Visual kei act DELRIUM out of Seoul, have been at it for some time now, releasing a handful of singles, playing live, and even their debut album expected late this summer! The band discusses with us how they came to be, why go this route with this particular style, and so much more that is in the works for them!
1. Where did you get the idea for the band name, you planned it or did it come out just like that?
We were drinking at a pub, and the beer was DELIRIUM tremens. The word just looked cool, so we took it — and then we found out it's actually a pretty terrifying word: a trembling state of madness where you lose your grip on reality. But honestly, it fit. Our songs run fast and hit hard, but the melodies and lyrics underneath are about a wavering heart — loss, wandering. So, we dropped the "I" from DELIRIUM and made DELRIUM, a word that exists only for us. Maybe it's the feeling of losing your "I" inside a delusion.
That's the spirit behind it — we hope that someone out there in a dark, heavy time can take something from our music, whether it's a little comfort or just the sensation of being alive. Whatever it is, we want every listener to come away feeling their own "emotion."
2. Why did you want to play this genre?
Our leader S.J_Hann's favorite band of all time is Mejibray, so from the very beginning he wanted to do visual kei. But while gathering members, we realized the Korean indie scene isn't that big to begin with — and people who want to play visual kei music are even harder to find. So, we almost went down the road of being a metalcore band. In the end, though, we saw that our melodies and our colors got people the most fired up when we leaned into visual kei, so from early this year we started doing full makeup and costumes for real. And if you listen to our songs, you'll hear it — a Korean feeling blended with Japanese visual kei, a strange kind of visual kei that only DELRIUM has.
3. Did you know each other before the band was formed?
Our guitarist c h ! k a — we first met in an anime music cover band we were briefly helping out. When chika's old band fell apart and we were recruiting under the name DELRIUM, chika applied to the audition, and has been with us ever since as a founding member. Coming from anime music, chika plays a big role in giving DELRIUM's sound that energetic anisong edge.
Our drummer H00N — back when we were suffering through endless drummer trouble, we asked the best drummer at university to help us out "just for one live show." That one show has lasted all the way to today.
Our vocalist SILVA — when our former vocalist announced he was leaving the band, admitting he'd hit his limits, we still had shown left on the schedule. A friend from a band we'd shared a stage with recommended someone who happened to be in the audience that night: SILVA. He sent us an audition file of himself singing the musical REBECCA, and we made him an offer on the spot, zero hesitation. Later SILVA confessed that the first time he saw our live show, he was already thinking "I want to be in that band" — and after hearing that, we signed the eternal contract(?) that made him DELRIUM's frontman.
4. Where is the band based out of and what is your music scene like there? Are there any local bands you could recommend?
DELRIUM is based in Seoul and the surrounding metro area, but if a chance opens up anywhere else, we'll go anywhere to spread our music. Unlike the famous K-pop, the Korean band scene doesn't really get mainstream attention beyond a small circle of devoted fans. But countless skilled artists keep grinding for their moment to shine, and that relentless effort is what holds the indie band scene up. We're one of them, and we hope the scene keeps growing until Korean bands stand shoulder to shoulder with K-pop in both popularity and skill. For a local band, we'd recommend Phantom Lunatics.
5. Who or what inspires you to write songs?
For S.J_Hann, inspiration starts when I'm hit with negative emotions, or that suffocating feeling there's no way out of. I draw a lot from game stories and anime that express or empathize with those emotions — anime like Evangelion or Berserk.
But the biggest inspiration is our own experiences and emotions. Hope and despair, rage and overcoming, the relationships between people — feelings anyone can relate to, but that hurt so easily. That's what we try to put into music.
6. What are your songs about? (What specific themes do they cover?)
Our music speaks for the ones who got hurt — the people who had dumped on them the hard situations everyone else ran from and looked away from. We mix grand, powerful, sometimes melodic and emotional expression, pulling listeners not only into the explosive emotions of metal, but into DELRIUM's own melodic, emotional world.
From our upcoming album DELUSION, for example: Scapegoat is a story about exactly that — a scapegoat. In Korea, a slang word "ugkka" meaning "getting bashed for no fair reason" has become so popular that it says a lot about how exhausted and wronged people feel these days. This song takes that feeling of injustice and pushes it to the extreme.
Then there's a song like Afterburn — you fail, and fail again, and nothing changes unless you pick yourself up. We wrote it to say: let's get back up, even in tatters. And funny enough, while we were making this album, the word "delulu" (DELUSION!!) went viral too. We're taking it as a sign to keep rowing ty (_ _)
"DELUSION" itself is becoming a meme — maybe the times have finally come to us(?) — but either way, it feels like people are leaning on imagination over reality more than ever.
7. Do you write your own songs? (Discuss the songwriting process in detail.)
We write, compose, and arrange everything ourselves.
S.J_Hann builds most of it first — the overall structure and rough melodies — and then leaves the detailed work on each part to the members. When a melody or a lyric won't come, the rest of us jump in and push the song forward together.
One thing that's a bit unusual: we make the first draft of every song in Guitar Pro, so we're writing out full parts for every instrument as the song takes shape.
And since our lineup was only finalized early this year, there was never really anyone to write with before — so from now on, I think we'll be writing together a lot more, don't you think?
8. What have you released so far and what can someone expect from your works?
So far, we've only released three singles — 2022, 2023, and 2024 — so it might not be enough yet to feel DELRIUM's color as one continuous thing from what's out there now.
But to put it into words: Nakhwa (낙화) is a ballad about someone addicted to a fantasy that paints the past beautiful, unable to let go of memories fading away like withered, scattering petals. Lucifer sings, through the fall of the morning star, of the traces of ruin that pride and greed leave behind. And Spark is about facing yourself in the mirror, burnt out like a blackened match — and still trying to blaze again from the small flame that's alive inside you.
From ballads to 215BPM metal — the range of these three songs is the spectrum DELRIUM moves across. And the bigger picture, where these songs connect into one story, is waiting on our first full-length album DELUSION, out August 24.
9. Do you have any new music in the works?
YES!!! On August 24, DELRIUM's first full-length album DELUSION finally comes out!! It will be available for streaming worldwide.
10. How about playing shows and touring, have anything planned out?
We have show's lined up through November, including our first-ever showcase in October, and we're planning an Asia tour for December. In September, we're also playing with KOKESHI, a red-hot band from Japan.
We'd love to play North and South America. Any venue that wants us on their stage — DMs and emails are always open.
11. What plans do you have for the rest of this year?
Like we said, it all kicks off with our first full-length on August 24, 2026, followed by two music videos. We already have shown booked every month, and if we can make it happen, an overseas tour before the year ends. It's full-throttled all year with no breaks — but as long as there are people out there looking for our music, we'll go anywhere on this planet.
12. Where can we find you online, listen to your band and where can we buy your stuff?
You can stream us worldwide from August 24, 2026, and you can get our music and merch at https://delrium.bandcamp.com/album/delusion — pre-orders are open right now, so please check it out!!
Website: https://delrium.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/delrium_official
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@banddelrium
Thank you for all the support!!!
And finally — endless thanks to Natalie for reaching out to us first for this interview. Keep watching DELRIUM through our second album, our third, and beyond. We're looking forward to the day we finally meet.
When reality cracks, whispers through the pain. come closer and burn with us.
감사합니다.
Thank you.
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