Full Metal Battle

Whether you like your metal served up with glam, thrash or just plain death, Beijing's premier band competition for the genre Metal Battle returns to Haidian district's 13 Club this weekend. Bands will slug it out for a chance to represent China at the 2012 Wacken Open Air festival in north Germany's small, namesake town this August.

Now in its fifth year, 19 bands playing everything from metalcore to old school Florida death metal will vie for a shot at performing at the over 80,000-strong German festival, regarded as one of the largest annual gatherings of "metalheads" in the world.

As one can imagine from the genre names, heavy metal is arguably one of the most esoteric forms of rock music, boasting over 25 genres and countless sub-genres.

"If you would have asked me three years ago, I would have told you that the Chinese metal scene was growing," said Han Ning, editor of metal bi-monthly Painkiller Magazine and China organizer of Metal Battle. "But now it's not a case that it's growing, rather it's diversifying."

Max-Leonhard von Schaper, co-founder of extensive music database Rock in China, has cataloged over 250 metal bands in China. He revealed the actual figure is closer to 1,000, adding that it's growing. And fast.

"A lot of bands are trying out new genres and mixing other elements into their music," said von Schaper. "China is following the Western wave of metalcore and electronic-influenced metal at a lag of a couple of years."

More recently, younger Chinese bands have gravitated to "core" hybrids, such as hardcore, deathcore, metalcore and grindcore, which mix existing forms of metal with extreme hardcore punk.

"Five years ago, what we played was really popular. It's not so cool anymore," noted Wang Yutian, frontman for metalcore band The Falling, who will participate on Sunday. Wang, 27, explained that metal's fast-tracked development has eschewed its values and principles.

"If you don't play the most popular genre, you're seen as old school," he said, adding post-hardcore is the latest craze. "Now, it's about singing a clear melody because that's what sounds 'young.'" However, as with everything in China, rapid development comes at a price.

"When we used to get together and see shows, nobody really cared about genres," said Liu Fanyu, bassist for Metal Battle entrant Ready to Die. "Now, people just come to see the one band they support then leave."

He explained how within just five years, growing sophistication has slowly chipped away at the scene's openness.

"It was something very dear [in the past], but it was never going to last," said Spring and Autumn guitarist Kaiser Kuo, whose former band Tang Dynasty was instrumental in bringing heavy metal to China during the late 80s and early 90s. "[Chinese bands] not only embraced the sounds, but everything else that went with it. There are ideologies that come with these sub-genres."

In the melee of imitating European and American genres, Chinese folk styles have found their way into the mix.

"I don't really think China is wholeheartedly playing foreign styles," said Liu Ke of Raging Mob, 2010 winner of Metal Battle which returns to the fray this weekend.

But as von Shaper points out, it's the quality and energy within the music that counts, not labels or nationalities. "For most, it wasn't the music or genres, it was the volume," echoed Han. "There was something vicious and new about it that spoke to us."

When: March 16 to 18, 9pm

Where: 13 Club, 161 Lanqiying, Haidian district

Tickets: 50 yuan

Contact: 8261-9267