The Samans

The Samans (Chinese: 萨满; pinyin: Sàmǎn) are a Chinese metal band that got their start in 2007 in Changchun, Jilin. The six members—Lifu Wang on lead vocals, Yaxin Gao handling programming and samples, guitarists Zhichao Ren and Xiaoyu Zhai, drummer Chenglin Ji, and bassist Ji Qi—draw their name from the shamanist religion practiced by the group, who come from Northeast China and Inner Mongolia. They chose the spelling "The Samans" over "Shaman" because, in their own language, the word is not pronounced that way. Over time, their music has shifted from electronic and industrial metal toward folk and melodic death metal, and the majority of their lyrics are in English.

The band first appeared on stage in 2007 as a two-piece electronic act playing nu-breakbeat. After that, their sound moved away from nu-breakbeat and EBM with metal touches, heading into industrial metal and alternative metal. Later, they added elements of melodic death metal and folk metal, bringing in instruments like flutes and whistles. Their influences include industrial metal groups such as Rammstein, KMFDM, Deathstars, and Neue Deutsche Haerte.

Most of the lyrics are written by lead vocalist Lifu Wang.

The Samans performed at the Ocean Midi Festival in Rizhao, Shandong, on August 4, 2011. They also played the Beijing Midi Festival on April 29, 2012. In 2023, they were among the heavy-music acts scheduled for the Yantai Huang–Bohai Sea Midi Festival.

Their discography includes the EPs *Weltreich* (2009), *Khan* (2011), *Whalesong* (2012), and *Lionheart* (2013), as well as the double album *Saga×Monologue* (2021). Singles released are *Silent Planet* (2008), *Death March* (2008), *Moths to the Flame We Are* (2009), *Attila* (2009), *The Marines* (2009), and *Snowblind* (2009).