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They read our minds! All the way in November though, long wait but the last album was epic, and I am hoping this single will kick off the string of singles for their next record.

I was referring to the Chinese one, which is my favorite. Also just realized that Lilith / Lillith seems to be an even more popular name for some areas of music than Adam or Eve... I guess it's more 'controversial' and unique if you ignore the other bands with that name, hehe. But IRL I don't know that many people who even really know who she is. Anyway back on topic. I agree with what you said. So many different kinds of music. A lot of people select music based on their current mood, and the vast majority of the time I can pull up the right band or song for my mood without straying outside of Visual Kei. I enjoy other music but not as much. Current VK resonates very well with me, and I never tire of it. I guess that answers OP further. Also Anokuro, seems like you stopped being into shounenki when I started getting into them, life is strange, haha.

Lots of awesome bands I am enjoying. Out of the last three years I think I have gotten the same amount of releases, maybe slightly more each year? In the past three years the current big boys have really taken off and released some epic albums. Examples from past years: DIV - ZERO ONE ALSDEAD - SEPERATOR UNiTE - MEANiNG CODOMO DRAGON - CHILDREN`S DOPE Then lately, around 2015, I have been into a lot: SuG - Awesome singles and one of my favorite albums in recent memory, BLACK. UNiTE has been amazing lately, album and singles are nice. DIV - Transitional phase, but still some good tunes. ALSDEAD - Still great CODOMO - Very nice defined sound, look forward to each release, I accidentally shipped my album to the wrong address though so I didn`t hear the new one yet. Nue - Some good tunes, very variable band. DOG - Killing it, as expected. Blu Billion - Chillin` like Villains. Royz - Beasting and Feasting. BugLug - Too much variation in their last album for me, but still great songs. Neverland - Cool newer band. My Fairytale - See above. DiaWolf - Cool style, some nice tunes like EVERLASTING FLAVOR, and really cool lyrics. A9 - Making their comeback, looking forward to it. Tequila Tokyo - Awesome stuff, great musicians, although upset that the single flopped harder than a soccer player during the World Cup. MuCC - Still putting out cool and interesting stuff, always a surprise. Baroque - Love it or hate it, I fall into the former. girugamesh - Waiting with bated breath for some new stuff, their last two releases were Bad-@ss. The LOTUS - Keep looking forward to what they do next. Shounenki - On a killstreak and about to get a care package. Sick K/D ratio. BORN - Live album was awesome, singles are headbangers. D.I.D. - D.I.D.n`t hear their latest live limited, but excited they are coming back. Lilith - Love this band. WING WORKS - Interesting stuff, full of upbeat attitude. Shades of TMR. I could keep going on, but you already got the point twenty artists ago, right? I`m having fun. Enjoy lots of stuff, can`t get enough, etc... etc... I can find lots of stuff from any year, though the past three have been some of my favorite.

Lulz. My advice: First off, don`t sit around just worrying about things and making up all sorts of bs in your head to hesitate. When people do this, they hold themselves back from living life. Make sure that your thoughts and energy are focused along a path to taking some sort of action. Decide if you are truly attracted to her in a relationship kind of way and not a friendship way. This is a yes or no answer, not a `maybe` or `if` or whatever... If no, then just stay friends and find someone else. If yes, then it`s show-time, proceed: Realize that what you think about how she feels is only your hypothesis, which is blinded by your own nerves and the confusion in your head. The only way to know for sure is for her to tell you, so no use sitting around thinking too far into it, you only know so much so far... And as every manga love story ever has told us, how another person acts around you is not one-dimensional, and she could just be too shy or nervous like you, worried that you might not return the sentiment. If you really like her, then yes, it is what is best to do, taking action when things aren`t certain is what separates those from just think, from those that actually do. Success comes from taking the risks others are not willing to take, and sometimes you have to swim with the sharks. This isn`t actually that intense, but taking a chance on what you actually want is what people who live their life do... Or... You could just do nothing and end up a 70 year old man sitting on his deathbed with a laptop, still stalking her Facebook page wondering... `What if?` As for the whole confession thing, this isn`t 1952 so it`s not your best bet. If things really go smoothly it will work anyway, but it is kind of awkward, even if you are a good talker it can be hard to say, or come out the wrong way, but if you really want to go that way, and you put the effort in, how you do it is not really going to change what happens if she feels strongly enough. Though what I would do is simply lead events into the moment. You already had one under-cover date with her, so I would do it again, try to do something that would really gauge how she feels in the moment, and then, when the time is right, make the move. If she reciprocates, then all is well, and you take things slowly from there, not rushing anything. If she doesn`t, you at least had the guts to go for it, and worry about fixing it later. If you guys are good friends, it can be fixed. Just, after you do it, you leave it at that, she`ll let you know, don`t force yourself back on her, start blowing up her phone, or anything like that. A no is a no, maybe things will change in time, but there`s nothing more you can do, just respect her, and live with the pride that you took action, and that attitude makes your life better in the end. But anyway, that`s just my opinion on what you should do in the chance that things don`t go your way, which is not even worst-case scenario. You really liking her and doing nothing is worst-case by a mile. I have a feeling if you go for it, it will work. There`s a saying: Hesitation leads even great people to defeat, while rushing in headfirst against the odds is surprisingly effective. And let us know how it goes brah, peace.

I am not a big fan of what they have been doing lately. Their songs are a little shallow to me, and a lot of their music is a complete copy of BugLug. This song is HicchakaxMecchaka with little changes and a different tempo, plus other BugLug styles. They should be themselves more, I don`t see the point in being similar to a band that is currently far more skilled in musicianship, song-writing and on a much better label then them, if they don`t offer something different. I think they could be a good band if they did their own thing more and grow as that. No offense intended to fans, just my thoughts. Here is BugLug for comparison:

Is it the same Baroque that many fans have came to love? Not exactly, it`s a turn in another direction, it isn`t the same line-up, it isn`t the same sound, and it would not fit in with their early discography. Okay, they changed, but will I still be able to enjoy it; are they still `good`? They have definitely dialed in and delivered what they were going for, but let`s be honest, there may be little or no correlation between their early work and this. The interest will not rely on being a long-time fan so much as it will rely on you simply also being able to enjoy their new sound. From a technical standpoint, the vocals and guitar are at a higher level than their early work, though again, the style is different. So what`s the new sound? It`s atmospheric, it`s wide, it`s meditative at times, `uplifting` at other times, and tightly tied together. The guitar and vocals are the center-piece, and they really play well together, like brothers. At first the other instruments may seem just like a backing band, but everything they do eventually began to hold more value for me. If you wanted to compare them to someone, you could loosely compare some of their sounds to bands such as U2, and certain tracks by The Who, amongst others who stemmed from that, but with their own, more modern, take on those sounds. The production is also very nice, the sound is spread out, every detail is nailed down, and it is a pleasure to listen to how each instrument is covered. So do they come off as a copy of other, already established sounds? That`s going to come down to your own opinion, but I definitely feel as if they have done enough to establish themselves as having their own complete spin on these sounds. But I think, obviously, some people will not be getting enough of what they call Baroque on this album. Okay, okay, it sounds pretty mellow, can I still rock to it? It isn`t as rocking as other things they have done, though, while I definitely gravitate to a more intense rock sound, this album can hold my attention. The first tracks come off with lighter guitar, but I eventually get a refreshed feeling as SWALLOW THE NIGHT hits a harder guitar part, and the album picks up a little more. There`s also a nice solo in the final track, MEMENTO. So are these the stand-out tracks? Yes, SWALLOW THE NIGHT, MEMENTO, and PLANETARY LIGHT are my personal favorites. Alright, so please sum up your thoughts on the album as a whole. It`s very well done, the vocal effects are not overdone, though some may have preferred a clean feel. They play amazingly together, they have refined a new sound in a very short amount of time, and the album contains a great amount of variety, while staying unified, and giving off a tight, concept-album feel. However, it is bound to have a hit-and-or-miss reaction with many fans, new as well as old. The band has changed a lot, and not everyone is going to like the sound. I personally, as a long-time fan, also enjoy this sound, and can go back to their older tracks whenever I want to revisit those days. This is not my usual style of music, however I grew to like it, and appreciate each track more with each listen. It`s an atmospheric album that isn`t limited to certain moods or listening hours for me, and retains strong guitar elements that enable me to really keep listening over and over again. Track Count: 9 Listens: 20 Production Quality: Overall Rating: Worth the Purchase? It`s not going to be something instantly worth buying for all Baroque fans. The best thing to do is to listen to the preview, and see if you enjoy what you hear from it, and know that the songs themselves offer more than just what the preview holds. Personally, the preview didn`t do justice to the album for me. If you enjoy the sound, or feel like you could get into it, I definitely recommend it.

INTRO: The latest single by Shounenki, the band that mixes a rock sound with different musical styles, and a strong vocalist abundant in ideas for stylizing his phrases, as well as creating catchy melodies. PHASE ONE (Initial SPOT to 5 listens): At first exposure, the chorus instantly stood out, and I knew I was in for yet another Shounenki hook to get stuck into my head. As with their last 3 releases, I got that urge to hit replay. My main focus was on the main track, and the B-sides did not really grab my attention. PHASE TWO (5-10 listens): At this point I felt as if the song had a sort of honeymoon phase that had worn off. This single incorporates more pop elements ( I always thought the vocalist would make a good Top 40 writer, he can definitely create melodies that leave instant impressions, and stick with you), and I started to feel like there wasn`t enough behind the catchy vocals to really have staying power. Sometimes, with simply catchy songs, you go through a phase where you listen just for the catch, and after a while, the effect kind of dulls, and you move on to the next song, right? The B-Sides still didn`t get my attention as much. PHASE THREE (10-20 listens): It was definitely a good thing that I took time away from spinning the latest Baroque and UVERworld to give this single more time. My previous feelings dissolved, and I started to see more in all of the tracks. From the interesting intros that provide their own unique feeling before flowing into the main atmosphere of the track, to the lyrics, and all of the other elements of the songs besides the vocalists melodies, everything started growing on me. Shounenki is a band that can mix things up, without seeming like a variety act, they have a specific trademark already, and are able to stick to it, while always doing something different. Out of their last releases, this was the the work that took the longest to really grow on me, but now it is the single which I really enjoy the most in terms of getting play out of all of the tracks. With the other releases, since each track had their own feel, I would really stick to one over the others, but this release definitely flows beautifully, and I can put all 3 tracks in a queue, just letting them repeat over and over again. From the pop-styled verses, to the rap input, to the lightly employed harsh vocals, and so forth, I really enjoy all of it, and am glad I gave the single time to really work on me. If I had to make any criticism, it MIGHT be that the vocalist is a bit ahead of the rest of the band, including the guitarist, in terms of song creation, as even when they do use different styles, it is dictated by the vocals, and the guitar can kind of keep playing power chords styling`s (though the band is good). Some people may want the whole band to be able to switch styles like SID or UNiTE can. Though, some may appreciate that the tracks keep more of a rock anchoring, which prevents them from possibly feeling more like a variety act, and gives them a solid, reliable sound. Track Count: 3 1/2 (3 Versions; all with title track, Limited containing an instrumental and DVD, Type A and B each having a unique B-Side. 926 yen each.) Listens: 20+ Production Quality: Overall Rating: (Consider it a 4 star minimum for me) Worth the Purchase? If you enjoyed their latest works, it is definitely worth checking out. The SPOT just gives you a taste, and there is a lot more to experience in the complete tracks.