- Tang Dynasty (band)
Infobox musical artist
Name = Tang Dynasty
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Origin =Beijing ,China
Genre = Rock,Art rock Progressive rock Ethno-RockHeavy metal Alternative metal
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Years_active = 1988—Present
Label = China Fire-Magic Stone-Rock Records (1992-1997), Jingwen Records (1998-2001), Jingguan Records (present)
Associated_acts = Budaoweng Black Panther BreathingCui Jian White Angel The Micro-organists
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Current_members = Ding Wu (vocals)Liu Yijun (guitar)Chen Lei (guitar) Gu Zhong (bass) Zhao Nian (drums)
Past_members = Zhang Ju(deceased)Kaiser Kuo Andrew SzaboTang Dynasty (zh-cp|c=唐朝|p=Táng Cháo) is a Chinese ethnic-art rock and prog-metal band that is often credited as being the first heavy metal band in
China .Tang Dynasty rose to fame in
1992 with a self-titled debutalbum , which had officially sold about 2,000,000 authentic copies throughout Asia and abroad, not counting the multitudes more ofpirated copies. Their sound is part progressive rock and artistic metal and part traditional Chinese vocal techniques with lyrical poetry and musical arrangements meant to hearken back to the glorious days of ancientChinese civilization ; in particular, the cultural epitome ofChinese history as popularly represented by the era of theTang Dynasty .Tang Dynasty soon became the icon of Chinese hard rock music, and their lightning-fast
guitarist Liu Yijun (刘义军), a.k.a. "Lao Wu", became the first rock guitar hero in China. However, tragedy cast a dark shadow over the band in1995 with the untimely death on May 11 ofbassist Zhang Ju, who was riding hismotorcycle from a fellow rock scene bassist friend Chen Jin's home, when an accident occurred involving a collision with a truck on the Zizhuqiao (Purple Bamboo Bridge) freeway overpass in western Beiing. This dealt a heavy blow to the band. Liu Yijun left the band in 1996 and was replaced by original founding memberKaiser Kuo , a Chinese-American who formed the band with Ding Wu and Zhang Ju in 1989.The band's 1999 release "Epic" was their second album, 7 years after its debut record. Epic did maintain a level of artfully composed series of new prog-metal rock songs that helped bring success to their debut album, but may otherwise be described as a little bit more of a straight-ahead rock album with somewhat less ethnic orientation. The album received lukewarm reviews. Nevertheless, the album was still popular enough to elicit waves of unauthorized copies in the pirated market. In June of 1999, Kaiser Kuo again parted company with Tang Dynasty and later formed another well-recognized Chinese metal-rock band, Spring and Autumn (Chunqiu). Kuo was replaced for a period by former Iron Kite front man Yu Yang, and then by young guitar virtuoso Chen Lei, who joined the band in late 2000. In 2002, Lao Wu rejoined the group and Tang Dynasty is at its present five-man band form, featuring contrasting styles of Chen Lei and Lao Wu both exchanging and interplaying guitar work, and fattening-up their overall live sound with Ding Wu's occasional coloring in their sound palette with a third guitar.
Tang Dynasty released their third album "Langman Qishi" in mid-2008, featuring "Feng Shan Ji" as the album's lead track. [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nGUtUmQeTus]
External links
* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nGUtUmQeTus] Culture Express variety show hosted by Ji Xiaojun, featuring Tang Dynasty in studio for upcoming new record
* [http://web125.burns.kundenserver42.de/rockinchina/wiki/index.php/Tang_Dynasty Tang Dynasty page] from Rock in China site
* [http://en.chinabroadcast.cn/1857/2004-11-29/126@173357.htm "Kaiser Kuo, Tang Dynasty, Spring and Autumn"] , from "China Beat" radio programee also
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Chinese rock
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