IZ*ONE – Vampire Review

Release Date: September 25, 2019

Track Listing

Regular Edition A

1. Vampire
2. Kimi Igai
3. Love Bubble
4. Vampire (Instrumental)
5. Kimi Igai (Instrumental)
6. Love Bubble (Instrumental)

Regular Edition B

1. Vampire
2. Kimi Igai
3. Shigaisen Nanka Buttobase
4. Vampire (Instrumental)
5. Kimi Igai (Instrumental)
6. Shigaisen Nanka Buttobase (Instrumental)

WIZ*ONE Edition

1. Vampire
2. Kimi Igai
3. Fukigen Lucy
4. Vampire (Instrumental)
5. Kimi Igai (Instrumental)
6. Fukigen Lucy (Instrumental)

Special Edition

1. Vampire
2. Kimi Igai
3. Love Bubble
4. Shigaisen Nanka Buttobase
5. Fukigen Lucy

Review

Vampire is the third Japanese single release from IZ*ONE. It is a gothic themed song that has has a slightly darker and dramatic sound thanks to its concept. This departure from the 48/46 styled pop makes it different from the rest of their Japanese material in a good way.

While it isn’t on the level of their Japanese debut, Vampire is at least a step up from Buenos Aires as there are no awkward rap breaks that kill the flow of the song. It feels much more cohesive in that sense. Despite being a generally decent track it is not exactly the type of killer ear candy you would expect. It seems to be lacking the energy and excitement that IZ*ONE have become known for with these types of songs.

The remainder of the Vampire single is very similar to Buenos Aires where a couple of the b-sides keep it from falling apart. Kimi Igai and Love Bubble in particular show the vigor that is missing from the a-side. The latter could arguably be considered the best Japanese song they have released since Suki to Iwasetai. Whether you agree with that or not, it is at the very least the strongest song in this single package.

So now that IZONE are three singles deep how are they doing in Japan? After starting out so strong it now appears that the Japanese side of IZONE is becoming about pushing units by fleecing their fans with mediocre to okay songs packaged in 16 different ways.

AKS/OTR lucked out with Suki to Iwasetai being consistent across the board, Buenos Aires was the opposite and it started to push the needle in the wrong direction musically (with a couple of exceptions) for IZ*ONE in Japan.

That downward movement does not change with Vampire. The same production quality control issues that popped up in Buenos Aires rear their ugly head here for some strange reason making their Japanese songs sound worse than they should be.

In the end Vampire is a passable song that is easily out shined by its b-sides. At minimum it should placate those who have the hunger for new IZ*ONE music until their (most likely higher quality) Korean single arrives.