http://www.blabbermouth.net/news.aspx?m ... mID=186760

Go ahead and make the jokes about China banning a bad band. Of all the bands to be banned, Cradle of Filth? They're populer as far as metal goes, but not on a level to be banned from a country the size of China.

How many (western) metal bands play in China?

Not many, but I know Dying Fetus and Ensiferum have played there.

Shadows Fall have played in China before too. Jason Bittner has some drum cams from one of the shows over there up on his Youtube I believe.

Good for the chinese.

They can ban foreign bands from playing there, but how do they deal with national bands? Sure they are underground, but do they risk getting busted when playing gigs/selling their stuff?

This likely occurred because the band somehow came to the notice of an aging official, it blew his mind, and he started the process which went through because no one else involved knew or cared about it. The takeaway is that you shouldn't show your grandparents your music.

and a while ago, COF was refused entry into USA. Seems irrespective of political leanings, both the superpowers agree on denying the dani filth circus the right to play.

So could this be why we haven't seen anything new from Yn Gizarm or Zuriaake? Not directly related to CoF of course, but I figure the Chinese government just doesn't like Heavy Metal.

I'd guess that something like Zuriaake would definitely not be on the Chinese government's radar. As for CoF being banned, not all that surprised, the Chinese government does have a sizeable hard on for censorship.

That sucks, I can imagine how sad is this for a COF chinese fan, years waiting to see your band and when the moment arrives the band is banned. Its a fucking dictatorship, what can we expect?

Yeah. It's the fans who get screwed, along with the band. CoF will feel bad about this I'm sure but these PRC metalheads absolutely gagging to see a metal show what, once every half a year, will be completely bummed, so comments about CoF being like, not your favourite band and stuff, really aren't necessary here. There's not even a lot of Asian extreme metal bands that go there and, based on a mate's comment that the PRC seems to have no metal drummers, probably scant local shows, so I do feel a bit shit for the folks there that were looking forward to a metal gig and got screwed. And based on the way things work there, these guys will be lucky to get their ticket money back, and 99.9% of PRCs earn shit-all (like a ticket for a show can be up to a month's salary) so it's just a complete bastard for them all-round.

Has happened with a few bands in the PRC I believe, when they do finally get there; Impiety's gig there last year got fucked due to some immigration issues, so Sigh and Cannibal Corpse played without them. But I mean it shows it's pretty random who gets lucky and who doesn't, 'cause the Corpse are as known as CoF and just as likely to put the wind up some traditional old duffer in a government office, so I doubt it's about making examples of people.

Then again it has happened in Singapore as well; couple of stories about bands' sets getting pulled at the last moment 'cause of their lyrics. Promoters get fucked over. As for Malaysia, some bands I've spoken to have washed their hands of playing there any more; the scene completely fell apart when the government cracked down in the late '90s (some hilarious comments from the government's spokespeople can be found with a little Googling) and even now it can be trying. For example Dark Fortress issued a categorical fuck-off to one promoter there who tried to screw a couple of bands. Luckily I've heard of a couple of decent, hardworking promoters who don't go off the radar a couple of days before a gig.

And meanwhile Lady Gaga can't play Jakarta without threats of being blown up!

It's a damn shame because there are some killer scenes in places like Singapore and Thailand, and the PRC could grow its own scene if it had the chance. Anyway, rant over.

good thing I dont live in china, the Filth kicks ass live

So whats the deal with metal in China, is it frowned upon by the government or what?

I'm really not surprised, to be honest I'm surprised it wasn't sooner as CoF is big enough of a band to warrant this in a place like China.

These guys were banned outright but that's 'cause they're very political; like a PRC heavy metal Pussy Riot: http://gbtimes.com/culture/music/ordnances-heavy-metal-music-banned-china

A lot of things are frowned on by the PRC government but there is little consistency it seems. Freedom of speech is at a minimum. So bands play in the country at their own risk. Some bands have said they have done their best tours there because the turnout is awesome and loads of locals in smaller cities appreciate being able to see some heavy/ foreign music. But I guess you can also get unlucky and attract the attention of someone in "media development" authorities or go at a bad time (censorship in countries like the PRC is quite cylical; sometimes you can get away with something, other times not). That's my impression anyway, having lived in Southeast Asia and hearing a lot about the idiosyncrasies of Asian politics.

Ironic 'cause it turns out a lot of the PRC is pretty badly polluted by heavy metals, heheh.