Chthonic Vocalist Freddy Lim is the New Taiwanese Ambassador to Finland

Metal is often a rebellion against politics, so it’s always fascinating to see the two worlds collide.

The most recent example of this comes from Taiwan, where Freddy Lim—vocalist for death metal band Chthonic—has been appointed as Taiwan’s new ambassador to Finland. Notably, Lim is a longtime politician who served two terms as a member of Taiwan’s legislature, from 2016 to 202. He is considered to be the first ever metal musician to become a member of a national parliament.

“Beyond my musical ties, my long-standing commitment to human rights, progressive values, and the fight against authoritarianism are ideals that Taiwan and Finland deeply share. These are all areas where our future cooperation and exchange can grow stronger,” Lim said in a statement, shared by Metal Injection.

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As the outlet also points out, it makes a lot of sense for Taiwan to take advantage of the fact that one of their biggest metal musicians is also a politician who can serve as ambassador to Finland, considering that the Scandinavian country is home to 80 metal bands per 100,000 people.

During Lim’s tenure in the Taiwan parliament, he advocated for legislation that led to it being the first Asian country to legalize same-sex marriage. Other uses of his time included: fighting for more indigenous rights protections, supporting budgets that would provide humanitarian aid to Ukraine, championing transitional justice, and calling for past authoritarian Taiwanese documents to be declassified in order for the country to show transparency to its citizens.

Additionally, Lim played an important role in the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee as an active voice for parliamentary diplomacy. In 2022, he spoke at the Copenhagen Democracy Summit in Denmark and, in 2023, he delivered a message at the Oslo Freedom Forum in Norway. Lim’s speeches drew attention to the need for global human rights, which put a positive spotlight on his country.

Who is Freddy Lim?

Prior to his work in the Taiwanese parliament, from 2010-’14, Lim served as Chair of Amnesty International Taiwan. During this time, he was involved in international human rights projects, which would often take him to countries like Finland, Sweden, and Germany.

Certianly with his new role, it’s unlikely that Chthonic will be doing any major tours in the foreseeable future, but they did recently drop a new single, “Endless Aeons,” which you can listen to above, and a new live EP, MEGAPORTAL2425, that you can check out by clicking here.