Isle (Aboriginal Gods Enthroned)") is black metal. Keyboardist Ambrosia occasionally sang in the early songs as well. From the start, Lim has written songs in Taiwanese, Classical Chinese, and Mandarin Chinese; more recent albums have been released in English versions as well. Success in Asia (1998–2002) Chthonic's debut album, Where the Ancestors' Souls Gathered (祖靈之流), was released in late 1998. The band released the album independently and it reached No. 2 on the Tower Records pop music chart for Asia. In 1999 Zac, Xiao-Yu, and Xiao-Wang left the band and were replaced by Jesse Liu, Doris Yeh, and AJ Tsai respectively. The band recorded their second album 9th Empyrean (靈魄之界), which was released in Taiwan by Crystal Records in 2000. It reached No. 1 on the Tower Records pop music chart for Asia and was also considered one of the best ten Mandarin albums of that year by Hong Kong's MCB magazine. This album's music style is closer to symphonic black metal, with Lim adopting harsh vocals mixed with keyboardist Ambrosia's female singing. The song "永固邦稷" ("Guard the Isle Eternally") was the first Chthonic song to mix Asian pentatonic scale melodies with black metal. In 2000, Chthonic appeared at the Fuji Rock Festival, one of the biggest rock festivals in Japan, and embarked on their first international tour through Japan, Hong Kong, Malaysia, and Singapore. In Hong Kong, they signed with Catalyst Action Records, and in Japan, Soundholic was their distributor. In 2001, keyboardist Ambrosia left the band and was replaced by Vivien Chen. Chthonic then recorded their third album, Relentless Recurrence, which was based on the legendary Taiwanese ghost story "Lin-tou Jie." The album was recorded in Denmark and released in Taiwan by Crystal Records in 2002. The album retains the symphonic black metal style mixed with Taiwanese elements. Relentless Recurrence was also the first Chthonic album written entirely in Taiwanese. In 2002 the band completed their second international tour, and played at the old stadium of National Taiwan University with traditional Taiwanese lion drums and a traditional Taiwanese orchestra. Success in Europe and the United States (2002–08) In 2002 Chthonic signed with Nightfall Records in the United States and released an English version of 9th Empyrean in North America. All subsequent Chthonic albums have been released internationally in English versions. In 2002 the band played festivals in the United States, Japan, and Hong Kong; and toured with Swedish