News : Truth Corroded – Asian Tour Report (last entry online!)

Adelaide metal heavyweights Truth Corroded are currently touring Asia in support of their recent album ‘Upon The Warlords Crawl’, and have kindly offered their journalistic attempts for you, the MO readers to devour!

“Last year Truth Corroded had the amazing opurtunity to tour China, Hong Kong and Thailand. With the assistance of our Asian label Mourning Sound Records, and ARTSA – who assisted to fund the tour, we became the first ever  Australian heavy music act to play China ( we even beat those global adventurers Parkway  Drive to it ) This year we had the opportunity once more to return to China, Hong Kong and Thailand and also perform Japan for the first time. Yet again ARTSA helped the band finance the tour and we would like to acknowledge our gratitude for their ongoing support in helping the band build its Asian profile.”

We will be updating this page with the latest from the guys as they travel through China, Hong Kong, Thailand and Japan on a whirlwind 7-stop tour, their second on the Asian continent.

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TOUR REPORT #1 – China

After a few delays getting to Beijing, China due to snow storms – both  Jason  (vocals) and myself (Greg, bass) finally got there and met up with our Chinese promoter Kimi. Jason and myself decided to go Beijing a little earlier than the rest of the band to do some sight seeing.

We were informed just prior to the tour that our Beijing show was cancelled (disappointing, as last year we played in Beijing to a sold out venue alongside the mighty BEHEMOTH) – however (cue laughter) – there was an opportunity to play the same venue with a Mongolian folk band called Hangaii!!! As we were all scheduled to go to Beijing we amusingly accepted the offer. As such the band asked us out to dinner and drinks. Whoa!!! Four hours after arriving in China we were absolutely on the brink of drinking doom!!! You get a chance in life to drink with some Mongolians and down Genghis Khan Vodka then definitely do so – BUT!- you may not survive the experience! Awesome night – even though we have very little recollection of it.

The next 2-3 days involved sight seeing to the Temple of Heaven, Tianamin Square, the Great Wall, snow storms, more Mongolian Vodka and me drunkenly dancing on a street both amusing and terrifying the Chinese in a Panda mask (which I did not remember until Jason showed the video footage)

The band all arrives by show day and we begin fretting about how the show will go – we had a listen to the band after arriving and we were like chalk and cheese. Hangaii are quite popular in China and have toured the world, and on show night they attract quite a sizable audience – however – not at all a metal audience. We begin thinking that we are surely going to clear the room – and after the first half of ‘Crown The Apocalypse’ that exactly happens – with some people actually running while clutching their ears in pain- hahaha – but none the less there was a few people who either stayed to watch out of politeness, or were amused or curious that we were playing with a folk band, or actually really enjoyed having a metal band play. It was without a doubt our most Spinal Tap experience in our entire career, or even something more fitting to the Anvil documentary.

Hangaii were great, and very, very cool people- we thank them massively for helping us out and giving us such a memorable experience. Now on to Hong Kong and Guang Zhou…

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TOUR DIARY #2 – Hong Kong to Guangzhou, China

The tour was beginning to resemble ‘The Amazing Race’. Arriving in Hong Kong, we were informed that our hotels had not been booked by the promoter and she had to find us a hotel at short notice. Luckily it was in the heart of the city – but then we had to get to the gig by taxi’s and negotiate our way through a busy market with our equipment and then stand in a taxi rank for almost an hour – one of the first of many experiences that made us feel like we were contestants on the show.

The show was at a Youth Community Centre called the Warehouse. It was great to see a few familiar faces and the Uncle Sam (Truth Corroded) t-shirt from our last tour worn by many of the audience. We played alongside two Hong Kong bands, one of which (Protoss) surprised us with a Truth Corroded cover, ‘When God Is Murder’, which they got Jason up to sing with them.

The show was great and the Hong Kong audience lived up to the reputation they established with us after our performance there last year – they are a young and energetic crowd, and gave us some crazy circle pit and wall of death action. We made good merch sales and spent quite some time hanging with the crowd, signing autographs and getting photos taken after the show.

After the show we felt really pumped and headed out to ‘Lan Kwai Fong’ – a crazy nightclub strip in Hong Kong that is countless open air bars and nightclubs that resembles a massive New Years celebration. It was a HUGE night – and very very excessive! So – eeerrrgggh – after only two hours sleep we woke up drunk and continued on ‘The Amazing Race’ to Guangzhou, China.

The trip to Guangzhou is a 90 miniute train ride from Hong Kong. Those of us that stayed out until 6 in the morning – Jason, Liam, myself and our sound engineer Jonesy- were feeling pretty average. However, I actually managed to invent a new game called ‘Slap The Jonesy’ – which involved surprising our sound engineer by slapping him across the face when he least expected it. Hours of fun for all the Truthies family!

We were told that the promoter from Guangzhou would be meeting us at the train station with two vans and taking us to our hotel before sound check. To our surprise the promoter met us with a film crew who filmed us as we arrived- quite amusing considering how we felt. Jason and Liam were detained by Customs and tested for Swine Flu as they had a high temperature reading – hahaha- more caused by excessive drinking than H1N1. Jason had to undergo a rigorous examination and momentarily had to wear a face mask – hahaha.

Guangzhou had a lot to live up to, considering that the show we played here last year was one of, if not the most, intense shows we had ever played in our career – the crowd was insane!!! And yes, Guangzhou did live up to its expectations. after a mix of local thrash, metalcore and emo bands we took to the stage to a rabid and highly charged audience. The reception from the opening of `Crown The Apocalypse` through to new brute `Nothing Left Alive` was intense, with slamming, banging and stage diving from the tightly packed in crowd blowing our minds. But then as we reached the middle of the set we realised that the crowd was slowing down a bit, and as we looked at them we could see that they looked exhausted – haha – with the first three to four rows of the audience leaning on each other. The venue was absolutely crammed, and there was little to no air conditioning, and you could see it was having an effect. But the crowd found its form and went crazy to `We Are Failed` and `The disfiguring` before our encore of Machine Head`s `Davidian`.  High commendations to myself, Jason and Liam for putting in a blistering show with only two hours sleep and a high blood alcohol level – true metal warriors!!!

Another huge drinking session followed the show and ` Slap The Jonesy`reached new heights as I gave him a triple slap that would have intimidated Bruce Lee.

The next day was a well deserved rest day and sightseeing around Guangzhou. KK, the local promoter showed us around the city and arranged a private boat cruise. The band has been received with much respect in Guangzhou, because we are one of the only international bands to have performed there, other than Parkway Drive. Most touring bands only perform Beijing, but it is there loss, as this city has a very intense live scene and we left yet again with big smiles on our dials.

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TOUR REPORT #3 – Bangkok, Thailand

We arrived in Bangkok at 2am and checked into our hotel. Most of the band retired but myself and Jason went to a street stall and drank up a few brews and decided a late night tut-tut ride (motor bike taxi to the unacquainted) around town was in order.

The show was a concern because it was a last minute addition to the tour and was only locked in three weeks prior to our departure. However, the tour promoter (and very good friend) Fah from Thai metal crushers Carnivora, is a local legend of the metal scene in Bangkok and did a great job in pushing the promotion for the show. This was evident by the strong turn out for a mid week show in a city where most shows are only held on the weekend. Bangkok has a very good following for the band and has received awesome coverage from leading Thai metal media. So much so Darren even did an online guitar interview and demo – much to our amusement (which should be online in the coming weeks, stay tuned to www.myspace.com/truthcorroded for links).

The show was great, with the local metal band scene showing up in good numbers and getting their heads windmilling up front from start to finish ( cheers In Vein – you rule! ) A few ex-pats and tourists also got the word and came along which was very cool to see. Following the show we did the most intense autograph and photo session so far on the tour and it took up a good two hours or more before we could settle down to our 2.5 litres of 100 Pipers Scotch provided by the venue owner and promoter with a night of free beer to follow – massive thanks to the Rock Pub – always a pleasure to play there.

With so many good friendships made in Bangkok it feels like going to any show in Australia where you play alongside your mates – and it was great to hang out and sink some brews with the Thai metal crew.

The next two days were insane as we had some time off before Japan. The Bangkok tradition of drinking buckets with Fah (at his own bar, Immortal Bar – Open Air) was dutifully followed the next night (buckets are actually buckets of Thai whiskey with a splash of coke – serious rocket fuel!!!) Along for the ride was the lads from Carnivora and In vein – two of Bangkok’s best metal bands a great crew to party with. Poor Jonesy got many slaps that night – ha ha – with even the locals getting involved. ` Slap The Jonesy` goes global!!! Bangkok as always was a very very crazy time – and as always, we paid the price!

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TOUR REPORT #4 – Osaka, Japan

I think for any metal band playing Japan is a dream. The Japan tour was approached with a degree of uncertainty, as we have no label or distribution in Japan and no real profile. However, the tour promoter and co-ordinator did an amazing job of ensuring that every aspect of the tour was planned and co-ordinated to the finest detail, including promoting the band prior to the tour. For the Japanese leg of the tour we were going to be touring with fellow Australian metallers and now good mates LORD and two well established Japanese metal bands, Argument Soul (power / thrash) and Grim Force (thrash).

We arrived in Japan after an uncomfortable night sleeping in the departure lounge of Hong Kong airport (we have now spent more time in the Hong Kong airport than actually in Hong Kong itself) as once again our Hong Kong tour promoter had fucked up our accommodation. None the less we were pumped to be going to Japan no matter whether the tour was going to succeed or fail. We arrived at Osaka airport to be met by a very colourful character named Rocco from a local sludge metal act that would be playing alongside us on the first show called Lamentizione. Once we left the terminal and embarked on the first of what would be many train rides, Rocco loaded us up with beer and began to demonstrate that he was slightly crazy. But I had been told that the Osakans were a little crazy and liked to party.

That night I stayed in because I was ill, but the rest of the band went out for a night on the town with Rocco. As was anticipated Rocco got quite loose on sake, whiskey and beer and when he came to collect us for sound check the next morning, both Rocco and his band mates were already drinking!!!! Welcome to Osaka! We met up with Lord and did an `Amazing Race` train ride to the venue.

The first show in Osaka was incredible. It was a small room but it was completely packed with an awesome vibe afforded to each band. The line up was diverse, from the sludge of Lamentizione, to the European 80`s style metal of Madame Rey. Grim Force absolutely slayed, and both Jason and I had big grins on our faces as their sound was reminiscent of early Testament and Bay Area 80`s / 90 `s thrash. Argument Soul are an amazing band with a very high degree of skill particularly from the lead players – think Nevermore meets Maiden with a strong thrash edge – awesome band. All the bands displayed incredible musicianship – it was humbling to say the least.

The reaction to our set was incredible. We were aware that our sound was more intense than the line up and thought it may be a problem, but it was very well received and a great start to the tour. Lord demonstrated that they have a strong profile in Japan and also put on a killer show.

What followed was insanity to say the least when all the bands, some fans and friends took up an entire mezzanine of a traditional Japanese restaurant for a late night feast and drink up that we will never forget, all courtesy of our mad host Rocco. It was sheer fucken crazy! The bass player from Lamentizione – who we had left at the venue passed out on the floor, had appeared and was roaming around the restaurant in his underwear – and sometimes without underwear! Sculling competitions of beer and sake ensued, Jonesy got showered by wet paper towels and chop sticks – but managed not to get slapped for a change, and it was without a doubt one of the craziest and most memorable night we have had on the tour. Total metal fucken madness!

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TOUR REPORT #5 – Nagoya, Japan

Next stop Nagoya. We woke feeling absolutely balls – the crazy after show party in Osaka had seriously taken its toll and we had an early start for Nagoya. By this stage the sum of our partying on the tour was starting to hurt – and today was a real day of pain. We set out on the train and straight to the venue for lunch and then sound check. We managed to get a short rest in before the gig – which we really needed.

The room was packed by the time we arrived and the first band of the night was a Judas Priest sounding traditional metal band with a 5 foot little bald front man that could give Halford a run for his money in the screaming stakes ‘(he actually looked like a Japanese Angry Anderson) They were great and really set the mood for the show. Grim Force absolutely killed it tonight and really set up a challenge for us. There were lots of merch sales and autographs before we even hit the stage, and the crowd were really pumped – so our woes were forgotten and we summoned our inner metal beast – and the result was awesome! We had some awesome pit action from a crew of dudes in Truthie shirts and the support was unbelievable with slamming, surfing and circle moshing. Awesome Nagoya!

After the show we hung out for photos and autographs – both ourselves and Lord did some great merch sales and received some incredible respect and appreciation. Argument Soul and Grim Force were up for another after show party – but as they had abstained the night before, they did not feel our pain – so with many apologies we sat the party out. However, Liam went out and had to sing the theme song from `Skippy` with a table of Japanese folks – haha.

An awesome show and regrets that there was only one more show left on the tour – Tokyo.

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TOUR REPORT #6 – Tokyo, Japan

So the Thrash and Conquer Tour reaches its final destination – the mighty Tokyo. It was an early start, and rather than wake refreshed after a night of sobriety  – myself, Liam and Jason all had come down with the flu ( which I had been dealing with since we got to Japan ) As a consequence, Jason was beginning to lose his voice – FUCK!!!- and it was looking like the last show was going to be a Slayer live in Melbourne set.

The train ride to Tokyo was incredible because on the way we saw the mind blowing Mt.Fuji – it really is an amazing sight. We got to Tokyo and went straight to the venue for sound check. It did not go well – Jason got half way through a song and his voice gave way – the last show was looking to be in peril. After the success of Osaka and Nagoya it would suck hard if the last show suffered, but we decided that we would just give it our all no matter what.

The show opened with a band called Vigilante, and this band demonstrated something that had become very apparent to us on this tour – the Japanese seriously SHRED!!! We saw some of the best guitarists during this tour that we had ever seen – they have some amazing talent and definitely surpass any of our own leading players – it was a very humbling experience. The Japanese aim to excel and do it very well.

The venue was packed but the crowd seemed a bit more subdued than the other cities – and tonight both ourselves and Lord were headlining, so we were a bit concerned about the response. All concerns were shattered when we took the stage though as we were instantly greeted with a show of energy – tonight was an absolute blast and possibly the best show of the Japanese tour.

The crowd were amazing! Slamming, surfing and circle moshing ensued for songs such as `We Are Failed`, `Salute The Horrors` and `Nothing Left Alive`. The cover of Machine Head `Davidian` went down huge and Jason actually got so amped he accidently crashed into the drum kit and knocked it off the riser – haha. He also cracked his head into my bass – adding to his countless onstage injuries on this tour. Tonight was the most incredible end to what was a great tour – every show was awesome – despite the awkward start in Beijing playing with the Mongolian folk band – but even that was an awesome experience in its own right.

A post tour celebration followed and plans for another Japan tour were put in the pipeline. Our thanks to Maru from the Mighty Argument Soul for setting up the tour in Japan, the lads from the very awesome Grim Force, Fah from Carnivora for the Bangkok show and buckets and Immortal Open Air bar – haha – and Kimi for her help with China. A massive fuck yeah to our buds in Lord for sharing the stage and good times with us in Japan.

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For more information on the band, please visit www.myspace.com/truthcorroded!