03/06/2025

LYFE TUESDAY | JUNE 3, 2025

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Riize riding crest of popularity

ALBUM REVIEW

Maceration comes alive again METAL, just like K-pop, has a long line of side projects and solo vehicles. Given the former genre has a longer history, its collective discography is littered with plenty of vanity projects – some good, some bad and some, well, downright ugly. Ű BY R.BALA

S OUTH Korean male group Riize is set to perform its debut concert at Idea Live Arena in Kuala Lumpur on Aug 15. The show is part of the 2025 Riize Concert Tour (Riizing Loud), which will begin on July 4 in Seoul, South Korea. Fans can expect to hear live performances of tracks such as Get a Guitar , Memories and Siren from members Eunseok, Sungchan, Wonbin, Sonhee, Shotaro and Anton. The group debuted in 2023 under SM Entertainment, releasing its debut single Get a Guitar which topped the iTunes Top Songs charts in countries such as Malaysia, Philippines and Thailand. In South Korea, the track entered the Melon Top 100 and continued to climb, peaking at number 25, exceeding public expectations and proving the group’s potential. The group then won the Best Male Group award at the Melon Music Awards, becoming the fastest group in history to receive this honour. It then made its comeback recently, releasing its first full-length album Odyssey . The two title tracks Bag Bad Back and Ember to Solar feature powerful choreography and addictive, rhythm-driven melodies, which earned widespread praise from fans and critics alike. o K-pop group to perform first time in Malaysia this August

Falling squarely within the first category is Maceration, which was formed in Denmark in 1990 by Jacob Hansen and Jakub Schultz as a side project to their full-time band Invocator. Given their day job was more thrash metal oriented, Invocator’s Weave the Apocalypse is a bona fide classic, Maceration was a vehicle for them to go in a different direction. This allowed them to pursue a death metal sound that was taking shape in the early 90s without comprimising the ideals of the more technically-proficient leanings of Invocator. Given that it is a side project, Maceration’s output has been decidedly patchy over the decades with just two full length releases decades apart, in 1992 and 2022. Now, there is a third LP joining the list – Serpent Devourment . Clocking in at just under 40 minutes, this latest effort is pure old school death metal. Just quality, chugging riffs propelling songs with lots of throat-clearing effects for vocals. Featuring the right amount of polish and shine, Maceration straddle the area occupied by bands such as Bloodbath, Iron Flesh and Amorphis. Highly competent musicianship alongside a healthy respect for studio wizardry allow the band to capture the sonic signatures that make for great remain completely unmoved? An international study, published in the journal Nature Communications suggested musical enjoyment is partly encoded in our genetic makeup. A research team led by the Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics conducted an original study using a classic method of behavioural psychology: twin analysis. More than 9,000 Swedish twins (identical and fraternal) were interviewed to assess their sensitivity to musical enjoyment, attraction to rewards in general and auditory abilities (perception of rhythm, melody or pitch). Up to 54% of the variations in the way participants experience musical pleasure could be attributed to genetic differences. However, this sensitivity seems to be partially independent of our taste for other forms of pleasure, such as food or social rewards, but also of our musical skills. But, loving music to the point of being moved by it could be rooted in our biology. The researchers identified several genetic pathways involved in different aspects of the musical experience – the regulation of emotions, the pleasure of dancing to the beat or playing music with others. This highlights how intimate,

Maceration’s latest album is a celebration of old school death metal. – PIC FROM FACEBOOK @MACERATION death metal. The opening title track sets the tone with its vicious, head removing riff that invites listeners to just let loose and headbang along. Energetic and full of vigour, it is the type of tune that is perfect for a high intensity workout or burning the midnight oil for exams. Another highlight is A Corrosive Heart Fell Below with its full-on double bass drum attack that will push even the most heavy duty of subwoofers. Truth be told, there is plenty to enjoy on this album. As an example of old school death metal, this album does the job magnificently, highlighting all that is pure and wonderful about this genre. Serpent Devourment is released via Emanzipation Productions and available to stream on all major platforms.

Genetics make us move to music WHY do some people get swept away by emotions when listening to a song, while others

The group will perform in Malaysia for the first time on Aug 15.

Blackpink to return later this year GIRL GROUP Blackpink will return with a new song featuring all four members later this year, the head producer of the group’s agency revealed recently. company’s official blog. Yang did not provide a specific release date. The upcoming single will mark the group’s first release in two years and eight months, following its second full-length album Born Pink in September 2022.

on July 5 and 6. Yang said rookie girl group Babymonster will drop a pre-release single Hot Sauce on July 1, followed by a second single in September and an EP on Oct 1. He described Hot Sauce as an addictive hip-hop song with a late 1980s vibe. He also added that boy group Treasure will release a new EP on Sept 1 and begin a new world tour in October. Yang said the company aims to support the group in releasing more than two albums annually. YG Entertainment also plans to introduce a new four-member girl group and a new boy group next year. Starting Wednesday, practice videos of the new girl group members will be released one by one. “Currently, YG has two boy groups and two girl groups preparing for their debuts. I definitely want to launch one boy group next year,” Yang said. However, the company noted the debut of the new girl group is expected to come later, as Yang expressed a desire to focus on Babymonster’s growth through the end of next year. – Bernama-Yonhap

“We will soon be able to announce news about Blackpink’s new song,” YG Entertainment founder and executive producer Yang Hyun-suk said in a video posted on the

Blackpink is set to launch a new world tour, titled Deadline, with shows in Goyang, northwest of Seoul,

Loving music to the point of being moved by it could be rooted in our biology. – PEXELSPIC complex and fundamentally human our relationship with music is. For Max Planck Institute doctoral student and the first author of the study Giacomo Bignardi, these discoveries open a new door to the understanding of pleasure. “These findings suggest a complex picture in which partly distinct DNA differences contribute to different aspects of music enjoyment,” the researcher explained in a news release. Deciphering the driving forces behind these gratifying experiences redefines human musicality, no longer a simple matter of culture or learning, but an intrinsic reflection of our biological identity. – ETX Studio

Blackpink is set to launch a new world tour, titled Deadline. – PIC FROM FACEBOOK @BLACKPINK