HYBE’s enigmatic boyband ENHYPEN has been around for just over two and a half years, but in that brief time span, they’re already proving to be one of the most concept-driven forces to date – due to an intricate origin and lore and an established vampiric backdrop.
Because of that atmospheric dedication, ENHYPEN has additionally remained one of the few active groups to create such a strong cinematic journey, naturally offering the group’s smitten fandom (ENGENE) a real reason to follow its trajectory. By knowing what sounds, creative desires, and even which complimentary, rich tones are authentic to the HYBE lineup, there’s a rather palpable sense of connectivity behind their identity that makes every release that much more exciting. And in their new mini-album DARK BLOOD, ENHYPEN is taking a solid stab at nourishing the group’s uncanny performance-based reputation.
When celebrating their album during a recent press conference surrounding DARK BLOOD, the group previewed their (soon-to-be) hit single “Bite Me,” along with a captivating performance and the reveal of their thematic music video in order to double-down on the delivery of this entrancing track. Through the song’s addictive pre-chorus-to-chorus transition or their sultry, simplified-pop formula, listeners get that perfect taste of what ENHYPEN is capable of – with the overarching album described by its members as “dark,” “sexy, and “mature” in order to depict ENHYPEN’s transition from buzz-worthy rookies to mainstream artists.
While discussing the 10-month hiatus in-between ENHYPEN comeback eras, Heeseung explains, “All of our members are shown such growth” with Jake adding, “I know [our fans] ENGENE has waited for a long time, so we’ve put a lot of hard work into our new mini-album.” However, in that time frame, the group was extremely busy and still able to hold their own highly successful world tour, where the album was said to be teased to its members through the “Bite Me” demo. “During the world tour when we heard the demo for ‘Bite Me,’ I [immediately] started working on choreography in our hotel room,” Ni-ki explains before confirming that the aforementioned contributions would thankfully make the cut throughout the electric music video. Which, by the way, was filmed in an actual castle in Poland.
“The background, performance, our costumes, all tied together and resulted in a stunning music video” Sunghoon passionately explains to various media platforms in attendance. And in all sincerity, is an accurate depiction of their work. In “Bite Me” (regardless of its song or music video format) we witness a specific ‘cool factor’ with pockets of hypnotic dance beats and precise vocals – tinted by the darkest shade of pop-music blood. But in the end, vamp-tinted impressions aside, Sunghoon best describes its overall theme of DARK BLOOD, telling us, “The album includes just how precious the relationship is between ENHYPEN and ENGENES.” He concludes, “It’s basically a love story.”
Ready for a taste of blood straight from the vein of pop music? Discover the vibrant power of ENHYPEN with the new mini-album DARK BLOOD, or even their music video for the title track “Bite Me” included above!
