Devin Belanger Breaks Down Blackpink’s ‘Go’: Industrial Pop Gets a Synth Autopsy

Blackpink’s ‘Go’ doesn’t just flirt with industrial—it jumps in headfirst and sets the factory on fire. Devin Belanger wastes no time calling out the track’s “disgusting” bass and cyberpunk attitude, a far cry from the bubblegum pop most expect. The song’s opening moments are a full-on toaster-fight between K-pop gloss and Gesaffelstein-style grime, and Devin’s reaction is pure disbelief.

This isn’t your average chart fodder. Blackpink have gone rogue, dropping a mid-tempo monster that’s as dark as it is danceable. For anyone who thought K-pop couldn’t get heavy, this track is a steel-toed boot to the face.

Devin zeroes in on the track’s advanced synthesis, spotting FM patches colliding with synthwave textures and a relentless use of gating. The production is a shape-shifting beast, switching synth patches at breakneck speed—think complextro, but with even more attitude. It’s a technical playground where every sound is meticulously crafted, re-sampled, and twisted into something new.

He points out how the song’s sections morph from industrial chaos to lush, reverb-soaked breakdowns, layering acoustic guitars with so much processing they barely sound organic. The side-chained, bouncy feel keeps things moving, even when the mood turns cinematic. This is not just pop with a few synths sprinkled in—it’s a full-on sound designer’s flex.

The gated synths in ‘Go’ don’t just stutter—they punch holes in the mix, giving the track its signature edge. Devin highlights how these rhythmic chops, paired with a bassline that sounds like it escaped from a dystopian video game, create a dynamic push-pull that’s impossible to ignore. The gating technique is straight out of trance’s playbook, but here it’s weaponised for maximum impact.

Underneath, the bass isn’t just heavy—it’s alive, mutating and breathing thanks to clever modulation and distortion. Layered with vocal drones and analog-style patches, the whole thing feels like a sonic street weapon built for the club and the underground alike. If you want to feel the full force, you’ll need to hear it in the video—words barely do it justice.

Devin’s attempt to remake ‘Go’ in Logic is a battle against complexity. He admits the process was brutal, with the original’s sound design proving tough to nail even for a seasoned producer. The main drop is built on a distorted FM bass, programmed in Serum, with random modulation and filtering to keep it moving and unpredictable. Without the right processing, it just doesn’t hit the same.

He layers in synthwave leads, glitchy fills, and a slap bass run through a guitar amp, all trying to capture the original’s malfunctioning-machine vibe. The result? Close, but not quite the same monster. Devin’s honesty about the challenge is refreshing—sometimes, even with all the tools, a track’s magic is hard to clone. You’ll want to watch the video to catch every nerdy detail and sound comparison.