BURSTERS are a five-piece alternative, Post-Alternative Hardcore act from South Korea. They are leading the first wave of a new genre that is set to take the world by storm, K-Rock. The band came to the UK for the first time in July 2019 for the first part of the World Tour: K-Rock Revelation.
The band first burst onto the scene in Korea in 2014 when they appeared on TV show “Superstar K”. In the midst of the all powerful K-Pop, BURSTERS are the only metal band to ever reach the Top 6 in the history of “Superstar K”. The band signed to Evermore Music and released their debut EP “Independent” in early 2015. An additional 3-track EP was released in late September 2015 and the bands acclaim outside Korea grew with over 1.2 million views on YouTube for “Lost Child”. BURSTERS built up a cult following through relentless touring, and their debut album in Korea (“Live In Hope”, released in 2017, was critically and commercially acclaimed, achieving 85/100 in the Japanese rock bible magazine Burrn!).
If 2019 was the year K-Pop conquered all, 2020 is set to be the year K-Rock becomes the next dominant force in world music, with BURSTERS leading the charge.
BURSTERS is a very unique group for Korea in that all members are on equal standing and there is complete equality in their communication and in every member’s input into the band’s music, message, and more. This makes BURSTERS create a music of synergy unique to the band. The reason is that all members of BURSTERS are the same age, which is a very special case in Korean society. Age difference plays a pivotal role for any relationship in Korea. The older is automatically given the right to decision-making and the superior position in big and small ways. But for BURSTERS, all five members lead the group equally, a rare case for Korean artists.
It’s also very unique among Korean music groups how the members have been friends since middle school. They started in music due to each other’s influences. To be specific, Daegun, Gyejin, and Junyong were childhood friends and Hwanhee joined before the band went on Super Star K and Taehee joined last year.
Gyejin and Junyong were neighborhood friends as children and then they met Daegun in middle school. In middle school, Junyong wanted to learn an instrument so he picked up guitar, and then Gyejin did the same.
Daegun originally liked ballad and pop music, but Gyejin and Junyong introduced him to Linkin Park. That’s how he got into rock music and the singing style he has now.
The band’s first single from their new album will be released on February 19th.