[Intro from Ger]: Camino appeared at A-kon 2003 in June of this year, and NM happened to pick up their first album while she was there. I encourage all of you who can to do the same - it's an indies album, but the band members aren't exactly newbies to the music scene. Most of them have been in the business for a while (one of them writes songs for jpop group Every Little Thing) and the quality of music on this album shows that. Apparently their name comes from both the clone planet Kamino from Star Wars Attack of the Clones and also the Spanish word for "road." They cite one of their biggest musical influences as L'Arc~en~Ciel (more points in my book! XD) If I have time later I'll do a more complete bio...

 
1. GO MAD EMOTION
This is a good choice for the first song of the album. The song doesnft have a particularly fast beat, but itfs very solid. It begins with some electronic effects, extending for about fifteen seconds, before the guitar and drums join in, keeping up the solid beat. Jun joins in after a short while, and through the entire song, there is an electronic overlay on his voice.

The song never quite crescendos into anything, and, to repeat myself, I find this to be an excellent choice for the start of the album. Instead of beginning with a moving ballad or an upbeat rock number, and having to tone the rest down after a spectacular beginning, they introduce themselves on a steady, solid note, and you know that this song is the beginning of what will only get better.

2. 閾 (Yoake - Dawn)
This song begins with a fast-paced chiming from the keyboards, before the guitar joins in quickly. There are no electronic effects added to Junfs voice for this song, which I prefer, although the electronic overlays have their moments, and itfs a very enjoyable, upbeat number. For the first verse, the keyboard chiming drops out while Jun sings. Leading up to the chorus, his singing drops down to a slower pace, the lyrics beginning with "waiting for you", and the keyboard chimes in lightly in the background, before three strong beats draw you into the chorus.

The chorus is my favorite part of the song: itfs catchy, upbeat, and I very much like the harmony (of course, I generally like any harmony). After the second chorus, ending around 2:40, therefs a very nice guitar solo by Kiku, with the keyboards still carrying on in the background. Jun comes back in around 3:22, singing the slower, drawn-out section once more before singing the chorus a last time. He ends the chorus with two "freedom"s, and then there is a short (about eight seconds), harmonized section of wordless vocals (like "lalala"s, except theyfre more like "oohnonono"s), before the song comes to a close.

3. Separate Time
This is my favorite song on the album. It is a gorgeous ballad, and it begins with some echoing beeping from the keyboards, along with a soft, quick drumming thatfs also reminiscent of echoes. A few minutes into the song, a soft, synthesized pulsing comes in as well, and then Jun begins the vocals. Jun has a rather pure voice, and I know this because I first heard him sing live. The pure quality of his vocals is almost entirely absent on this album, except for in this song. Maybe thatfs why I like this track so much.

The first verse is very pretty and simple, the melody carrying his voice up and then back down. The chorus shows his voice at its purest, perhaps because he sings on the higher end of his range, and because, at this point, the synthesized chords pick up, emphasizing the ethereal quality of the song. The harmony is placed on the perfect lines, and when he goes on to sing the second verse, some of the harmony remains. The second time he sings the chorus, the entire chorus is harmonized, giving this section of the song more power. This chorus, and the section that follows--which loses the harmony, but remains on the higher notes, and ends with the English lyrics 'stay with me'--is clearly the climax of the song. Kiku begins a guitar solo while Junfs last note from the estay with mef is still being drawn out, and his solo is a wonderful instrumental addition to the song.

After the instrumental section, Jun sings the chorus a second time, before singing another segment ending with "stay with me". The intensity of the synthesizers and guitar finally dies down now, the synthesizers returning to a pulsing effect, instead of solid chords, and the guitar disappearing entirely. The beeping returns, along with the echoing drum beats, bringing the song to closure, before it ends on a single synthesized chord. This is a perfect ending for a gorgeous song.

4. Myself
Again, this song begins with some beeping sounds from the keyboards, except theyfre less soft and on a faster beat than the ones beginning Separate Time. Synthesized chords and a solid bassline join in quickly, followed by Kikufs guitar, and Junfs singing begins around 25 seconds into the song. He begins on a lower note, with an electronic overlay to his vocals, as the beeping drops out and the guitar carries a solid beat; the vocals are slow, and the melody hovers around the same low note. Then, he sings the English section of the song, with a faster pace and some higher notes, with the electronic quality still added to his voice.

And finally, following the all-English section, the guitars and drums introduce a quicker beat and Junfs voice is free of electronic intrusions. He sings the upbeat chorus--which is a mix of English and Japanese--and although the pure quality to his voice is gone, his somewhat raw voice here suits the song very well. He ends with the words 'just believe my heart', with only the beeping backing him up, before the quick drums come in again and there is a short instrumental section, starting with a focus on the bass, before switching to guitar.

The instrumental builds up to chorus, which Jun then ends with a few 'just believe my heart's, one done with an echo effect. The music returns from a quick beat to a slower, steadier one, and the song ends with a strange but very cool effect that I can only describe as very quick, crescendoing, echoing tapping.

5. Truth or Lie
This song was referred to as the 'theme song' of Camino. Ifm not sure what Kiku meant when he said that, but, that is apparently what he said, so Ifll just go along with it. I think what he might have meant it that this song displays their individual and combined abilities, as well as the type of music theyfre aiming for, the best.

This song begins, like the others, with beeping effects from the keyboard; this is quickly followed by the guitar, and then an electronic voice joins in for about five seconds. (Ifm not sure whether the electronic voice is Junfs with a heavily computerized effect, or if itfs entirely electronic itself; Ifm inclined to say itfs purely electronic.) The drums come in with a quick, steady beat once the electronic voice drops away, and Jun begins the first verse. The melody is upbeat and catchy, and during a break in Junfs singing, the computerized voice returns, singing a short segment ending in gcome back to meh. Jun ends the verse with "truth or lie".

After the second verse, similar to the first, Jun sings the chorus, which is once again half English, half Japanese. The chorus keeps the same beat as the rest of the song, and after ending with Jun singing "come back to me" two times, an instrumental section follows. Following the instrumental, the chorus is repeated twice, the first time with a strong electronic overlay on Junfs voice, and the second time normally. He repeats "come back to me" a few times, and then the guitar brings the song to a close.

6. I wish...
This is a beautiful piano ballad, one of the two 'softer' songs on this album. It begins with only piano, and then Jun joins in to sing alone with the piano for the first verse. His voice is more pure here than in most of the other songs, having regained the particular pure quality I referenced in Separate Time, and this makes for a beautiful beginning for the song. For the second verse, the drums join in, with a guitar chord every so often, and Jun sings the lyrics with a stronger voice.

Then comes the chorus, with some very nice harmony, and a pretty, soaring melody. It ends with the words "I wish you were still mine" before a short interlude of piano, drums, and a soft chiming. Jun sings another verse, and although there are no actual echo effects added, the way his voice blends with the music almost produces an echoing quality that fits the song very well. Jun sings the chorus two more times, and the guitars and drums drops out just before he quietly sings "I wish you were still mine". With just the piano, he sings the same line one more time, and then the piano brings the number to a gentle close.

7. (Tooku e - Into the Distance)
This song, like the others, begins with some beeping from the synthesizers, as well as drums and guitar. Junfs voice as he sings the first verse is rather breathy, probably both because he wanted it that way, as well as because hefs singing on lower notes. On the chorus he sings more full-out, singing on higher notes and with an extremely catchy melody (this is my second favorite song on the album).

After a short interlude of beeps, he sings the next verse, but remains on the same level as the chorus, singing at the higher octave and without the breathy quality. After he gets through the chorus a second time, therefs an instrumental, at first focusing on the keyboards, and then on Kikufs guitar. Jun comes in with the chorus once again, and after another interlude of beeps, he drops back down to low notes and a quiet, breathy voice for the last few lines as the music dies out.

Some have commented that this song is rather repetitive; although I canft argue with them, because there isnft much variation in the song, I can still claim that this song is very good. Perhaps I find the melody catchy enough that I donft mind if itfs repeated. Just as Camino chose a good song to begin their album, I find this is a good end. They end on a high, upbeat note, and when I consider all of the songs on this album, I feel that this song has the perfect tone to bring this amazing album to an end.

ALBUM INFORMATION
Arise
Release date: 03.04.15
Catalog: ZACD-007
Price: 1575~

I translated this from Nikkansports.com:

RAPHAEL BASSIST ARRESTED FOR MARIJUANA USE
[http://www.nikkansports.com/ns/entertainment/p-et-tp0-030816-0008.html]

On August 15th, the suspect, Honda Yukito, member of popular visual kei rock band "Raphael," was caught and arrested by the police of Meguro for violation of the Marijuana Control Law (possession, cultivation). Though the suspect "Yukito" was the bassist of the band, in 2000 after the sudden death of the band's leader Kazuki (19 years old), the band suspended activities. Until now, he had been active in the band that he formed afterwards, "Black Love."

In the investigation on the 15th around 10 AM, the suspect had , in his possession in his apartment in Meguroku 12 sacks of dried hemp, around 25.9 grams. He was also growing two marijuana plants, which were discovered by the same police officials who raided his apartment. This year, in around the first ten days of May, he planted the seeds in planters in his own room. He watered them and gave them plenty of light to raise them (a private garden of sorts). The dried hemp that he possessed was also part of plants that he raised. At the time of the arrest, the two plants in the planters had grown to approximately 60 cm long. It is said that he also owned the tools to dry the plants.

The suspect lived alone in the apartment, and he was alone at the time of the arrest. In the investigation, he made several opposing confessions, such as "I got these plants from an Iraqi," and then "I grew these plants by myself." Black Love's management office said about the arrest: "We've terminated the contract that Black Love had with us since May, and now we have told them that they will pursue activities independently."