Album Review: VIXX's Hades

Release Date : August 12, 2016

Tracklist :
1. Fantasy
2. Love Me Do
3. Butterfly Effect (나비 효과)
4. Fantasy (Instrumental)
Total Runtime: 00 : 14 : 11

Recommended for: Listeners love a good, epic and short boy group album

NOT recommended for: People who are not fond of busy and hard-hitting numbers

Concept-dols VIXX evolve into inner Greek gods to deliver their second breath-taking single album of the year, Hades.

This is VIXX’s sixth single album and is the second instalment of the group’s 2016 Conception trilogy.

The boys adopted a God concept, which derived from God Hades, an ancient Greek chthonic god of the underworld.

The single album features three brand new tracks and an instrumental track, which are musically of a high calibre.

Review

Track 1/Title Track – Fantasy

VIXX rarely ever fail to deliver dramatic and exhilarating title tracks. “Fantasy” begins with a dark piano tune. Ravi’s deep voice and Leo’s soft adlibs conclude the intro. Main vocalist Ken delivers a few lines in his lower register in the first verse. Fellow main vocalist Leo expresses his exhaustion before Hyuk and Hongbin call for help. N brings up the intensity to end the verse. The chorus is filled with screechy, phrased high notes, which compliments the epic instrumentals. The highlight bridge features a slow build up starting from Ken and N to Leo who attacks his high note. Ravi follows with his charismatic rap. In the final chorus, Leo blasts out his vocal chords with some nice adlibs from Ken and Hyuk. N dreamingly wraps up with the line, “It’s all mine, it’s my fantasy”.

Track 2 – Love Me Do

This track is interesting track by the VIXX boys. A fast beat and a bit of electronica kicks off the song. The beginning of the first verse features Ken and Leo’s smooth vocals. Leo then uses his falsetto to trade lines with Hongbin, who whispers “like a diamond” before N delivers his lines strongly. Hyuk and the main vocal duo wrap up the lengthy verse. The chorus is filled with EDM tunes coupled with the vocal lines that are punchy and sung in staccato. Ravi finally makes an appearance in his bridge with a short yet flat bout of rap. In the final chorus, Leo executes a few vocal runs before N smoothly finishes “Love Me Do”.

Track 3 – Butterfly Effect (나비 효과)

“Butterfly Effect” is a nice, medium-tempo number and is the closest song to a ballad on VIXX’s single album. In the early stages, a trumpet plays a simple tune along with a chilled concert band in the background. Hongbin is the first to sing and he uses his boyish tone to capture everyone’s attention. Hyuk follows suit but his tone sounds thicker than the former’s. N and Hyuk finish the verse with Ravi’s little rap commentary. The chorus features Leo and Ken’s emotional vocals. Before the second chorus, Ken goes for an ascending vocal run right into his upper register which breaks the previously mid to low note progression. In the bridge, Ravi saves his best rap for the last song. The main vocalists give it their all in the final chorus. N and Leo sweetly end the track by using their pretty falsettos.

Hades is a very solid single album that fits well with the Greek god concept. The compositions are consistent as each song matches the mysterious and thrilling theme of their album. VIXX may not have the best vocalists out there. But technique aside; Ken and Leo’s high notes lift up the intensity of the songs when needed. Hyuk and N sing in a more comfortable range and their lines were rather nice and served as a break from all the screechiness. Ravi and Hongbin did not have a whole lot of lines but they could have given more impact through perhaps adding a bit of punch. One negative would be VIXX delivering a similar sound to their previous releases as none of the songs posed as a surprise. It would be good to see VIXX venture out of their regular hard-hitting tune and explore a new genre in the future.

Replayability -GREEN
Will replay this when lacking excitement or during exercise