#chinese-metal — Public Fediverse posts

Nine Treasures – Seeking the Absolute Review

By Andy-War-Hall

Nine Treasures has been around since 2010, and yet has always seemed like the new kid on the block. Hailing from Inner Mongolia, China, founder Ashkan Avagchuud pursued the integration of traditional Mongolian instrumentation with heavy metal since day one. Nine Treasures saw success with their first three independent releases, but also saw The Hu steal a bit of their black thunder by becoming a global hit with their take on Mongolian folk metal.1 Eventually, Nine Treasures grew dissatisfied with their own sound and disowned their previous records almost entirely in a bid for rebirth. Now, they place their future in Seeking the Absolute, their first partnership with Metal Blade Records and first global release, where Nine Treasures attempts both a greater cohesion of folk instrumentation and heavy metal and to “capture the things that truly excite [them] deep inside.” Fresh starts can make all the difference, but does it make enough of one for Nine Treasures to finally fulfill their potential?

Seeking the Absolute continues Nine Treasures’ pursuit of Mongolian folk metal, but ditches their previous full-throttle metal approach in favor of a more progressive, alternative philosophy. Tracks forgo the verse-chorus structure in favor of songs that ebb and flow, preferring groove over speed (“Indecision,” “The Ultimate Evolution.”). More so than ever before, drummer Namra and bassist Orgil are unleashed on Seeking the Absolute, laying out hypnotic beats (“Real Dream”) and pulsing grooves (“Until Now”) with an expertise that feels effortless. Saina’s balalaika and Nars’ morin khurr,2 while always good, now feel essential to Nine Treasures’ sound, with balalaika providing a percussive role to “Indecision” and morin khurr used for both drone notes and leads on “Steel Falcon.” Seeking the Absolute thrives off repetition, with expert musicianship and clever songwriting keeping the slow progressions more meditative than monotonous. But nowhere does main-man Ashkan forget to bring the big guitars or big vocals when they matter most, dishing out riffs reminiscent of TOOL and alt-era Metallica from opener “Until Now” to the closing title track. Their reinvention succeeded; Nine Treasures landed on a style that works for them.

Nine Treasures are more distinct and interesting than ever on Seeking the Absolute, but not without their shortcomings. Though they reject conventional pop/rock structure, songs on Seeking the Absolute still follow certain patterns of quiet starts, loud verses, quiet bridges and loud finishes. While electrifying on “Until Now” or “Steel Falcon,” even reaching its best execution in the closing title track, there’s nonetheless a sense that you’ve heard it all before by then. A lack of solos also contributes to this issue; a guitar solo here or there would help differentiate things. Further, Seeking the Absolute’s approach to alt-prog draws too much from TOOL for comfort, particularly in its delay-heavy bass lines played high on the fret board that makes me wonder if Justin Chancellor has some missing pages in his notebook (“The Ultimate Evolution”). Seeking the Absolute has all the pieces of a great album, and I know the pieces fit, but in Nine Treasures discovering their sound, they may have played too closely into it.

Regardless, for a band drastically changing sound, Nine Treasures has crafted a remarkably engaging and re-listenable album. Seeking the Absolute sounds much better than its brick-walled DR score would suggest, with every instrument and voice sounding clear and well-balanced in the mix. This lets the fantastic performances shine within Seeking the Absolute’s tight, immediate songwriting, such as the folk-forward groove of “Just Like You,” the 10,000 Days-but-lean “Indecision,” and the thrashy morin-khurr-and-guitar assault on “Lonely Old Horse.” Vocally, Ashkan has the range and control to make lighter moments like “Indecision” and “Just Like You” soar, and the grit and power to belt out the heavier tunes like “Until Now” and “Steel Falcon.” Even though I don’t understand a word of what he’s saying, he still commands ateention like the best frontmen can. Both progressive and concise, easy-listening and inventive, Nine Treasures give Seeking the Absolute broad appeal and artistic depth.

Nine Treasures was always good, but Seeking the Absolute sounds like what the band was always meant to be. Like Pantera with Cowboys from Hell, Nine Treasures exudes confidence in their transformation, crafting a fun, approachable chunk of metal without compromise to their new vision. There’s still room to grow; TOOL will be expecting some compensation/credits for a few of those bridges. But for fans of folk, progressive, and alternative metal, Seeking the Absolute is a joy to behold. Nine Treasures has arrived.

Rating: Very Good
DR: 4 | Format Reviewed: 256 kbps mp3
Label: Metal Blade Records
Websites: ninetreasures.bandcamp.com | ninetreasures.net | facebook.com/ninetreasuresofficial
Releases Worldwide: October 24th, 2025

#2025 #35 #AltMetal #ChineseMetal #FolkMetal #MetalBladeRecords #Metallica #NineTreasures #Oct25 #Pantera #ProgressiveMetal #Review #Reviews #SeekingTheAbsolute #TheHu #Tool

I've actually never heard of " #OrientalMetal " before

#Genre was maybe the wrong word to use before (not sure if I should go back and change it?) the geographic label is more just a "category" that overlaps with genre and style.

There is also a #GermanMetal playlist https://open.spotify.com/playlist/37i9dQZF1EId7CFKROoBp9

But that isn't simple either… it could be a language category if not for the English Language band "Emigrate" featuring #RichardKruspe from #Rammstein … and one track from "Oomph!" in English

and it doesn't work as a national category because it features #Nachtmar from #Austria and #Laibach from #Slovenia (both a bit problematic) but at least they didn't include the bands from the USA that use some #German in their lyrics? (often less problematic, just not very German)

maybe "German Metal" works as a "theme"?

I'm not sure if "Arab metal" works as a category at all? Maybe "Arabic metal" including a few related tracks like that "German metal" list?

I thought this thread was forking but it's ended up linking back to the "where does Melechesh come from?" #Znous don't seem to think they are #IsraeliMetal "We understand that things went the way they went with early “Oriental Metal” bands coming from historical Palestine like #Melechesh or #OrphanedLand (which were the first to be labelled so). Many newer bands coming from the region have unfortunately adhered to this bordering-racist and discriminatory term/genre." https://www.znousland.net/we-are-not-oriental-metal-do-not-exotify-us/ (same link as in previous post)

I also saw Orphaned Land on that "Israeli Metal" list https://open.spotify.com/playlist/37i9dQZF1EIfUNA6VGyfJf they are just "Formed in Israel in 1991…" https://open.spotify.com/artist/7xTMxqAmbtE0Nce5lz7t0h

I'm not sure how they identify given the essay from Znous describes them as from "historical Palestine" but i am curious now…

Now I am wondering if there a #ChineseMetal #spotifyPlaylist with #Chthonic on it?

cc @[email protected] @[email protected] @[email protected] @[email protected]

#HistoricalPalestine #90sMusic #90sMetal #PalestinianMusic