If you are one of those who prefer the old days of Jinsei x Boku = and Zankyo Reference you'll likely be conflicted. My introduction to this band was "No Scared" as played for Black Rock Shooter and things have changed between now and then. The tempos are definitely slower and the sound is less energetic than in previous works. Perhaps it is a sign of Taka's growth; no longer is he the youth he once was and now a lot of things seem more about inspiring and encouraging the new generations. Last year they held a special concert called "18 Fes" and only those age 17-19 were eligible to attend. They put on a hell of a performance of the song "We Are" involving all of the fans present which you can check out below.
With the newer sound some things seem to have been sacrificed. If you're expecting high-speed shredding guitar work from Toru and Ryota or stellar drumming from Tomoya you might want to look to one of the earlier albums. "Eye of the Storm's" instrumentals are of a softer nature which do support the lyrics but contrast wildly with albums pre-2015. According to Taka all the band members do have input and do handle the live arrangements so it is not a one-man show. I do wonder how much influence the last few album's producers John Feldmann and Dan Lancaster have had on the process. They have worked with bands like 5 Seconds of Summer and Bring Me the Horizon album and "Eye of the Storm" definitely sounds like one of those albums.
The band announced that they would be the opening band for the Asian leg of Ed Sheeran's 2019 world tour so their new sound has led to commercial success. They've toured alongside bands like Sleeping With Sirens, All Time Low, Crown the Empire, and 5 Seconds of Summer. In 2017 they were set to play support for Linkin Park before that tour was cancelled due to unfortunate circumstances (we need not mention them). Linkin Park is another band whose sound changed over the years and the vigor of "Hybrid Theory" and "Meteora" gave way to "One More Light."
As stated earlier they will also begin their touring for the year in America starting on the 19th in Salt Lake City before traveling across the US. They will hit San Francisco on March 20th at The Warfield which has been a mainstay of Bay Area shows over the decades.
“EYE OF THE STORM” NORTH AMERICA TOUR 2019
2/19 Salt Lake City, UT – The Depot
2/20 Denver, CO – The Gothic Theater
2/22 Minneapolis, MN – Varsity Theater
2/23 Milwaukee, WI – The Rave
2/24 Chicago, IL – House of Blues
2/26 Detroit, MI – St Andrews Hall
2/28 Toronto, ON (CA) – Rebel
3/1 Montreal, QC (CA) – Le National
3/2 Philadelphia, PA – Theater of Living Arts
3/3 Boston, MA – Paradise Rock Club
3/5 New York, NY – Terminal 5
3/6 Baltimore, MD – Rams Head Live!
3/8 Atlanta, GA – The Masquerade
3/9 Orlando, FL – Hard Rock Live
3/11 Houston, TX – House of Blues
3/12 Dallas, TX – House of Blues
3/13 San Antonio, TX – The Aztec Theater
3/15 Phoenix, AZ – The Van Buren
3/16 Las Vegas, NV – House of Blues
3/17 San Diego, CA – The Observatory
3/19 Los Angeles, CA – Hollywood Palladium
3/20 San Francicso, CA – The Warfield
3/22 Vancouver, BC (CA) – Vogue Theatre
3/24 Seattle, WA – Showbox SoDo
3/29 Honolulu, HI – The Republik
3/30 Honolulu, HI – The Republik
