Hailing from the distant city of Nanjing, in the heart of China, Silver Falcon are a band that have chosen to remain faithful to the most authentic roots of heavy metal. In a musical landscape where traditional metal is still striving to find its place and gain wider recognition, the quintet have embraced the legacy of the NWOBHM, blending it with the energy of classic hard rock, occasional speed metal accelerations and a strong melodic sensibility.
Following their debut album Skyblade, the band returned with Jet Stars, a second chapter that broadens their compositional horizons, enriches the arrangements and places greater emphasis on the interplay between the two guitars. An evolution that does not abandon its roots, but instead explores new musical possibilities through harmonised passages, twin-guitar solos and influences drawn from the rock sounds of the Sixties and Seventies.
We caught up with Silver Falcon to learn more about their history, discover what it means to carry the torch of traditional heavy metal in China, and explore the ambitions of a band that is also looking with great interest towards the European metal scene. Here's what they told us.
Interview by: Beppe "HM" Diana
Hello guys, welcome to our pages! You come from Nanjing, China, a country that is still relatively unexplored by many European metal fans. How did the band come together, and what was the original idea behind the project?
Hi, we're Silver Falcon. Our members are The Prisoner (Vocalist), Haoming Li (Guitarist), Silence (Guitarist), Tianyin Wang (Bassist), and Speed Scum Dog, aka S.S.D (Drummer). Greetings to all the fans in Europe.
The Prisoner: We started out as a four-piece. We wanted to form an NWOBHM band in what was basically a desert for traditional heavy metal. Personally, I just wanted to be in a band because I loved it.
Haoming Li: Silver Falcon came together entirely by chance. At first, we planned to play Motörhead-style speed metal, but before long we felt like making something more complex and melodic. That's how Silver Falcon's journey began.
China has an enormous musical and cultural heritage, but its metal scene remains largely unknown outside the country. How would you describe the current Chinese heavy metal underground?
The Prisoner: If you'd asked me two years ago, I'd have said things weren't good. Now I think it's at least a lot better than it was back then. But we still need fresh blood and a better environment. I believe things will get better.
Haoming Li: China lacks bands that play heavy metal in the stricter sense of the term. A lot of musicians, intentionally or otherwise, muddy the waters and copy things without making them their own. As a result, their music often lacks a clear identity and becomes a mishmash that has "a bit of everything but never makes anything clear."
Tianyin Wang: Cultural authorities impose strict controls. Fans and musicians focus more on personal relationships: they form cliques, shut people out, or attack each other, while paying less attention to the music itself. Building an industry around the music and making it commercially viable are major challenges.
Silence: There isn't enough interesting original music.
Your music is deeply rooted in traditional heavy metal, with clear references to the NWOBHM, classic hard rock and even some thrash influences. Which bands and albums had the greatest impact on your musical development?
The Prisoner: For me, it started with established bands like Iron Maiden, Dio, Helloween, and Accept. In recent years, it's mainly been NWOBHM bands such as Tokyo Blade, Grim Reaper, Randy, and so on.
Haoming Li: In terms of our development as a band, Japan's Loudness are a model for us to learn from. Personally, Metallica's "Ride the Lightning" has been hugely important.
Tianyin Wang: "Heaven and Hell"
S.S.D: Iron Maiden, Tokyo Blade, and Enforcer.
Silence: UFO, Scorpions, Loudness
What does heavy metal mean to you personally? Is it primarily a musical passion, a lifestyle, or a way to express something that cannot be communicated through other forms of music?
The Prisoner: It's hard to define it as just one thing. It has played different roles at different stages of my life. All the things you mentioned have been true of it, and they still are. One thing worth mentioning is that heavy metal led me to join a band and gave me a musician's perspective. That perspective is wonderful. If I hadn't become a musician and taken part in creating music, I might never have experienced it. It's completely different from a fan's perspective. Heavy metal is undoubtedly a very important part of my life, and I think it will continue to be.
Haoming Li: All three. I love heavy metal; it's my way of life, and its sound lets me express myself freely.
S.S.D: For me, heavy metal gives me the feeling of burning until there's nothing left. More extreme forms of metal have never given me that experience.
Silence: My attitude: rebellion and staying true to myself.
Your debut album, Skyblade, introduced Silver Falcon to the underground metal scene. Looking back, what do you think you learned from that first recording experience?
The Prisoner: We recorded our first album live in a single take, and our guitarist then mixed it at home in three days. It was my first recording experience and gave me my first overall understanding of how recording works. That provided an initial benchmark for improving our recording skills later on.
Haoming Li: Recording live together is cool, but it isn't right for us.
S.S.D: Being at peace with imperfection.
Jet Stars represents your second full-length album. What has changed in the band's musical approach and songwriting compared with Skyblade?
The Prisoner: With a new guitarist joining the band, our ambitions for the second album were definitely greater than for the first. We wanted catchier melodies, better recording and mixing, and a wider range of elements. So we drew on some rock music from the '60s and '70s, tightened up the song structures, and came up with some pretty infectious melodies in the process. I'm quite happy with it.
Haoming Li: Obviously, we added more solos, more complex harmonies, and faster tempos on the second album. Those changes owe a lot to the efforts of our new members, as well as the lessons we took from the first album.
S.S.D: While writing the drum parts, I also tried more complex arrangements with a more progressive, epic feel.
Silence: We tried adding more twin-guitar solos, some Japanese heavy metal influences, and more blues elements to the songs. Put simply, "Jet Stars" was an exploration and an experiment for us.
The album title Jet Stars is quite evocative. What does it represent, and is there a specific concept or story connecting the songs?
The Prisoner: There wasn't really a connection between the songs when we first wrote them. Once the whole album was finished, though, I pulled together a story and wrote it into our album description. That's the passage you can find there. Each song has a bit of a story behind it. For Jet Stars, for example, once our two guitarists had finished the full GTP score, I started imagining scenes of battles in space. You know, our first album featured a plane, so we thought perhaps the second could take us into outer space. Call of Freedom is about a motorcycle. In China, motorcycles have to be scrapped once they reach a certain age, but I don't think the bikes want to be scrapped.
Haoming Li: We came up with the title when we saw the sketch for the album cover. It represents lots of stars and spaceships.
Silence: Speed, courage, resilience
Your music combines traditional heavy metal with a strong rock'n'roll attitude. Was this balance something you deliberately pursued, or did it emerge naturally during the songwriting process?
The Prisoner: For the vocals, it developed naturally during the writing process. Writing music has gone hand in hand with my own life, so some of my attitudes naturally found their way into it. And a lot of those attitudes came from this music in the first place.
Haoming Li: It happened naturally. We write all the music first and add the lyrics afterward. The direction the music already has strongly influences what the lyrics are about.
Silence: I really like a lot of classic rock music, so some of those elements naturally find their way into my writing.
Tracks such as Metal Tsunami and Stand Up and Fight convey a strong sense of energy and determination. What are the main themes and messages behind your lyrics?
The Prisoner: Our lyrical themes are pretty random. To be honest, I don't know what message I'm trying to get across. I've always felt that I don't know much. I'd rather describe scenes in plain terms or raise questions. As for the answers, I leave those to the listener, because I don't have them either.
Rock 'n' Roll Bombers seems to embrace a more rebellious and straightforward attitude. How important is the rock'n'roll spirit within the Silver Falcon identity?
The Prisoner: With this song, I just wrote whatever came to mind and said whatever popped into my head.
Haoming Li: Our starting point as a band is to keep the music pure, so certain rock and metal "principles" mean a great deal to us.
The CD edition of Jet Stars was released through Witches Brew Records, an independent label with a strong connection to the international underground. How did this collaboration come about?
The Prisoner: We sent them our music, and Witches Brew accepted it. It was a very smooth collaboration. When the CDs made their way across the ocean and into our hands, I was beyond excited.
Haoming Li: One afternoon, I was listening to "Axeblade," which they had released. I really liked it and thought the label might be a good fit for us, so I decided to get in touch. WB really liked our music, and that's how the collaboration came together.
Witches Brew released Jet Stars in a limited CD edition. How important are physical formats such as CDs and vinyl for a young underground band in today's digital music landscape?
The Prisoner: They're very important. From a listener's point of view, they're something people want to own. From a band's point of view, they're proof that you exist. They give your music a place on the shelves of a record shop, where it can be chosen on equal terms, without depending on an algorithm's recommendations.
Haoming Li: A physical album offers a kind of security. It means your music can't be erased so easily.
What is the situation like for heavy metal bands in China regarding live performances, recording studios, promotion and finding an audience? Are there significant differences compared with Europe?
The Prisoner: I think the main urban centers in China, such as Beijing, Tianjin, the Yangtze River Delta, and the Greater Bay Area, have enough infrastructure for metal, including live venues and recording studios. But heavy metal bands aren't making full use of it. What I've observed is that there are plenty of bands, and they can all find at least a few gigs, but they haven't released albums. So they use the venues, but may not be using the recording studios. Promotion is mostly handled by the bands themselves or by independent influencers who help spread the word. Very few professional management teams offer services to heavy metal bands. I don't really know the European scene well, but my general impression is that every European country has at least a few metal bands, and most keep improving their professional skills, recording, releasing albums, and playing live.
Haoming Li: China has a serious shortage of professional support crews and reliable ways of working. For example, most Chinese metal labels don't even have a business email address or an official website. Unless you're introduced through certain "middlemen," it's almost impossible for a band to discuss business with them.
Silence: Another example is that most sound engineers at live music venues don't understand heavy metal. Unless you make special arrangements, the live sound they produce is often disastrous. All you can hear is the deafening kick drum, while the guitar melodies turn into a muddy mess.
Have Silver Falcon had the opportunity to perform live regularly in China? What kind of reaction do you receive from audiences, and would you like to tour Europe in the future?
The Prisoner: We've played quite a lot since releasing our second album this year, roughly one show a month, and we've visited several different cities. The audience response has been good. A band playing our style should get onstage more often, because that's where its appeal really comes through. We'd really, really love the chance to play in Europe. I used to study in Belfast, so personally I'd especially like to play at least two shows in Northern Ireland: one in Belfast and one in Derry.
Haoming Li: We've played a lot of shows in China this year. Many people in the audience were seeing us for the first time or weren't even fans of ours, but they generally thought Silver Falcon were great live. As a result, our merchandise sold very well. Playing in Europe is a dream of ours.
Silence: We'd love to tour Europe. It would be a real learning experience for us.
What are your thoughts on the current international heavy metal scene? Do you feel that traditional heavy metal is experiencing a renewed interest among younger musicians and fans?
The Prisoner: Traditional metal deserves a revival, and I do feel that younger musicians and fans are taking a renewed interest in it.
Haoming Li: The international metal scene is what we aspire to be part of. There are so many talented bands in the younger generation, and seeing their impressive performances often puts a lot of pressure on me. Traditional heavy metal really is experiencing a revival. Just look at the band competition at Wacken, where a traditional metal band from South America took first place.
Silence: Great things will always stand the test of time and live on.
Finally, what can we expect from Silver Falcon in the coming years? Are you already working on new material, and what message would you like to send to Italian metal fans discovering your music through this interview?
The Prisoner: We've already finished writing one song for our third album and experimented with a new recording approach and a different location. We'll keep creating and stick with it to the end.
Haoming Li: Work on our third album has already begun, so stay tuned. Silver Falcon will keep getting better. Thank you for your support.
Silence: We'll continue exploring and trying new things on our third album. This isn't the end. I believe the next record will give our fans a fresh experience.
Tianyin Wang: Stay healthy, stay happy, and if you get the chance, come to a show and have some fun with us.
S.S.D: Thanks for the interview! Thanks for the support! We'll keep the fire burning. Full S
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