OU: Transcending Borders
Hailing from China and making an impact on the international metal scene is harder than it should be, yet it’s considerably easier now than it used to be. Chinese heavy music of various shapes and sizes has made a relative impact worldwide, with bands from the 80s/90s like TANG DYNASTY and BEYOND establishing their place early on by infusing folk music or pop sensibility (respectfully) with heavier sounds. A handful of other artists from this time found their music making it to a more global audience, but it’s with the advent of the internet and streaming services that more and more heavy bands from China and Asia have been able to find a foothold globally. OU are one such act that have recently been getting the attention that they deserve, both domestically and internationally.
Signing with the European label InsideOut, their debut album one received favourable reviews for its head-on challenge of where progressive metal can go, delicately (and often furiously) skipping through pop-hooks from vocalist Lynn Wu into more jazzier segments, ambient pauses, all the while incorporating the layered instrumentality and wizardry that the genre (and indeed OU) have become known for.
Their new album 蘇醒 II: Frailty ticks the same boxes as the debut, but it’s all-together more developed and impressive, retaining the same DNA but fleshing out their strengths where it matters. OU continue to subvert expectations by zigging where you expect them to zag. We chatted to Anthony Vanacore (drummer and songwriter) about the release of 蘇醒 II: Frailty and how they feel now that the album is out in the wild. “I’m just grateful the album is a reality and I’m grateful that it was able to come out the way it did – it exceeded all expectations and then some for us!”
While the main part of this success is down to the talent that the band have in house, it’s hard to overlook the involvement and the impact of a talent like DEVIN TOWNSEND, whom the band brought on after the initial recording was finished. “Devin was a suggestion from the head of InsideOut, Thomas Waber. He thought if he mixed this record, interesting things would happen – and they most certainly did. We ended up co-producing it, and I think the end result is something we both never anticipated (in a good way). The man is absolutely brilliant and also one of the sweetest guys around. He came on board in the beginning of 2023, and started work on it around April of 2023, I believe.”
The lead single Purge from 蘇醒 II: Frailty also features Townsend on guest vocals, and with this single the strength of this working relationship is brought to the forefront. It’s not a complete surprise that Townsend would be interested in working with OU on this second release – the creative intrigue generated by their sound will no doubt have piqued his interest. When asked about other people that they’d be interested in working with in the future, Anthony doubles down on their experience with Townsend. “I really think Devin is one of, if not the only, cat in the world who could [have] mixed album two. It takes someone with the skills and knowledge of mixing, coupled with a sensitivity that works with music that goes into some uncharted territory, and that combination is extremely rare.”
OU are a band that are hard to define, sitting in the category of ‘progressive metal’ if only for the broadness and versatility of the term. There’s a whole lot to unpack when listening to 蘇醒 II: Frailty, with Anthony highlighting some of the broad influences from metal and beyond that went into the songwriting process. “[The] influences are similar to the first album, a few off the top of my head include: DEVIN TOWNSEND, BJÖRK, THE GATHERING, YOKO KANNO, MILES DAVIS, GEINOH YAMASHIROGUMI, DREAM THEATER, STEVE REICH, and many, many more!”
Anthony goes on to briefly mention the impact of Chinese musical influences on this record. “Not really the metal scene, but more traditional Chinese music definitely had influence.” The scope of the influence of traditional Chinese music can be heard on the album, but it becomes clearer to an English speaker when reading the transcript of Lynn Wu’s lyrics. Themes emerge when reading the lyrics regarding the elements, with frequent references to “water” throughout (almost) every song. Other concepts, like “birth”, “growth”, “death”, and “reincarnation” underpin the directional flow of the album. Anthony admits that Wu would be the “most qualified” person to ask about these themes, going on to say that “there are many concepts found in Buddhism written in the lyrics.”
Speaking on the Beijing and wider Chinese metal scene, we took the opportunity to ask about any acts that Anthony would recommend that he feels deserve to be highlighted. “There are cool metal bands here in China, a great prog instrumental band called VON CITIZEN comes to mind – definitely worth checking out.”
With 蘇醒 II: Frailty out in the open, the question of what comes next for OU arises as they continue to focus on promoting this record. “We have two new singles that will be released probably this year, some live performance videos, a short animated series featuring an entity called OU, and probably lots more!” 2024/2025 will clearly be an interesting time for the band as they continue their journey together, and with that comes the topic of touring – specifically if they have any plans to tour in Asia, or even further afield. “We do, and we hope 2025 we can make that a reality.”
蘇醒Frailty is out now via InsideOut Music.
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