Chthonic's performance throughout "Takasago Army" is...well, lacking. The Taiwanese black metal group has reached places that most of their geographical partners have not, and in the process of their journey, they've acquired a steady following that reaches way beyond the Far East location. Chthonic's efforts during this album leave a trivial impression, like a paper mallet slamming against your head, or perhaps a toothless dog gumming your thigh in an attempt to devour some tasty meat. "Takasago Army" uninterestingly makes an attempt to mirror melodic black metal that some would call Dissection-ish while utilizing a touch of folk/oriental music when applicable. Pretty tasty, right? Hate to say it, but no, not really. There's a lot of passion and vigor within Chthonic; it's something actually quite remarkable, but musically they lack a number of perks to truly electrify their gospel. "Takasago Army" generally eats and then regurgitates the characteristics of melodic black metal about a million times over; it comes across as a Dissection clone dabbling in folk numbers and weakly spiced patterns. Every anthem runs in the same direction, and it's nothing out of the ordinary considering Chthonic's reference point. You know the drill: lots of melodic riffing and tremolo picking, sequential grooves, harsh vocals...pretty much melodic black metal in a can. However, "Takasago Army" never proves it's better than the vanilla-covered counterparts that Chthonic is competing against, as their faded riffs and poor transitions do an outstanding job boring the listener (at least this listener) into an unconscious state. They are a lively bunch as I said, but the vapid instrumentation certainly drives the overall album into the ground, and they often expel guitar work and musical endeavors that are way too simplistic and uninteresting.
The folk/oriental influence makes a colorful impact during the forty minutes of shearing black metal following "Takasago Army," and is perhaps the record's one safeguard against the musical banality within the remaining sequences. The appearance of an erhu, or an oriental string instrument for all you lazy/uninformed bastards out there, brings a fresh vibe to the album's fractional ingenuity, and hey, those keyboards are quite the transcendental addition to Chthonic's formula as well. With the exception of Southern Cross, prime cuts are pretty much absent; some tracks are better than others, but each tune moves on in the same wavelength despite these little differences in content, and it really isn't that impressive overall. And as I said, Chthonic can make a measurable performance, but the music itself is at the polar opposite of the groups libido.
I think "Takasago Army" could have been a superior effort if some adjustments were made, but alas, it is what it is: a tepid, mundane slab of blinded black metal that never grows or coughs up its desired functions. It's important to mention Chthonic periodically shines beyond the blandness contaminating "Takasago Army" with a cool riff, a desirable blueprint, or maybe the excellent use of the erhu and other folk themes, and I firmly believe this band has the tools to craft an iron legacy which reaches even higher than it does now, but they are greatly jeopardizing their status with such mediocrity. Maybe something to devour if you have an addiction to Dissection, but otherwise I can't recommend this.