Dark Blood: It's you and Enhypen in this world

Graphics by Alexandra Genesis

𝘐𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘪𝘴𝘩 𝘵𝘰 𝘦𝘴𝘤𝘢𝘱𝘦 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘸𝘪𝘴𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘍𝘢𝘵𝘦, 𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘮𝘣𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘸𝘰 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘥𝘴: 𝘉𝘪𝘵𝘦 𝘔𝘦.

As ENHYPEN released their fourth mini-album 𝘿𝙖𝙧𝙠 𝘽𝙡𝙤𝙤𝙙 this May 22nd, they continue to keep their listeners engaged through their immersive storytelling. Their discography consistently depicts the ENHYPEN boys as supernatural vampires, and it is no doubt that Dark Blood adds something new to the lore. They started with an eight-minute concept trailer, which gives us a gist of what the upcoming album will be about. It shows the romance between a girl and a boy, including fight scenes that end in injury or death. At the end of the trailer, she bids farewell as she bites him to “save him,” and he starts to fade.

Dark Blood consists of three versions: Full, Half, and New, which reference the different phases of the moon. The Full version shows us a luxurious concept depicting the boys as princes, with each member holding different objects. In the Half version, they swim gracefully underwater, but around them lie surroundings ruined by a flood. Lastly, in the New version, they are in a field of beautiful red flowers. ENGENEs (ENHYPEN's fans) come up with theories of what these concepts could mean to this day, but they happily welcome the pictures, whether for the lore or to see their favorite boys.

And now for the main highlight; the songs. ENHYPEN has once again shown us a masterpiece in the form of a six-track album. As the comeback theme suggests, all six tracks share imagery of being bound by fate to “you” by using different metaphors. The album starts with an intro entitled Fate, a Renaissance-style pop that begins with a monologue calling for his fated one.

The title track, Bite Me, is a pop song that tells the story of a boy who reunites with the one he is destined to be with. Produced by Cirkuit (producer of The Weeknd's Die for You) and Jason Evigan (producer of Demi Lovato's Heart Attack), the addictive beats can get us hooked on the song. However, the storytelling from the lyrics also plays a part in making it so enjoyable, especially by ENGENES. After not seeing each other for so long, the boy has almost lost sight of his destiny until he sees you again. He wishes to have you by his side more than anything because that is his fate. With "Just come kiss me and bite me" being the most notable lyric of the song, it is very telling how much he wants to be with his beloved once more.

The rest of the tracks are also worth looking into, each with its own stories or messages that cohesively follow the album theme. As the title suggests, Sacrifice (Eat Me Up) is an alternative R&B track about how he will sacrifice anything: his flesh, blood, and even life for you. Chaconne is a soulful hip-hop track depicting him dancing to no end as if he was drunk, which beat would make you want to dance too. Bills is an emo hip-hop track that tells us his regrets of losing someone we hold dear, conflicting between wanting to hold tight and wanting to let go. Lastly, Karma is a punk hip-hop track that emphasizes that he "does not give a what" about what other people have to say because he and his beloved are tied in fate now, the previous lives, and the next.

What are you waiting for? Are you ready to seal your destiny with ENHYPEN? Listen to their newest title track, Bite Me, available on YouTube, Spotify, and Apple Music!