Admittedly I didn't want to review another S.M. artist because over the last few months I've overloaded on their releases but hey. They provide me with plenty of new songs and material so I have to oblige, plus I got to take a review break with some bonus material. With Red Velvet having achieved breakout status earlier in the year, S.M. turns to their next youngest group. EXO's 3rd studio album would feature a pair of title tracks, but we're going to review the more interesting song "Monster." And I promise this will be the only mention of the matter, but I'm glad to see Lay is still with the group.
This song is what "Mama" and "Wolf" wanted to but ultimately failed to be. Angst, power, aggression, etc. "Monster" captures those elements while at the same time being free of the issues that plagued its predecessors. "Monster" sounds like the same song from the second it starts to the second it ends, and there are no sudden changes in the nature of the music at any point. Awkward transitions are also absent, making the song one fluid listen. Perhaps most importantly, there are no chants or screaming and that's fantastic.
Will I ever stop praising Chen? Doubtful, as he's just too good. Now more than ever, it seems he's solely in the spotlight, though Baekhyun does put forth a convincing argument for himself. This is mostly because of the chorus, where I only seem to hear Baekhyun and nobody else. "I'm creeping in your heart babe" is certainly an appropriate line considering the title and they make it work. I don't really like the short quips in the 2nd verse by Chanyeol and Sehun but it's a small price to pay for such a balanced song otherwise. Another trademark of EXO has always been amazing bridges, and "Monster" is no exception to the rule. Those high notes are delicious and setup Chanyeol nicely for his rap. Finally, that ending is smooth as hell, goddamn. Chen and Baekhyun are heroes.
Here's the problem with having a split rap: it requires both rappers to be on the same skill level. It works for Twice because Chaeyoung and Dahyun are roughly equal to each other, and it doesn't work 9MUSES because Erin is much better than Sungah. In EXO's case, Chanyeol is far and above what Sehun is capable of - even though he (Sehun) did improve vastly from "never don't mind about a thing." Now that I think about it, Chanyeol is really the only rapper in all of S.M. that's respectable (at worst) so perhaps this was ill-fated to begin with. Things are further complicated with how much the rap jumps between members. If it was split once like in "Love Me Right" I probably wouldn't have minded as much but too many jumps make it not as good. This would've been much better if Chanyeol had the entire rap to himself.
The footwork is really the highlight of this dance. There's a lot of stuff going on, and even the performance video makes it difficult to track the moves (no thanks to the constant scene switching). While I much prefer synchronized dances for large groups, EXO have already had their share of those in songs past, so I can appreciate the deviation this time around. The chorus is quite entertaining, with some fancy footwork and formation changes joining together pleasantly. Suho gets the most intriguing part of the choreography, with the rotating move along with a shuffle while the other members do some fancy shuffle of their own. I'd hesitate to say this dance is better than that of "Wolf" but it gets the job done and certainly meets EXO standards.
Meh. This isn't anything we haven't seen before. Angsty boys doing angsty things with a dark ominous color scheme. It's decidedly below average compared to EXO videos of the past, if only because this is a stale concept, and previous MVs emphasized the dance with better camerawork, etc. However, compared to the rest of the field and it's pretty baseline. Sometimes the video gives me a headache with how much and quickly they change scenes but outside of that there's not much to write or complain about. By the way is that the same warehouse as f(x)'s "Red Light?"
If this were another group, I'd decisively label this song as pretty standard. The singing and dance is good, albeit accompanied by a generic video and an imbalanced pair rap. But, this is EXO, who have had troubles with their serious non-dance songs in the past. To see "Monster" finally succeed in where "Mama" and "Wolf" failed is a testament to their growth. Their choreography is always a treat and with Chen and Baekhyun doing marvelous work in the vocals, they seam the other elements of the song together. Once they can configure a perfect rap for Chanyeol, then EXO will be on another level.
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