ear.
2021 – Lotus Club One Year Anniversary Party (Lotus Club, Tianjin)
Live venues in Tianjin sometimes had short shelf lives – a few of the ones I previously mentioned in this retrospective had closed by 2021, such as the Join Young club and the Pi Livehouse (13 Club in Beijing had also closed). Yes, COVID was running amok, but live shows in China managed to stay somewhat stable for a while – depending on how many cases were in each city and the risk level associated with throwing a concert.
The Lotus Club was a new venue located nearly on the edge of the city. It was a small, two floor venue with a small stage which gave way to more intimate concerts by bands. A few mini festivals were booked there, including one for their anniversary party featuring Skyfire (who I hadn’t seen since that second Gore Feast show years ago) and The Dark Prison Massacre. At the time, I did realize that it would be the last time I’d be seeing them (I had already planned to move back to Canada in 2022), and I also knew it would be my 10th time seeing them, so the feeling was as you might have guessed, bittersweet. As this was in the midst of another festival, the set felt too short, at least compared to their monumental solo show, and it was hard to see them walk off the stage.
