Looking back at EPEX’s discography, I’ve rarely clicked with their music. They pinball between ultra-bright and ultra-aggressive sounds, making it difficult to get a foothold on their concept. New single Full Metal Jacket is a complete 180 from this spring’s buoyant Sunshower, stuffed to the brim with distorted guitar and combative chants.
I’m largely on board with this sound. If you’re going to embrace K-pop’s so-called “noise music,” you might as well go full-bore. I love most of Full Metal Jacket‘s soundscape, from the thundering percussion to the crunchy guitar to the horror show synth. The chorus has an industrial drive, hitting hard. It’s a sonic environment built for a much stronger song.
He’s where the problem lies. The actual song placed over this cool production is threadbare and boring. We’ve heard this tough guy shout rap over and over from K-pop’s boy groups. It’s lost all bite. And while the first half of the chorus has a satisfying rhythm, the second half employs the worst kind of canned chanting. How is that — no matter the group — the sound of these chants is always identical? It must be how they pull up the ends of each line, pitching the notes too high. It’s whiny rather than rugged, making the song feel performative instead of authentic.
Again, this isn’t an EPEX problem. I could rattle off a dozen other groups who’ve recorded in this style with the exact same effect. It’s a shame, because Full Metal Jacket concludes with a compelling guitar solo and double-time propulsion. Maybe the instrumental version would be more satisfying?
| Hooks | 6 |
| Production | 9 |
| Longevity | 8 |
| Bias | 8 |
| RATING | 7.75 |
The Bias List // K-Pop Reviews & Discussion 
BINGO! I got the full dark theme noise music boy band bingo card filled from this one.
(There is no prize.)
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i could think of a hundred exile tribe songs that this song should be going for, but two that come to mind is typhoon eye and fullmetal trigger
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I’m sorry, but what the hell is this chorus? C9 needs to give up on giving EPEX dark concepts
7.5/10 for me
(Also, the title is directly the same name as the 1987 war movie, and the war movie sypnosis is…yeesh)
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I want to like Epex, they have good rappers (for kpop standards) and I’m always rooting for Keum (since PDx101). I actually liked their first and thrid mini albums. I’m not sure what c9 is doing with them, I don’t like this sound for them and I don’t think it fits have the members.
I know not all kpop groups need to do fun and bright but I also don’t need them screaming and chanting all the time. As mentioned, the second part of the chorus made me want to throw my headphones, it was so loud and off putting. The rest of the song wasn’t that bad but my goodness the chorus. Ugh..
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I hear so many things in this 😂 Especially at the chorus I hear some Enhypen Bite Me and then for the second half I hear Trendz Vagabond 😂🤣 It’s a mood ig and that’s all I have to say for the song – I’ll probably enjoy it if it pops up on my playlist once in a while!
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