Album Song Ranking: EXO- The War + The Power of Music

Was the music’s power strong enough?

I’ve been looking forward to reviewing Exo’s new album. I would have covered The War long ago, but I didn’t want to risk having a completed post when a repackage drops. Hopefully they don’t make a repackage of their repackage just to screw me over.

How I’m arranging this is from worst to best, based on my opinion alone, and divide the songs in three sections: Bad, as in I would never listen to this song in my free time. Okay, as in not great or terrible, neutral, simply couldn’t cross the borders it’s between. And Good, as in I either like or love the song. Repackages are included to the original album’s ranking since they’re usually a few extra songs.

12. Sweet Lies

Worthless R&B crap that doesn’t go anywhere as a song and thinks sounding smooth and ambient is all you need to get people to love you.

11. Power

It could have been just a mediocre song, but it dares include Portal 2 sonics at the beginning. That normally wins me over, but the song doesn’t connect well with those sonics. The specific sounds here work best in minor, and the intro gives minor chord feels, then we get stuck with some boring major chord song. What really makes it worse is when they bring back the Portal 2 sounds during the bridge, which is still in major. This song is an insult to Songs To Test By, and we should all blame Exo for Valve not making a Half Life 3, or making any new game that isn’t a Counter Strike game. Thanks a lot, guys.

10. What U Do?

This sounds like the kind of summer driving songs that get radio time here in the States. Whereas it gets stuck being a filler track that doesn’t even get to be performed in music shows in Korea. Still a Top 10 track regardless.

9. Walk On Memories

If walking all over memories makes a song less memorable, than the title fits the song perfectly.

8. Chill

What the hell is that breakdown doing in the middle of the song? How about that breakdown be its own song? It’s cool and mysterious and the most interesting part of this whole ditty.

7. Boomerang

Another song on the album that incorporates Portal 2 sounds, only this time it gives its own soundalike to The Courtesy Call, specifically the first several seconds. That’s very rare in terms of Portal 2 soundalikes in k-pop, so I tip my hat for the effort made. Still Exo’s fault for Valve caring more about CS and Steam.

6. Touch It

Out of the okay songs here, this is the grooviest of the bunch. It made me accept the fact the Portal 2 sonics were carrying the everything else of Boomerang.

5. Diamond

I originally had this in “Okay” in my notes. The 2-songs-in-1 wasn’t that good at first, how the verses sound like an inspirational Western power ballad, then it gets all weird for the other parts of the song. It can’t decide whether it wants to sound Middle Eastern or like the Bastion soundtrack. But what makes Diamond cross the Okay/Good border is the ridiculous “Shining” chanting that sounds like they’re making a sacrifice. We’ll never get to see Exo promote a so-bad-it’s-funny feature track like Wolf again, so a b-side that can make me laugh is refreshing among dull filler tracks.

4. The Eve

Yeah yeah their dancing all sexy and the song is all slick but what I’m focused on is how a part of the vocal melody in the chorus is identical to a part of the vocal melody in NSYNC’s It’s Gonna Be Me. That and I finally realized Sehun is Jun Jin 2.0 during this video. Even the singing parts Sehun has sound like singing lines Jun Jin would get in a recent Shinhwa album. Just pretend Sehun’s hair is black here and they could be brothers. Not father and son, since Jun Jin was barely 14 when Sehun was born.

3. Ko Ko Bop

I really like how the dropping effects are in sync (no pun intended) with the video up until the singing starts. Chanyeol’s hair does make him look like a grandpa during his first rap so that’s a bit off putting. At least the “Awoo” is back, but Lim Kim is still MIA.

I have no issues with the breakdown since it sounds awesome in the final chorus. The song would be flatter than Kansas without it. I wish I had the heart to give it an Extended Thoughts post. It’s not their best feature track offering, but it’s a dope offering compared to much poorer title tracks.

2. Going Crazy

I was really jamming out to this song listening to it, then before the chorus I start thinking “Ohhh baby it’s you!” and it cracked me up being reminded that SM really does recycle their groups. No need to single out YG.

1. Forever

Yet another Portal 2 soundalike. This might be a record for a k-pop album! Like I mentioned for Power, I love it when a k-pop song sounds like a Portal 2 OST. And Power proved that can be a bad thing. Forever isn’t another example of that, as it’s so amazing it doesn’t really need the P2 sonics, but that kind of was what made me love the song. Since Boomerang and Power were in the repackage, SME must have sensed my obsession with Forever and wanted to throw me a bone, but Forever remains the best P2 song by Exo by a long shot.

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And those were my thoughts on the songs! As for the album in total, I think it’s better than EX’ACT, but Exodus had some stronger b-sides. Lay’s absence wasn’t really noticeable since it’s practically been a year since he stopped being gorgeous. Sehun on the other hand got hotter and harder, when you ignore his hair Ko Ko Bop era. Oh wait, music, right. Anyway, I give The War and its repackage 3.5 out of 5.