Silver Ash, the band that pioneered the Visual Kei scene in China has endured many ups and downs since they first began ten years ago. Having recently returned to the music scene, they launched a brief tour in China entitled “Reborn” in late August. We were able to catch the first show of their tour in Shanghai. The reborn Silver Ash currently featured a new and very different line up. What kind of chemistry with this change bring? We were eager to find out!
At the start of the show, the dimming lights made way to a
video introduction of Silver Ash, taking the audience through a quick journey of
how Silver Ash has grown and evolved over the years. Names of all the current
band members then appeared as each made their grand entrance. The new Silver
Ash lineup is as follows:
Vocal and founder: Ling
Guitar: Yue
Bass: Poison
Drummer: Zhen
DJ: Cain
Ling and Yue are the only remaining members from the
original lineup, with the other three making their debut at the Shanghai show.
This also marked the first time for Silver Ash to feature a DJ as a formal
member.
The “reborn” Silver Ash did not hesitate to show the prowess
of their new lineup as the performance started with two heavy tunes and their
latest releases, Reborn and Return. Reborn was an emotional piece that
represents the opening of Silver Ash’s new chapter. Ling was already
hyped up after the two songs, taking off his jacket before the band played Gorgeous
Devil which was a catchy track from their first, self-titled album and is much
familiar to the band’s older fans.
The set list then shifted to the more Glam style work from
Silver Ash’s earlier releases, as the band added an electronic touch to the
track Seduction from their EP, Never End. The band then continued the Glam
theme with Pretty But Evil, which was released in 2011. Afterwards, the
atmosphere suddenly mellowed down, as they played the ballad Wind of the
Broken Cliff (风之断崖),
another track from their first album. Ling’s vocal was very impressive with
this song. His vibrato resonated like a pierce through your heart after
enduring a lot of hardship. His emotion engulfed the whole venue.
Before entering a short costume changing break, Silver Ash
then played Lunar Eclipse (月残), the very first track from their first album, and
Silver Ash’s most well-known tune. Fans were quick to get excited as soon
as the song began. Yue delivered a scorching guitar solo, and Ling asked the
fans to sing along towards the end of the song.
After the short break, there were some playful guitar
slapping by Yue, and a very short welcome MC from Ling. Then, Silver Ash
continued with heavier sounds. “Control” involved a lot of screaming and
Ling put his all into it. The band then gave the crowd a nice returning
gift by revealing a new song called “Breaking”, a hard rock, glam-ish work with
English lyrics. During the song, images of explosions and the word “boom” could
be seen on the projector. It was an intimidating, aggressive song that also
includes elements of electronic music.
A melodic introduction started the heavier sounded Diebien (碟变), accompanied
with hardcore head banging from the band. Yue played an extended solo on
this song, with Ling getting their fans to sing along the chorus line “Chou
Chou”, repeatedly asking the fans if they still want more. Ling greatly
appreciated the fans’ efforts and saluted after the song ended.
For much of the night, Silver Ash focused on their music and had little MC until after Diebien. Ling sat in front of the drum set and began to interact with the fans. He was wondering whether the new song sounded good or not, and everyone cheered in response. Ling told the fans that it was written by him, and is a rare faster and more aggressive work from him, so he hoped that people would stop saying he cannot write that kind of music. A couple of fans abruptly asked him to take off his clothes, but he shyly declined, saying that he doesn’t have a fit body anymore. Ling then went on to say that he slept very little, as there was a lot of prep work to get the show ready. He then introduced some of his friends that helped with the show, and the new members, including DJ Cain and bassist Poison. He specifically thanked Cain’s parents for coming to the show, and stated that he was looking forward to making new music as the band has new possibilities with his electric music repertoire. Ling then look back on the past 13 years, and he remembered the band facing a lot of changes in 11 of those years when putting together the review video, and he expressed his gratitude that Silver Ash is here again.
Ling then wanted to play some more music, and asked the fans
what songs they want to hear, and the new song won out so Silver Ash played
Breaking again. The band played the fast paced Midnight from the out of
control E.P. before the conclusion of the show.
For the last part, Silver Ash played Organum (风琴), a track
from their first album. Organum is a song that the band hasn’t played for
a long time. Ling explained that it is a song that even ex-member, Lucy wasn’t
fond of playing on stage for reasons not explained. However, the band
decided to play this song at their last tour rehearsal session as a gift to the
fans.
The last song of the night is the one staple at all Silver
Ash shows – Never End. Ling asked the lights to be turned on so he can
see everyone that came to their show, and to say thank you. He asked
everyone to get close to the stage and promised to the audience in Shanghai
that next time the band will play even better.
Set List
1.
Reborn
2.
Return
3.
Gorgeous Devil
4.
Seduction 惑
5.
Pretty But Evil
6.
风之断崖 Broken Cliff of the Wind
7. 月残 Luna Eclipse
Short Break
8.
Control
9.
Breaking（New Song）
10.
碟变 Diebien
11.
Breaking Bad
12.
Midnight 午夜
13.
风琴 Organum
14.
Never End
Venue
Qianshuiwan
Cultural Center
Attendance
Around 80
Opening band
Lilith (hOHP). They will also be the opening act for Royz Asia tour Shanghai stop on January 3! (Information)
Follow Silver Ash on Facebook (www.facebook.com/silverashchina)
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