H.O.T.

Outside Castle (S.M. Entertainment)
by Michael McCarthy

Outside Castle is the fifth album by Korea’s H.O.T. and what a disappointment it is. Many have long referred to the High-five Of Teenagers as Korea’s boy band, but they used to release diverse, groundbreaking albums. O4 [I yah!] was one of strongest experimental discs I’ve ever encountered with songs heavier than anything Metallica has done in years and ballads that might excite Radiohead’s Thom Yorke. Unfortunately, 5 is mostly generic-sounding ballads and fails to try anything new, even when it gets to its stronger tracks like “Natural Born Killer” and “Abandoned Children.” That one of the forgettable ballads, entitled “My Mother,” is based around a sample of Wham’s “Careless Whisper” should sum up how sad it is. All hope is not lost though… They recently did the soundtrack for the animated Korean movie, Age Of Peace, which includes a pair of in-your-face techno-rock songs, “OP.T (Operation Takeover)” and “The Best.” Even their score is enticing, making the disc a nice consolation prize for those of us wishing 5 were more like 04.