Heavy metal has such clearly defined stylistic features that bands all over the world share many elements. And yet, listening to bands that are not from Northwestern Europe or North America often reveals a unique flavor. Not necessarily through traditional folk elements, but certainly through melodic sensibilites and the implementation of rhythms. Chinese metal pioneers Tang Dynasty, for instance, have the riffs to please multiple generations of metalheads internationally, but the melancholy present in the melodies is quite uniquely Chinese. ‘Epic’ is an exciting, unpredictable album that, to me at least, still stands as the band’s masterpiece.

Stylistically, the music on ‘Epic’ lies somewhere between traditional heavy metal, the harder-edged, guitar-driven side of the progressive rock spectrum and pre-Dream Theater progressive metal with distinct touches of folk. Unlike a significant number of prog bands, however, there is very little place for displays of virtuosity on ‘Epic’. Everyone’s playing is there to benefit the melodies and the overall atmosphere. In terms of lead guitar, this means that the parts are generally strong melodic themes rather than traditional guitar solos that are crammed full of notes. This gives ‘Epic’ a ridiculously pleasant flow that can make several minutes go by unnoticed.

One of the things that stands out is the use of clean electric guitars on ‘Epic’. This is really where the creativity of Kaiser Kuo and frontman Ding Wu shines through. There are multiple moments when the guitars appear to be approximating the sound of traditional Chinese instruments like the guzheng, which also appears on the massive title track that opens the album. On the other hand, there is the fantastic Andy Summers meets Steve Rothery meets Chinese folk clean riff on which the verses of ‘Ashes To Ashes’ are built and the beautiful arpeggiated chords of ‘Roads And Bridges’. ‘Your Vision’ even features some excellent interaction between acoustic guitars and Gu Zhong’s bass.

The guitars don’t need to be clean to impress though. How the propulsive guitars and Zhao Nian’s subdued rhythms create an atmosphere of relaxed mysticism on ‘Time At My Heels’ is simply brilliant, while ‘The Visitor’ and the instrumental ‘Childhood’ are highly reminiscent of Rush circa ‘Hemispheres’ and ‘Permanent Waves’, making them the perfect places to start for western listeners. Easily the most aggressive song on ‘Epic’ is ‘Black Humor’, which is slightly faster than the others and features Ding Wu in all of his high-pitched insanity. ‘Epic’ itself is so full of powerful riffs, impressive guitar melodies and clever songwriting twists that it needs to be heard to be believed.

Many of the band’s earliest fans will probably point to Tang Dynasty’s debut album as their best work. Despite having multiple good albums under their belt, I personally feel like the band has never been better than on ‘Epic’. Unlike some of the later Tang Dynasty albums, ‘Epic’ is very certain of what it wants to be and appears to achieve its goal to an impressive degree. It is an album that needs to be absorbed and it stays impressive even after the initial surprise wears off. Sure, it’s been mastered at a ridiculously low volume, but there’s a simple solution to that: turn up the volume and enjoy ‘Epic’.

Recommended tracks: ‘Epic’, ‘Ashes To Ashes’, ‘The Visitor’, ‘Time At My Heels’