GHOST9 is back with a brand new single, titled after the capital city of South Korea! SEOUL is featured on the group’s third mini-album, Now: We Are Here. One of the things that I am glad about with GHOST9 is that they (and their management) have already bypassed their first hurdle by already delivering multiple comebacks within less than a year of debut. That is a big feat as they aren’t from a big company, and we have seen many groups from similar companies fail to return after one song. SEOUL follows the release of W.ALL, which was the main title track for their December 2020 comeback.

Within just one listen of SEOUL, I was confident that the new song surpassed their previous title track in terms of likeability, execution and enjoyment. I really liked how the song started off with such an intense introduction, before throwing us a curveball with a higher pitch synth. It was definitely an intriguing start. SEOUL then followed up with the same choppy spiraling synth but at a lower pitch. I liked this reversal as the higher one would have been too whiny to continually listened to, given how much the latter was played throughout the verses. The synth itself brought dynamism, something that I pointed out was lacking in the the verses of W.ALL. It also complimented the lower tone in their members voices when they rapped or sung in the verses. I also liked the energy that the vocals and raps in the verses brought to the section, heightening the dynamism I just mentioned. SEOUL‘s chorus was also pretty good. It went for a more vocal centric approach. I felt that this was a lot less intense and almost softer than their other releases, allowing for a pop vibe to come through. I quite like this changeup for GHOST9 as it brings something different to the table for the group. One thought that did occur to me while listening to the song is that the chorus does feel ever so slightly plain. I feel that was the super critical side of me processing the song. I still enjoyed the chorus nonetheless and would happily continuing listening to the song regardless of that thought. Skipping forward to the bridge of the song, especially with how atmospheric it felt. The heavy thumping made it sound more epic. The higher pitch version of the synth returned just before we launched into the final chorus. I felt quite done with the sound by then, but the higher pitch made it feel reinvigorating and punchy. The ending brought a bit of dubstep to the song, which I quite liked as well. Overall. SEOUL was quite enjoyable.

I was keen on getting a continuation of the big robots that featured in their Think of Dawn and W.ALL music videos. But the music video for SEOUL opted for more traditional icons in the giant department. For this video, the focus was primarily on Seoul (the city) and their giant of choice was a really cool dragon. The city of Seoul was also featured in the video, with the nightline of the city being the centrepiece for this comeback. We saw it behind the choreography shot where they performed on a floating platform which I am assuming is on Han River. We also saw it in their rollercoaster ride, though I assumed this was more post-production than reality. I also liked how they performed in front of the more traditionally structures of the city, acknowledging the culture of the city. The hanboks and jackets worked really well, as well. Overall, a really good video.

I liked the choreography for this comeback, but I felt that it could have been a little more powerful. It was going in the right direction, but I felt their moves were a bit weak and could have been sharpened a bit. I know they employed some smooth moves during the chorus, but that doesn’t mean other parts didn’t need to be a bit sharper. Other than that, I really like the choreography for the bridge and enjoyed the different vibe the ending part had when the dubstep started to come through.

Song – 9/10
Music Video – 9/10
Performance – 7/10
Overall Rating – 8.6/10