Silver Ash () is a visual rock band from

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

influenced by the

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

ese

visual kei is a movement among Japanese musicians that is characterized by the use of varying levels of make-up, elaborate hair styles and flamboyant costumes, often, but not always, coupled with androgynous aesthetics, similar to Western glam rock. Som ...

movement.gd.sohu.com
''Sohu Online Interview'', August 21, 2004

Retrieved March 14, 2011 They formed in the year 2000 and are located in

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

. Their music is a mix of

British rock British rock describes a wide variety of forms of music made in the United Kingdom. Since around 1964, with the "British Invasion" of the United States spearheaded by the Beatles, British rock music has had a considerable impact on the develop ...

hard rock Hard rock or heavy rock is a loosely defined subgenre of rock music typified by aggressive vocals and distorted electric guitars. Hard rock began in the mid-1960s with the garage, psychedelic and blues rock movements. Some of the earliest hard ...

glam rock Glam rock is a style of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom in the early 1970s and was performed by musicians who wore outrageous costumes, makeup, and hairstyles, particularly platform shoes and glitter. Glam artists drew on diver ...

and

goth rock Gothic rock (also called goth rock or simply goth) is a style of rock music that emerged from post-punk in the United Kingdom in the late 1970s. The first post-punk bands which shifted toward dark music with gothic overtones include Siouxsie an ...

. After several member changes and a couple years of inactivity, Silver Ash currently consists of original members Ling (vocals) and Zhen (drums), guitarist Yue, and bassist Cain. They are known as the first Chinese visual rock band and have played a significant role in increasing the movement's popularity in China.China Daily
''Sights and sounds'', Chen Nan, January 9, 2010. Retrieved September 10, 2011

History

The original line-up of Silver Ash included Ling (vocals), Lucy (guitar), Nancy (guitar), Hong (bass), and Zhen (drums). The band was produced by the Gorgeous Devil Studio and Scream Records from 2000-2005. Guitarist Nancy left the group before they signed to Scream Records. They toured China in 2002, performing in ten cities including

Shanghai Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flow ...

Guangzhou Guangzhou (, ; ; or ; ), also known as Canton () and alternatively romanized as Kwongchow or Kwangchow, is the capital and largest city of Guangdong province in southern China. Located on the Pearl River about north-northwest of Hong Kon ...

, and

Chongqing Chongqing ( or ; ; Sichuanese dialects, Sichuanese pronunciation: , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ), Postal Romanization, alternately romanized as Chungking (), is a Direct-administered municipalities of China, municipality in Southwes ...

. In 2005, they chose to leave Scream Records and were without a record label (and still are). Due to personal reasons, some of the Silver Ash members were forced to leave the band. Guitarist Lucy was replaced by Yue. After much deliberation, Hong had to leave the band and was replaced by new bassist Yu. From there, they added Bai Niao (''White Bird''), on keyboard. Previously, Bai Niao was the vocalist and keyboardist of another Chinese visual rock band called ''Frozen Blood'' (冻结的血液). Silver Ash has faced a lot of difficulties. The other band members had left Silver Ash temporarily to pursue their careers, leaving only Ling for a short period of time. They were also scheduled to tour the US in 2003-2004, but it was canceled due to the

SARS Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) is a viral respiratory disease of zoonotic origin caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV or SARS-CoV-1), the first identified strain of the SARS coronavirus species, ''sever ...

scare. It was last heard that they were still without a record label as well, but were given various offers from Japanese record labels such as Avex Trax. They were previously signed to

Toshiba-EMI , formerly , was one of Japan's leading music companies. It became a wholly owned subsidiary of British music company EMI Group Ltd. on June 30, 2007, after Toshiba sold off its previous 45% stake. Its CEO and president was Kazuhiko Koike. When ...

but were released from the contract again due to government problems. They have not released an album since 2005, citing the slumping economy and reluctant

record label A record label, or record company, is a brand or trademark of music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a publishing company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the produ ...

companies. Silver Ash held a live on August 30, 2006 with Japanese band

La'cryma Christi La'cryma Christi (Latin for "The Tears of Christ") was a Japanese visual kei rock band originally active from 1991 to 2007. At their peak, they were considered one of "the big four of visual kei" alongside Fanatic Crisis, Malice Mizer and Shazna. ...

, particularly to be viewed by the production company Sweet Child. They have also performed with the Japanese bands

Rice Rice is the seed of the grass species ''Oryza sativa'' (Asian rice) or less commonly ''Oryza glaberrima ''Oryza glaberrima'', commonly known as African rice, is one of the two domesticated rice species. It was first domesticated and grown i ...

and Gram∞Maria.

Relaunch of activities

In 2011, Silver Ash released a limited 1000-run press of a new single, "Pretty But Evil". The international digital release of the track on January 4, 2013, inaugurated the beginning of their comeback. They are currently working on a new release which is slated to drop sometime in March or April 2013, for which there will be both English and Japanese versions in addition to their native Chinese. They are currently being represented by EINSOF Marketing Group.

Discography

* Pretty But Evil (2011) #Pretty But Evil #Cosmo #MV: Control-live * 未尽集 (6/2005) #White Dream (白色的梦) #依赖 (Rely) #独舞 (Dancing Alone) #雪痕 (Snow Track) #樱雪 (Flowering Cherry Snow) #月残 X 樱雪 remix (Lunar Eclipse + Flowering Cherry Snow Remix) #珊瑚泪 (Coral's Tear) #葬花吟 (Flower Funeral Song) #SAD SONG (伤心的歌) #眩觉 (Feeling Dizzy) *蝶变: Out of Control (2004/5) #Control 控制 #Return 回歸 #Cry 泣 #蝶变 (Metamorphosis) #午夜 (Midnight) #殇 (Die Young it. Dying Before Your Time *Never End (2003/1/2) #序曲 (Overture) #眠 (dormancy) #Seduction #Never End #Never End (instruments only) *羽翼之祈愿篇 Home Video (2002) #MV：Liar #Home Video #MV：月残 *Silver Ash (2002/1/25) #Gorgeous Devil #风琴 (Organum) #谁 (Who) #Liar #风之断崖 (Wind of the Broken Cliff) #月残 (Lunar Eclipse) #弥沙 (Suffused Sand) #Twins-双生 #疏远 (Estrange) #6月24日-望 (Demo) (June 24: Look) *风琴 (2001/8/30) #月残 (Lunar Eclipse) #风琴 (Organum) #双生 (Twins) #Storm Blast Home Video (Live)【残月夜】

References

External links

Official Website
{{Authority control Chinese rock music groups Musical groups from Beijing Gothic rock groups Musical groups established in 2000