Chinese metal bands turn up the volume as live venues reopen

The moment the metal singer Shui Shu spread his arms, Buddhist prayer beads in hand and incense wafting from the stage, his band unleashed a wall of sound on the crowd.

Live venues in Beijing were recently allowed to reopen at 50 percent capacity, as life in China increasingly returns to normal.

Black metal is a sub-genre that creates a dark, moody atmosphere layering heavily distorted guitars and high-pitched vocals.

Bassist Liu Zheng of the Chinese folk-metal band Dream Spirit performs at the Wukesong Mao livehouse in Beijing, China

Li Shun, Shun Zi and Wang Bao of the Chinese folk-metal band Dream Spirit perform at the Wukesong Mao livehouse in Beijing, China.

Members of the Chinese folk-metal band Dream Spirit Zhang Yao, Peng Lian Jing, Wang Bao, Shun Zi, Liu Zheng and Li Shun pose for a picture before their performance at the Wukesong Mao livehouse in Beijing.

Shui Shu, Li Que and Wang Xiao of the black metal band Bliss-Illusion rehearse at their studio following an outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Beijing.

Shui Shu of the black metal band Bliss-Illusion applies his make-up before playing a concert at Omni Space following an outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Beijing, China.

Shui Shu's band Bliss-Illusion is part of the country's small but buoyant heavy metal scene, where bands mix genre standards with Chinese elements.

Keyboard player Zhang Yao of the Chinese folk-metal band Dream Spirit. Members of the band perform in traditional Chinese hanfu garments, used the downtime to write songs, including one about the workers who built two emergency hospitals in Wuhan, the city where the coronavirus was first detected.