Freddy Lim, vocalist for Taiwanese extreme metal band CHTHONIC and one of the world's few musicians to have served in a national parliament, reflected on the intersection of art and politics in a new appearance on the Bleeding Metal podcast, recorded at this year's Tuska festival in Helsinki, Finland.
Lim served two terms as a member of Taiwan's legislature, from 2016 to 2024, becoming the first metal musician known to hold a seat in a national parliament. During his tenure, he helped pass legislation making Taiwan the first country in Asia to legalize same-sex marriage and pushed for humanitarian aid to Ukraine. In 2025, he was appointed Taiwan's ambassador to Finland — a posting he called fitting given the country's reputation as "the heavy metal capital of the world."
Asked whether music still holds power as a force for political change, Lim said his years in office taught him the limits of legislation. "Artists are capable of doing a lot of things that politicians cannot," he said. "Cultural change, cultural reform is more important, and that's something politics cannot do... Art inspires people to learn why it matters."
Lim also detailed the harassment CHTHONIC faced over the years for its lyrics, rooted in Taiwanese history and mythology. Early in the band's career, during Taiwan's transition to democracy in the 1990s, officials pressured the group to tone down its message. Later, he said, threats came from a different direction. "We got threatening e-mails from so-called associates with China asking us to cancel our show," Lim said, recalling a tour with ARCH ENEMY when the band was warned it would be killed if it took the stage. CHTHONIC refused to cancel, citing the fans from Tibet, Hong Kong and Uyghur communities — many not metal fans themselves — who showed up backstage with food and gifts in solidarity.
CHTHONIC has released albums including "Mirror Of Retribution" (2009), "Takasago Army" (2011) and "Battlefields Of Asura" (2018), and has played Ozzfest, Download and Wacken Open Air. The band slowed its overseas touring during Lim's time in parliament but continued releasing music, including the singles "Pattonkan" (2023) and "Endless Aeons" (2025). Lim said he decided not to seek re-election after declassified government files revealed previously unknown details about his grandparents' history under Taiwan's authoritarian era — a discovery he said echoed the very themes CHTHONIC had long explored in its music.