Founded in 1986 by original founding members Junseok Hur (Bassist) as a 6 member band, NATY is known as one of the leading legendary Thrash metal bands of their time during the uprising of heavy metal era in Korea. After their first show in 1988, the band was reformed to a 4-member band, continuing their legacy in the music world. However, in 1991, the members of NATY started performing and working as individuals in the music scene.
In 2004, after a long period of being out of the music scene, NATY welcomed new members Sangsoo Kim (Vocal, Guitarist). With the joining of Sangsoo Kim, NATY kick-started their career again and within 2 years in 2006, they released their new album “Long time no see” (StompMuisc, 2006). Even after the long break, NATY was blessed and thankful to see that their fans and all lovers of their heart pounding music were still around to welcome them back into the limelight.
During the peak of the heavy metal era in Korea, the genre of Heavy metal was portrayed with a distinct characteristics which was distinguished by the different sub genres of hardcore, thrash, punk and many more. What made NATY stand out during this time? NATY was a character of its own. The band didn’t follow what was already laid out in the music world as “heavy metal” but they made their own image and own color which made them NATY. Collaborating all the different styles of each member, bringing in character, sense and styles of their own, NATY strived to “customize” their music to their own individualistic styles. Due so, the beats of their music, the lyrics of their songs and the colors of each member could be seen and heard in every piece of music they laid out into the music world. This new sense of eccentric taste of the band was which made NATY a legend and an outstanding iconic image in the rock world of Korea.
“Each member of NATY holds with them their own special characteristic that adds the taste and color to our music. This is what gave our band the backbone, the strength, and the power in our pieces each and every time. The process in bringing all these different colors into one masterpiece was a long and hard road, but at the end, its what made us stronger not only as musicians but as a team, a family. It took us a lot of blood, sweat, and hard work for us to reach the points that we have reached in our time as NATY. This is what has made us stronger and has helped to define our character.” (Band NATY)
NATY’s first official album “Long Time No See” was one of the bands’ time stones in their era as NATY. This album is particularly special in that it has a strong color and sound that shows the bands character, but was mastered by one of US’s top producers ‘Teresa Bustillo’ at THE MASTERING LAB. Till this day, the members of NATY still pick this album as one of the best albums that they want to keep and remember for a lifetime.
While showing their talents in the heavy metal scene, NATY also ventured into other various fields of artistry to diversify their existence and to broaden the capabilities that rock can have on different levels. NATY was thankful to participate and collaborate with other genres such as modern dance, and Korean folk music genres.
Some iconic pieces were:
•International Modern Dance Festival (MODAFE)-“MIRROR”
•World National Theatre Festival- Dreaming of Nakwon
Not only did NATY collaborate with the modern and traditional dance world, but they also had the honor to make soundtracks for the gaming world as well. Not only this, but yet another milestone achievement that NATY made in their whirlwind of collaborations, was the collaboration they did with one of Korea’s top Korean folk trot music artists Su-hee Kim. This was an iconic moment showing the flawless collaboration and blending of two totally different worlds in music.
In 2012, NATY took their fame and name internationally hitting world famous festivals all around the world such as the <MIDI FESTIVAL>. Out of all the internationally famous bands NATY had the honor to take on the main stage at the festival. At this festival they conquered the hearts of thousands of festival goers and became headliners of newscasts all around. One Chinese newscast stated that “NATY is a team that knows how to enjoy the stage and ‘play’ with the audience and become one, they truly are great characters and musicians”.
In 2013, NATY took the stages at various festivals internationally and domestically in Korea such as:
•2013 Green-plugged Seoul Festival
•Pentaport Rock Festival
•Busan International Rock Festival
In 2014, NATY collaborated on artist JUKWOO’s hardcore based mini album ‘JUMOON(ORDER/SPELL)’. Quite different than Jukwoo’s styles in the orchestra, she took on a thrash metal style with the help and collaboration of NATY.
The main title song Spell A, B was taken on by NATY vocalist Sangsoo Kim, making for a great blend of vocals in this duet piece. The second title song ‘Lie Lie” was also a collaborative duet piece that was done by Jukwoo and Sangsoo Kim. The only difference in ‘Lie Lie’ would be that unlike the female vocal starting off in ‘Spell’,
Lie Lie’ had the male vocal starting off the piece. Both pieces was a very unique take and new breath of fresh air in the music world. The blending of the strong growling vocals of Sangsoo Kim and the Soprano orchestral vocals of Jukwoo blended harmoniously and brought a new colorful sound in both genres of music. This new take on the blending of two totally different genres was seen as a breath of fresh air and a unique yet sensible challenge that both teams had made; it was seen with praise and approval by the audience worldwide as well. NATY has also participated in the Beijing MIDI Festival, in which over 15 thousand festival goers were present and various top named artists were performing. From their great performance on stage at the festival, NATY gained a huge fan base in China. Also in 2014, NATY participated in the new starting festival in Korea called “ The 1st annual Choon Cheon Band Festival”. The outcome was a highly praised and positive outcome, that NATY was invited again in this years 2015 “The 2nd annual Choon Cheon Band Festival” as well.
NATY is still ranked and standing strong as a legend in Korean Heavy metal history, and till this day, the members all work hard to keep the name of NATY alive, always thriving to bring something new and powerful to the table for the world of music, their fans and the legacy of heavy metal.
