Taiwanese extreme metalists CHTHONIC - fresh from a tour of duty with Ozzfest and currently in the midst of their first-ever North American headline shows, which precede a brief tour with CRADLE OF FILTH - have confirmed their first batch of fall European tour dates. They are as follows:

November

9 - Hard Rock Hell Festival - Minehead, UK
30 - Markthalle - Hamburg, Germany

December

1 - Lindenpark - Potsdam, Germany
2 - Alte Spinnerei - Glauchau, Germany
4 - Bastard Club - Osnabruck, Germany
6 - Romein - Leeuwarden, Holland
7 - Biebob - Vosselaar, Belgium
9 - Substage - Karlsruhe, Germany
11 - Wigwam - Budapest, Hungary
12 - Fleda - Brno, Czech Republic
13 - Colos Saal - Aschaffenburg, Germany
14 - Z7 - Pratteln, Switzerland
15 - Hexentanz Festival - Illingen, Germany

All concerts in continental Europe will see ChthoniC play alongside Finnish "heroic folk metal" warriors ENSIFERUM (Spinefarm Records). Additional performances - including the band's first-ever UK tour - will be announced shortly.

On the heels of the recent international re-release of their 2002 album Relentless Recurrence and last year's double live album/DVD A Decade On The Throne, ChthoniC have impressed crowds this summer with their unique style of symphonic black metal, which prominently features a hena, a

two-stringed Oriental violin known for its "weepy" and melancholy sound. During each concert, the band has performed the tour's theme song, 'UNlimited Taiwan', written and recorded this spring "to emphasize the 'UNlimited' potential of Taiwan and the Taiwanese people," according to

vocalist Freddy Lim. A short film inspired by the track, which includes stirring historical footage of Taiwanese citizens' fight for democratization, was recently assembled by esteemed Taiwanese motion picture director Cheng Wen-Tang (The Passage, Somewhere Over The Dreamland) and posted on the group's MySpace page.

On September 16, just two days before a new session of the United Nations General Assembly opens in New York City (where Taiwan will once again petition to be formally recognized as an independent country, and not a Chinese province), ChthoniC will hold a special UNlimited New York concert at Manhattan's Highline Ballroom, located less than three miles from the UN, on September 16. Tickets are currently available on the venue's website, www.highlineballroom.com, and at their box office.

Because this is the group's third New York City concert in recent weeks, coming on the heels of an August 21 performance with NILE and a September 12 concert alongside OBITUARY (which replaces their canceled appearance alongside KATATONIA), ChthoniC has arranged for the Highline Ballroom to offer tickets for only $5 to anyone who redeems a ticket stub from one of their previous shows at the venue's box office. For everyone else, a $2 discount can be obtained by purchasing the tickets online at www.highlineballroom.com (enter "un4taiwan" in the access code field). Furthermore, the first 100 fans in the doors will receive a free set of ChthoniC "paper dolls," which are sold in toy stores throughout Asia. (A photo can be seen here).