If you're thinking of releasing your first full-length album, make it grand like EPEX and drop the first of a three-part series like the boy band's latest release, “Youth.”

The eight-member boy band released its first full-length album, “Youth,” on Tuesday — centered, as its title implies around one's younger years. Such a theme may sound overdone these days, but it's made special by the fact that as of this year, all of the members are 18 or older.

“We have a lot of stories we want to tell people in their youth and it was just so difficult to talk about it all in one album. We thought it’d be best to divide it into three chapters based on keywords to help our fans and the general public to better understand,” EPEX’s Baekseung said in a press showcase Tuesday afternoon at the Blue Square Mastercard Hall in Yongsan District, central Seoul, ahead of its 6 p.m. release.

The band, when referring to “youth” throughout the showcase, used the word cheongchun. The term roughly translates to “youth” but is used in Korean to refer to the period between the ages of 18 and 28. This time of young adulthood is the subject of EPEX's new music.

“EPEX is in its youth now: we all turned adults and we are running in our youth,” Keum said.

“That being said, you are in your youth if you believe so,” he added, inviting people of all age to listen to the band’s work.

EPEX’s first full-length album, “Youth,” comes in three chapters; the first, released Tuesday, is titled “Youth Days.” The keyword of this chapter, according to the members, is ‘secret.”

“As we enter the period of youth, we are singing things we want to say to others in their youth,” Wish said. “We are talking about secrets of the youth, [like how people in their youth] all have their own pain hidden as a hidden secret.”

The album includes eight songs: lead track “Youth2Youth” and its coupling track “Breath in Love” followed by B-side tracks “Killshot,” “Painkiller,” “Lay Up” and “Graduation Day.” There are also two unit tracks; “Dominate,” sung by the team's rappers Keum, Baekseung, Ayden and Jeff; and followed by “My Secret,” performed by vocalists Wish, Mu, A-Min and Yewang.

The climax of “Youth2Youth” comes toward the end of the song, where EPEX members sing together with a 20-member choir. The track, Mu said, required an unusually big recording studio.

That choir “was crucial to heighten the emotion we wanted to convey in the track,” Mu said. “Having our voices mix with the choir almost made me tear up.”

That emotional connection resonates throughout all of the tracks for many of EPEX's members who, being in their youth, relate strongly to the work.

“We, ourselves, were comforted after listening to the album,” A-Min said. “So I think others in their youth will, too, be comforted by our music.”

“I get nervous easily, but listening to our songs and telling myself ‘I can do it! It’s O.K to fail,’ really comforted me. I think that’s why I did well today,” Ayden said.

Wish, the oldest member of the band who turns 22 this year, thought otherwise.

“I don’t think I perfectly relate to our own album; we are only in the starting phase of our youth,” Wish said. “So I think we will be slowly relating to our own releases as time goes on.”

Fortunately for Wish, the band's next two albums have space to grow as they move on to embrace new keywords and themes. The second album will revolve around “choice,” Baekseung said while declining to reveal the final chapter's topic. “Youth Days,” Wish emphasized, is just the beginning.

“As we all turned into adults, I think this album is a turning point for our band,” the oldest member said. “We are preparing to fly high.”

“Looking back at ‘Youth,’” Wish added, “I hope we are able to look back at EPEX’s true beginnings.”

To find out more about EPEX, visit Celeb Confirmed!

BY CHO YONG-JUN [cho.yongjun1@joongang.co.kr]