In this day and age in the oversaturated K-Pop market, one of the main difficulties new groups have is to stand out amongst the crowd. Concepts have been repeated many times over, some to success and others, not so much. But when was the last time you heard of an entirely medieval focused concept? 

KINGDOM first gained attention for the unique angle to their debut and many were intrigued to see how it would play out. The new boy group also happens to be promoting at the same time as the announcement for Mnet’s new reality show KINGDOM, which could certainly gain the group a bit of attention by coincidence. One thing is for sure, this new boy group has been committed to their concept, but how exactly did that play out both musically and visually?

The Title: “Excalibur”

It’s certainly an experience to see a Korean group exploring a medieval European concept, and if it's been done before it definitely hasn’t been recently. When you’re used to seeing historical concepts manifesting in the form of historical Korea, historical Europe will throw you for a loop. This is obviously more prominent in the visuals than in the music, which comes as your more standard modern pop track. The beat kicks off and is fairly infectious, but what strikes immediately is the pre-chorus where it all fades to feature the vocals, which has the members singing accidentals over a church organ, and no lie, it can be a bit jarring. It’s an interesting composition choice. There’s a lot of use of accidentals from the vocalists all through the track, which is something that helps the track stand out, but it can also be a bit much for some listeners. It’s a pretty solid song, especially if you enjoy something a bit off the beaten path.

The real magic is in the music video production. Here is where we see a full story fitting of the medieval concept. Kicking off with a back silhouette shot of the members carrying swords and wearing the traditional knight garb, the scenery of a desert opens up before flashing to the group’s metal logo. The concept is definitely carried out to the fullest, with the text on screen matching to a medieval type. The intensity is felt through each shot, with costumes for the backup dancers on point and the choreography sharp. It’s definitely an experience. 

It will certainly be interesting to see how the lore of KINGDOM will roll out now that they have officially made their debut.

Check out the music video for “Excalibur” below!