Interview Efflore

Emerging from the shadows of Taiwanese folklore, Efflore blend haunting ghost stories, ritualistic intensity, and Oriental black metal into a deeply emotional journey through grief, resistance, and cultural identity.

1. Elegies of the Island draws deeply from Taiwanese ghost stories and urban legends—what inspired you to center the album around these narratives, and how did you choose which stories to include?

At the beginning, we chose ghost stories because of Taiwan’s traditional religious worldview.

Taiwanese folk belief is a mixture of Taoism and Buddhism — a polytheistic system where heaven, hell, gods, ghosts, and spirits all exist within the same cosmology. We do not really have a figure like Satan, nor a clear “dark side” to worship or oppose in the Western sense.

So we began to wonder: if black metal had emerged in the East, or in Taiwan, what would it sound like?

In Taiwanese culture, certain things are deeply taboo — contacting wandering spirits, disrespecting gods, summoning ghosts, or disturbing the dead. To sing about calling spirits is already something very unsettling here. Since black metal has always carried a strong religious and ritualistic energy, these stories felt very natural for us.

At first, we chose famous Taiwanese ghost stories. Recently, we have also started digging into lesser-known tales that were passed down by older generations, hoping to bring them back to younger listeners.

2. The album carries a strong sense of grief, injustice, and unresolved sorrow. How important is it for Efflore to use black metal as a medium for storytelling and emotional expression?

For us, black metal has always carried a sense of sorrow. Even when it is violent or aggressive, there is often a cold sadness behind it.

This connects very naturally with Taiwanese ghost stories. Because our religious worldview does not really have one great dark force like Satan, many of our ghosts and monsters are born from tragic fate, injustice, or unresolved grief.

That is why black metal feels like the perfect medium for these stories. It is like screaming dark tales into a cold mist.

3. Your sound blends traditional elements like pentatonic melodies and gong with black metal. How do you approach balancing authenticity in these cultural elements with the intensity of extreme metal?

We usually use the gong together with the drums. In some more rhythmic sections, the gong parts become more complex, so it is not only there for atmosphere — it also helps create movement and cultural texture. You could almost imagine it as a traditional version of a percussionist in a metal band.

The pentatonic melodies took more time to develop. In the end, we tried to blend or alternate between Chinese pentatonic scales, Japanese pentatonic colors, and darker black metal-style melodies.

“Siu Niu” is probably the song where we achieved this balance the best.

4. The track “Siu Niu” is particularly powerful—what drew you to the story of Chen Shou-Niang, and how did you translate her legend into music?

“Siu Niu” is the Taiwanese Hokkien pronunciation of Chen Shou-Niang, using one of our local languages.

She is known as one of the most powerful female ghosts in Taiwanese folklore. According to legend, her hatred was so strong that she even fought against gods. The idea of an ordinary woman’s ghost shaking the heavens is very rare in Taiwanese ghost stories, so she holds a very special place for us.

Her story is full of grief, hatred, and dignity. Musically, we used long screams and sorrowful pentatonic melodies to express her emotional state.

5. The “Siu Niu” music video emphasizes themes of resistance and dignity rather than just horror. Was it important for you to reshape how ghost stories are perceived in a modern context?

Yes, it was important.

At first, we considered making the video in a traditional historical style. But besides the huge budget it would require, many films and dramas have already presented ghost stories that way.

As a band, we felt we should find a different angle.

We did not want “Siu Niu” to be only a horror story. To us, her legend is also about resistance, dignity, and the anger of someone who was wronged. We wanted to bring that feeling into a modern context.

6. There’s a strong ritualistic and theatrical aspect to your music and performances. How do you conceptualize your live shows as “spirit-summoning rites”?

At the beginning of our live shows, we ring a Taoist spirit-summoning bell. It symbolizes calling the spirits to join the performance.

We also throw ritual paper during the show. This type of paper is usually offered to the dead — not to gods, but to ghosts and spirits.

One of our songs, “The Chair Ouija,” tells the story of a little girl’s spirit attached to a chair. Sometimes we actually bring a chair on stage, almost as if we are summoning her into the venue.

For us, the show is not just a concert. It is closer to a ritual.

7. “Oriental Black Metal” is a distinctive label—what does that term mean to you, and how do you define your identity within the global black metal scene?

To us, “Oriental Black Metal” means an Eastern version of black metal.

Maybe in a parallel world, if the black metal wave had happened in Taiwan or somewhere in East Asia, it might have sounded something like this.

In terms of the global black metal scene, we do not see ourselves as the most extreme or underground form of black metal. Our sound is somewhat more accessible, closer in spirit to bands like Cradle of Filth or Dimmu Borgir. But that also allows more people to enter our world and understand the stories we want to tell.

8. The album is described as both a culmination and a new beginning. In what ways does Elegies of the Island mark a turning point for Efflore?

Efflore has gone through many lineup changes over the years, and there was always some internal tension about whether we should fully embrace an Eastern musical direction.

This album marks the moment where both the lineup and the direction became clear.

It also gathers almost all of our ghost-story-related songs so far, including some re-recorded older tracks. In that sense, it is a conclusion of our past, but also the beginning of a more defined future.

9. Many of the stories you explore involve themes of oppression and injustice. Do you see your music as carrying a social or political message as well?

Yes, to some extent.

Taiwan’s history is very complex. We have experienced colonization by different powers, including the Dutch, Qing China, and Japan. Our own government also committed violence against the people in the past. Today Taiwan is a democratic country, but even the name “Taiwan” is still not fully recognized internationally. Our official name is the Republic of China — but not the “China” most people think of.

In a way, tragic fate has always been tied to Taiwan. But that has also created a unique rebellious spirit.

Many stories on this album revolve around sorrowful revenge and embracing local Taiwanese culture. For us, it is also a way to remind ourselves that we are Taiwanese — not another country.

10. Looking ahead, do you plan to continue exploring Taiwanese folklore, or are there other cultural or thematic directions you’re interested in pursuing next?

Yes, we will definitely continue exploring Taiwanese folklore and ghost stories.

This album confirmed the path for us. At the very least, Efflore will continue walking the road of Oriental Black Metal.

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