In 2004 the band’s lineup was completed by recruiting their third band member Deadsphere. Little is known of the group’s history. According to an article by South China Morning Post, Zuriaake is one of the longest active metal bands in China. After signing with Black Happiness Records, China’s first music label specialized on black metal, Zuriaake released a split CD named Autumn of Sad Ode – Siming of Loulan alongside Bloodfires’ other musical venture Yn Gizarm. Another article of the newspaper stated that the real identity of Bloodfire is Professor Liu Yao of Shandong University School of Materials Science and Engineering. Zuriaake got signed to Pest Productions in 2006 and released their debut album Afterimage of Autumn the following year. In 2015 Zuriaake released the Gu Yan EP with two tracks which was re-released as a full-length album with more tracks the same year. Due to Bloodfire being absent for four years between 2008 and 2012 where he studied in Germany the band was mostly inactive until the release of Gu Yan in 2015. The band recorded their concert in Beijing and released the Live in Beijing DVD in 2015 as well, which was not for sale but was sent to the attendees of the concert. In 2017 Zuriaake was invited to play at Steelfest Open Air in Finland which marked the very first performance for the band in Europe. At the same time Zuriaake became the first Chinese metal band to play a concert in Northern Europe territories. Brutal Assault in the Czech Republic. In March 2020 French metal label Season of Mist announced the signing of Zuriaake with the plan to release their third album as well as the first two albums via the label. On July 26, 2024, a 3CD boxset under the title of Season of Mist Recordings was released. Between August 2, 2019, and August 19, 2019, the band toured throughout Europe and played several music festivals such as the Wacken Open Air. The box set includes the first two albums Afterimage of Autumn and Gu Yan on two CDs as well as the EPs Autumn of Sad Ode, Winter Mirage, The Sacrifice and Resentment in the Ancient Courtyard on the third CD. A news article from August 29, 2024, published on the website of Chinese news paper South China Morning Post, qipao style dress the identity of the band’s vocalist was revealed. Zuriaake plays traditional black metal with Chinese musical influences. The alleged singer is Liu Yao, a professor in the School of Materials Science and Engineering at Shandong University. Black metal and its views on humanity, nature, polytheism and ancestor worship have a unique philosophical temperament which would fit to the band’s music. In an Interview Bloodsea stated that the group chose to play black metal because no other musical style in metal genre could express what the members of the band wanted to say. Next to the typical instruments used in black metal, the band uses samples of traditional Chinese instruments like temple blocks, handbells and Xun. During the calm and melodic passages the guitars create a traditional sound. Bloodfire names bands like Bathory, Mayhem, Candlemass, Abigor and Burzum as musical influences. In another interview the band states taking musical inspiration from Mortiis and Ulver as well. Lyrically the musicians take inspiration on traditional, wedding cheongsam folkloristic Chinese poems so the songs of Zuriaake are picking up on Chinese legends and Chinese mythology. Furthermore the band stated that the timeline between 771 B.C. Some songs of the band reach more than 20 minutes length. 221 B.C (also particularly known as Warring States period) as their inspiration due to the fact that the publications during that time period showed emotional intensity and despair which would fit to the black metal genre. Due to the fact that China has no Christian origin, anti-Christian or satanic themes are not relevant to the musicians. Instead the musicians focus more on philosophy and Chinese history. During concerts the band extensively use fog machines. Those farmer hats based on the poem Jiang Xue. The band members except the drummer wear black traditional hanfu-like clothing as well as traditional Chinese farmer hats (dǒulì) which cover up the faces of the musicians with the intention of depicting an image of old fishermen. The microphone stands are decorated with traditional lanterns and branches. After each song the band members bow to the audience and make traditional hand gestures to show them respect. Little information about the members exists. Bloodfire is the sole member of black metal project Yn Gizarm. During concerts the members do not wear corpse paint. According to English-languaged online magazines and newspapers the band name Zuriaake is a Chinglish portmanteau and means literally ′Lake of buried corpses′. Members of Zuriaake are also involved in the Chinese atmospheric black metal/dungeon synth project Demogorgon alongside members of Holyarrow and Destruction of Redemption. In a Chinese-languaged interview in 2016 the band members stated that the band’s name is translateable as Zu, a storm god, as well as (b)uria(l) and (l)ake. Bogdan Ciuca (2018-04-14). “Interview with Zuriaake”. The name is a metaphor for the Chinese poet Qu Yuan who drowned himself due to his hatred for the government. Elias, Sean (March 31, 2020). “Bandcamp Of The Day: Zuriaake”. South China Morning Post. Arkadin, Yury. “Zuriaake”. Convival Hermit Magazine. South China Morning Post. Belcic, Ivan (March 30, 2018). “The Lonely Ghosts of Zuriaake”. Verschiedene Autoren (2019-08-21). “Brutal Assault Open Air 2019 – Teil 2” (in German). No. 8. Warminster Township: Forest Midget Production. South China Morning Post. Yating Yang (August 29, 2024). “China professor revealed as lead singer of mysterious black metal band with unique style”. Xueting Christine Ni (2019-08-15). “FEATURE: Chinese metal band Zuriaake are raising inner demons in Europe”. Wikimedia Commons has media related to Zuriaake. This page was last edited on 31 October 2024, at 08:26 (UTC). Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.