A thumping rock beat, driven by the toms and snare. Face-melting guitar solos with screaming distortion. An over-the-top vocal crescendo into the upper limits of the singer’s range.

The music may have sounded like something by an 80s hair metal band, but the lyrics told another story, invoking a 5,000-year history, the spirit of Mount Paektu and a “love of toil that shall never die.”

“As by the people’s will we strive, Korea shall forever thrive!” belted one of North Korea’s most famous singers, as fireworks went off and leader Kim Jong Un and military officials applauded.

A highly unusual