Back in August, ALPHA DRIVE ONE made their comeback with their second mini-album, Unbreakable: 少年Beast, led by the single BORN DIRE. I haven’t reviewed the comeback single yet, so I am finally posting my thoughts on their latest single today. ICYMI – ALPHA DRIVE ONE is the group formed from the winning trainees from BOYS II PLANET, and they made their debut quite early in the year with FREAK ALARM. They later returned in May with OMG! (I also haven’t reviewed it, but I’ll try to by the end of the year!)

Also, you might have noticed the lack of reviews for rookie groups this year. Don’t fret, because there will be another Rookie Week in November!

Anyhow, BORN DIRE is an intense dance track that throws you straight into British Rave and punk rock blend from the start. I remember my ears perking up within the first few seconds at the intensity and dynamic energy when I first checked out the song. That was a good sign for BORN DIRE, with the first few seconds capturing the essence of what would be a memorable aspect of the song. I really liked the focus on punk elements in the instrumental break, as well as the concentration in BORN DIRE‘s final moments. Beyond the production, the members’ delivery was also strong. I liked that you could consistently hear them clearly amid the instrumentation, and their execution was compelling. If anything, I felt their verse parts could have been bolstered to add more depth to the track. My biggest issue with BORN DIRE was the lack of a memorable hook. What we got was decent, but it didn’t match the bar the instrumentation set.

Whoever did the visual effects for this music video needs a pay raise yesterday. I was blown away (and still am) by all of the post-production in this music video. BORN DIRE conveys the message of not stopping and continuing to race even amid the chaos of control. In the music video, we see society trying to track and potentially control the members, who are seen as beasts (cue the gargoyle and wing imagery). While dodging cameras and the people literally holding them back, the members climb to the top to embrace what society fears about them. This concept has been done before, but it feels perfectly suited to today.

The word intensity is getting its work out today, and the performance definitely captures that aspect of the song well. On top of that, the synchronisation between the members looked insane and made the performance super cool. XINLONG’s slight b-boy moves in the first pre-chorus and the dance break by SANGWON, ANXIN, XINLONG, and ARNO also add to that coolness factor.

Song – 8.5/10
Music Video – 10/10
Performance – 9/10
Overall Rating – 9.1/10