Chained Up -Freedom..

One of VIXX's most popular releases, and the album I'd recommend to newcomers to get a feel of the kind of music VIXX do best. The album comes in two versions, Freedom and Control, and of the two, this one's my favourite. The physical album itself is quite thick, and it does admittedly take up more shelf space than it really needs to, but part of me still likes the chunky design. Kept shut with magnets, inside you'll find the disc itself, a pretty sizeable photobook, a stampcard, a temporary tattoo of the Chained Up logo, as well as a randomly selected photocard and "instruction paper" (I got N on both of them!). On the disc, you'll find thirteen tracks:1) Mistress (Intro) - An enigmatic, mysterious opener. This sounds like something you hear in a film or on TV, and it prepares you for the tone of the rest of the album.2) Chained Up - The brilliant title track: I knew I was going to like this one as soon as I heard Hongbin's deep, raspy voice at the start. Even after hearing it so many times, I still find myself whispering 'Freeze, armour down, NaNaNaNaNaNaNaNaNa' to myself, and it's an incredibly catchy way of keeping you hooked for the rest of the album. Some people have said this should be the OST for Fifty Shades Of Grey, and while I see their point, such an awful film doesn't deserve such a great song.3) Maze - This one commands your attention within seconds of starting. It has a relentless heavy beat that never lets up all the while you're listening. With equally powerful vocals accompanying the music, Maze keeps the ball rolling and it's a great follow-up track.4) Stop It Girl - I remember someone describing this song as being both sweet and overly possessive at the same time, and I couldn't describe it better myself. On the one hand, it does have that light, sweet feel, but reading the lyrics it is also really possessive, not that I mind that though.5) Hot Enough - Slowing things down with a more seductive song. This one is very sensual, with more brilliant vocal performances on its side - especially one of Leo's high notes.6) Spider - Like Chained Up, I again knew I was going to like this one as soon as it opened with Hongbin's voice. Admittedly, Spider is a little bit clichéd and you need to get used to hearing Ravi's "Please, somebody help meeeee!" to avoid laughing, but that isn't to say I didn't like it. On the contrary, Spider is another great track and probably one of the more memorable ones from the album.7) Out Of Sorts - A slightly slower song and with a bit more of an acoustic feel. Out Of Sorts has that same sweet sound as Stop It Girl, and everyone does a great job singing in what seems to be a slightly higher register than normal.8) Heaven - Ravi's solo-penned song for the album, Heaven is another really sweet song. Hearing Ravi spell out A-N-G-E-L and H-E-A-V-E-N is again really catchy for some reason, and it's another standout track.9) Us Now - The first proper ballad of the album. The voices are just divine here, and even the line distribution seems pretty fair. It's sadly not often we get to hear Ravi sing, but he always does a great job with it, and this is no exception. Praise has to go to Ken's high note as well.10) Eternity - Already released as a single more than twelve months previously, Eternity gets a new lease of life re-released on Chained Up. It's still a brilliant song, and I've no objection to hearing it again here.11) Error - Another re-release, but given that Error is my favourite title track from VIXX, I'm not about to complain. I've already given my thoughts on this song in my review of the EP, but I still love practically everything about it.12) Can't Say - The Korean version of one of VIXX's Japanese releases. This one has a nice R&B feel to it, and it feels really refreshing. One of the first lines of the song "I know love is not forever" - it's not the kind of thing you hear from a lot of K-Pop love songs, so it's a welcome change of pace.13) Chained Up (Instrumental) - It's always nice to hear the instrumentals, and it surprised me how simple yet effective Chained Up's music felt. Without the vocals, it feels like you could use it as backing music for a really tense or action-packed sequence from a film.Overall, Chained Up is one of the most reliable and enjoyable releases from VIXX. Starlights are sure to love it, and I'd recommend this one to newcomers as well - it really gives you a great feel of the kind of music VIXX are capable of making.

Bought this as a Christmas present for my daughter and she is over the moon with it. Arrived within the time stated and was well packaged.