The next album on my reviewing radar is ATEEZ’s latest release, Zero: Fever Part 2. The group’s last comeback featured Part 1 of their Zero: Fever series, featuring the title track Inception. This occured July 2020. And over half a year later, the group has finally returned with the second part of the series. ATEEZ’s latest title track, Fireworks (I’m The One) features on the mini-album, along with four new tracks. In addition to that, the album also features two alternate versions of Take Me Home (one of their new songs) and Fireworks (I’m The One). Per usual, I won’t be reviewing those two tracks and you can find them on YouTube or Spotify if you to check them out. But before you do that, check out my review of the individual songs on this release!

1. Fireworks (I’m The One) – Click here to read the full review for Fireworks (I’m The One). (8/10)

2. The Leaders – The Leaders is definitely something that falls into ATEEZ’s portfolio with its intensity. But this isn’t the usual type of intensity that is reliant on the instrumentation. Instead, I think it is more of how the member captivated me through their rapping and delivery of lines. On that front, there is a lot going on. You have powerful rap lines that dominate the verses to whisper-spoken lines in the chorus. Some of the lines and melodies felt like it easily could be the next trendy hip-hop song that Korea tends to fall in love with every now and then. This is all layered on top of a trap-beat instrumental. This is powerful in its own right and definitely adds to the intensity. Overall, The Leaders is an unconventional song (at first glance) that somehow gets me hooked on and following ATEEZ as my leaders. (9/10)

3. Time of Love – Definitely a 180 degree change from the two songs preceding Time of Love. The third song on the album comes unexpectedly, as it adds a sweet sound to the album following intense numbers. A lot of sunshine and peppiness comes from this song, something that I don’t we would associate with this group whatsoever. But interestingly, I really like how Time of Love stood its ground. It is actually one of my favourite songs off the album. It was a catchy number with memorable hooks. Time of Love’s instrumentation is still synth-dominant, but the energy that comes from it makes me want to smile. The members, regardless of their positions in the group, all sound amazing throughout the song. (9.5/10)

4. Take Me Home – Take Me Home takes a step towards their roots and away from that unexpected change in sound that preceded this song. What makes Take Me Home stand out is its retro sounding background, which really leaves a positive impression on me. Rather staying on the EDM front with their intense sound, this change in style is refreshing and interesting. Take Me Home also showcases the amazing vocals and rap that we know ATEEZ is capable of. The melodic chorus was one of the highlights. Also Hongjoong’s ‘Over and over again’ overlap and rap sequence was really memorable. But you know what spoke to me the most? It was the saxophone solo at the very end. It was an unexpected addition, but one that really caught my attention. (10/10)

5. Celebrate – Celebrate is the final new release on this mini-album. It is another fun song that brings a smile to your face. But it isn’t as unexpected change in sound as Time of Love was. Celebrate is of a different style, opting for what felt was a very upbeat gospel-like tone, mixed with some jazzy notes. There was also choir in the background of the song, emphasizing this style. What Celebrate does so well is showcase the members. I know many of their songs do this already. But honestly, how iconic and powerful were the vocals in this song? Jongho’s ad-libs in the final chorus, San’s tone at the start of the bridge. The rappers also showed off their stuff, with their parts further fueling the energy of the song. Everything comes off as powerful, which is definitely one of the highlights of ATEEZ’s music. (10/10)   

Overall Album Rating – 9.3/10