[Album & MV Review] VIXX - 'Kratos'

AKP STAFF

VIXX -- KRATOS

Track List:

1. The Closer
2. Desperate
3. Shooting Star
4. Good Night & Good Morning
5. Romance Is Over
6. The Closer (Inst.)

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VIXX concludes their Conception trilogy with their third mini-album 'Kratos.' The god Kratos is borrowed from Greek mythology, like the titles of their other albums in this project, and is the god of sovereign rule, power, and strength. Ravi co-wrote the lyrics for every tune on here, even the title track "The Closer," produced by the renowned team Devine Channel. "Good Night & Good Morning" is his alone, while he teamed up with Leo on "Romance Is Over."

"The Closer" is an R&B inspired song. The electronics are pushed to the background here, but there's still some cool production thrown at this one. The chorus is emotional as all get out, and Ravi wrote himself a larger rap part than he's had previously -- which is always a good thing. There's no shortage of danceable rhythms and killer hooks here.

I found "Desperate" to be particularly interesting and particularly well-crafted. The creepy, uncanny intro blends seamlessly into the main song. Even the build-up to the chorus is adroitly handled. It's sort of a ballad hybrid�and a near-perfect song for Halloween. This is definitely a nod to their traditionally dark concepts, and it's not hard to see why Leo reportedly said this was his favorite song on the EP.

"Good Night & Good Morning" is a stripped down ballad and contains the trademark high notes, but there's some great emotional rapping in here, as well as some nifty electronic influences. What really strikes me about the tune is a sort of unearthly "lost" feeling, like the singers were wandering in some shadowy otherworld and we can only hear their echoes. It's not as unsettling as it sounds�and makes an effective song.

"Romance Is Over" is sort of a standard ballad and probably the weakest tune on here. It's not that it's bad, just that it's utterly unremarkable. It's got the same exact structure as the millions of ballads that came before it, and likely the same tune. There's not that much emotion that was injected in here, either. It also veers sharply away from their concept.

Most of the tunes on this disc at least start out dark, even if they shift gears in a few seconds. "The Closer" begins with an ominous sounding bell while "Good Night & Good Morning" has some sinister echoes. I like that aspect of VIXX, as it helps distinguish them from many other bands. The EP was pretty good overall, covering the catchy and upbeat tunes as well as the slower ones well. Like the PlayStation version of the god the album is named for, 'Kratos' slays.

MV REVIEW

If you thought the song was good, well, the MV is even better.

We see the scene frozen in various locations, and the boys are frozen along with it. Except for Ken. Alone among them, he is the only one able to move about. He creeps from place to place, regarding each of the other members, frozen in the middle of whatever they were doing.

This is rather expertly filmed, and there are some spots where, truthfully, I can't figure out how they did it. CGI, perhaps? The boys are in mid-fall, mid-run, etc., and it looks absolutely convincing. It also goes right along with their spooky concept�and was more unsettling than anything I saw on Halloween.

Now a tune like "The Closer" wouldn't be complete without dancing, and the boys kill it here as they show off their moves. These sequences are artfully done, and the choreo is awesome.

In case you hadn't figured it out, both the MV and the album are absolute winners.