On November 17, 2023, Enhypen released “Orange Blood” after teasing the album with special album sleeves during their second world tour: Fate. The sleeves only included part of the album's title: “______Blood.” Fans made guesses about what the first word could be, and “orange” certainly didn’t cross many minds. Still, the strange title is fitting for the 7-track album, which is softer than much of Enhypen’s previous work, but still carries the group’s unique flavor. “Orange Blood” is an aesthetically and musically beautiful ode to love.
“Mortal” opens the album with a magical instrumental and Jungwon’s voice, not singing yet, but speaking in a tone that seems to come straight out of a movie trailer. The members trade lines, alternating impressively between Korean, English, and Japanese, until they break into song just under a minute in. The chorus carries the emotionally impactful melody to it’s peak before dying back down into dramatic speech for the second verse. This beautiful experiment with form conveys through spoken words and lyrics in three different languages that everything is temporary, that, according to the first verse, “The only thing that is immortal is mortality.” The song is a promise to stay together while it’s possible, and an affirmation that this short life is still worth the struggle for its beauty. “It's okay if it's a journey towards the end/If only I could go hand in hand with you/Oh, even in mortality, yeah/It will be beautiful.”
The album’s title, “Sweet Venom” has a groovy instrumental and a somewhat repetitive falsetto chorus that sings of, “Swee-hee-hee-heet, hee-hee-hee-heet veno-no-nom.” The song, which serves as yet another Michel Jackson throwback, is about feeling like you need someone even if they always hurt you. This is the sweet venom referred to; the person seems sweet, making the singers want them, even when in reality they’re toxic. “Sweet Venom” is yet another manifestation of the contrast and push and pull present in so much of Enhypen’s past music. It can be seen in both a positive and negative light (persevering through pain and continuing to love someone because they're worth it vs continuing a toxic relationship when you really shouldn't).
While “Sweet Venom” talks about the poisonous side of a relationship, “Still Monster” is about the positive side. This song has a pretty, smooth flow, with a calm beat and an interesting variance between the different parts of the song. “Still Monster” describes feeling like a monster in the first verse, using references to vampires that fit the rest of Enhypen’s lore. The chorus comes to the conclusion that, “In the end, the answer is always, only you.” This is expanded upon in the second verse: “You're the only savior to me full of scars/You're the only one who taught me how to see me/I can only be me when I'm by your side/I'm not a monster.” The post chorus, however, repeats the line, “Still a monster”, signaling an ongoing struggle, and this same line is repeatedly interchanged with, “I'm not a monster” at the end of the song.
“Blind” opens with beats that build up only to crash back down into a calm verse that eventually levels out into the echoey pre-chorus and the long notes of the impactful chorus. The song is about being “blind” to everything except for a certain person. This includes ignorance of common sense, and results in blindly following the other anywhere. “Even if my eyes are blind, my eyes look for you (Woah)/Even if my whole body burns, I walk towards you.”
“Orange Flower”, with the alternate title, “You Complete Me”, is arguably the most emotional song on the album. With a soft guitar melody, this movie-like track compares love to, “An orange flower blooming like warm sunlight,” and asks the one the singers love to, “Color me entirely with you.” This love is something that fills Enhypen up, bringing light to a dark world and completing them.
Though “Orange Flower” sounds like a lovely way to end the album on a sweet note, two additional tracks are tagged onto the end: an English version of “Sweet Venom”, and a third version of the title featuring Bella Porsche. The English version is catchy and fun to sing along to, and Bella Porsche’s version has the exact same lyrics, only she sings the second verse and harmonizes on the final chorus. “Sweet Venom (feat. Bella Porsche)” turned out to be quite controversial and was even boycotted by some fans due to past disrespect on Bella’s part. Additionally, I don't see why it was necessary to include three versions of the same song in one album in the first place, but that isn't to say that each version doesn't have value musically.
“Sweet Venom” is about loving someone who hurts you, for better or for worse. Through all of the other songs in the album, we understand why this choice is made. “Still Monster” claims that this person is the only answer in a battle against the monster within, and “Orange Flower” confirms that this person is what makes them feel complete, and “Mortal” is a commitment to enjoy life together even if life is short. “Blind” makes it clear that they really don't know what to do besides follow this person; they're blind to everything else. Through these songs, we see what “Orange Blood” is really about; a beautiful, consuming dangerous love.
“Mortal” opens the album with a magical instrumental and Jungwon’s voice, not singing yet, but speaking in a tone that seems to come straight out of a movie trailer. The members trade lines, alternating impressively between Korean, English, and Japanese, until they break into song just under a minute in. The chorus carries the emotionally impactful melody to it’s peak before dying back down into dramatic speech for the second verse. This beautiful experiment with form conveys through spoken words and lyrics in three different languages that everything is temporary, that, according to the first verse, “The only thing that is immortal is mortality.” The song is a promise to stay together while it’s possible, and an affirmation that this short life is still worth the struggle for its beauty. “It's okay if it's a journey towards the end/If only I could go hand in hand with you/Oh, even in mortality, yeah/It will be beautiful.”
The album’s title, “Sweet Venom” has a groovy instrumental and a somewhat repetitive falsetto chorus that sings of, “Swee-hee-hee-heet, hee-hee-hee-heet veno-no-nom.” The song, which serves as yet another Michel Jackson throwback, is about feeling like you need someone even if they always hurt you. This is the sweet venom referred to; the person seems sweet, making the singers want them, even when in reality they’re toxic. “Sweet Venom” is yet another manifestation of the contrast and push and pull present in so much of Enhypen’s past music. It can be seen in both a positive and negative light (persevering through pain and continuing to love someone because they're worth it vs continuing a toxic relationship when you really shouldn't).
While “Sweet Venom” talks about the poisonous side of a relationship, “Still Monster” is about the positive side. This song has a pretty, smooth flow, with a calm beat and an interesting variance between the different parts of the song. “Still Monster” describes feeling like a monster in the first verse, using references to vampires that fit the rest of Enhypen’s lore. The chorus comes to the conclusion that, “In the end, the answer is always, only you.” This is expanded upon in the second verse: “You're the only savior to me full of scars/You're the only one who taught me how to see me/I can only be me when I'm by your side/I'm not a monster.” The post chorus, however, repeats the line, “Still a monster”, signaling an ongoing struggle, and this same line is repeatedly interchanged with, “I'm not a monster” at the end of the song.
“Blind” opens with beats that build up only to crash back down into a calm verse that eventually levels out into the echoey pre-chorus and the long notes of the impactful chorus. The song is about being “blind” to everything except for a certain person. This includes ignorance of common sense, and results in blindly following the other anywhere. “Even if my eyes are blind, my eyes look for you (Woah)/Even if my whole body burns, I walk towards you.”
“Orange Flower”, with the alternate title, “You Complete Me”, is arguably the most emotional song on the album. With a soft guitar melody, this movie-like track compares love to, “An orange flower blooming like warm sunlight,” and asks the one the singers love to, “Color me entirely with you.” This love is something that fills Enhypen up, bringing light to a dark world and completing them.
Though “Orange Flower” sounds like a lovely way to end the album on a sweet note, two additional tracks are tagged onto the end: an English version of “Sweet Venom”, and a third version of the title featuring Bella Porsche. The English version is catchy and fun to sing along to, and Bella Porsche’s version has the exact same lyrics, only she sings the second verse and harmonizes on the final chorus. “Sweet Venom (feat. Bella Porsche)” turned out to be quite controversial and was even boycotted by some fans due to past disrespect on Bella’s part. Additionally, I don't see why it was necessary to include three versions of the same song in one album in the first place, but that isn't to say that each version doesn't have value musically.
“Sweet Venom” is about loving someone who hurts you, for better or for worse. Through all of the other songs in the album, we understand why this choice is made. “Still Monster” claims that this person is the only answer in a battle against the monster within, and “Orange Flower” confirms that this person is what makes them feel complete, and “Mortal” is a commitment to enjoy life together even if life is short. “Blind” makes it clear that they really don't know what to do besides follow this person; they're blind to everything else. Through these songs, we see what “Orange Blood” is really about; a beautiful, consuming dangerous love.
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