Band Silica Gel, 3rd regular album in 3 years... 'Ballad of You' released

BAND SILICAGEL releases its first regular album in three years, titled "Blade of You." Their label, CAM+More, announced the release of the album on the same day. This is their third regular album since their second album "Power and Dre 99" in 2023. Earlier this year, the band announced that they would be moving away from their previous "Machine Boy" world and presenting a new musical direction.

New branding materials, including a new profile image and teaser content, were released starting last month, and they even previewed a few new songs at the 2026 Incheon Festival in late December. The album's overarching theme is "Narasingha," a concept introduced by the band during the production process. It reinterprets the Buddhist concept of Samsara in a three-dimensional structure rather than a flat, repetitive one, and this is reflected throughout the music and visual imagery of the album.

All 12 tracks on the album feature ASCII Art, which uses combinations of characters and special symbols to create images. Unlike their previous metallic imagery, the album also actively employs a paper-like texture. The title track "Manpashiki" takes its name from the legend of the flute "Manpashiki" from the Unified Silla period.

The music video, directed by Jeon Jae-min, features a soaring bird and Hanja typography to emphasize an Eastern aesthetic. The music video was released on their official YouTube channel alongside the album. The band has also announced a live performance featuring all of the tracks from the new album on March 26-27 at Olympic Park in Seoul.

This will be one of their largest solo performances. Following that, they will embark on their debut Asian tour starting in Hong Kong, continuing to Tokyo. Realistically, they are establishing themselves as a major force in the alternative rock scene in Korea.