I'm actually not mad at SM for once! Someone circle the calendar on this momentous day because it only comes once every 100 years.  (or once every 400 years in true Do Minjoon fashion.)

The whole album is so perfectly put together.

AND I feel like the songs are actually split up more fairly this time! Lay and Xiumin really don't get many lines in their last few albums but both really got to show off their skills in this album! I'm super excited!

As we all know, SM is a money hungry company who care very little about their artists. They NEVER protect them, rarely seek legal retribution, and often over-work their artists to the point that they suffer higher levels of mental, physical and psychological stress. They're pretty much the worst type of company. Their artists work their asses off and SM treats them like they're replacable. And maybe SM can just replace our beloved groups with a new one whenever they feel like it, but to the fans these groups are irreplacable. I won't be going off on a long rant of all the reasons why SM should be held accountable for the fall of the golden age of kpop but I will always give them props where they deserve it.

The albums usually are centered around the members who are MOST popular. Kai, Baekhyun, Chanyeol, DO, and Kris never seem to be lacking in their vocal time on EXO albums. Xiumin, Suho, and Lay have been known to have as little as 2 solo lines, if full sentences, featured in songs. It's one thing to have songs that are strongly rooted in vocals to showcase their ability like "What is love" and "Miracle in December" but to down-play the members who have the least amount of rabid fans is unfair. It's basically the way we all forget f(x) is in SM because we only ever see them once a year. (Pink Tape was actually a killer album that was completely different from their previous cds and it got NO promotions and one half-assed MV. Typical SM bull.)

This album actually put vocals on showcase, stayed away from what is "cool"in the kpop scene and did what artists should do! I don't know if Sooman is on his deathbed and is finally passing the torch to someone who actually gives a about the artists but SM has been reshaping their image in the last few months.

First SNSD coming out of the closet (as being straight I mean. I know we were all getting worried about the still single women who were on a one-way track destined to end up lesbians or cat-ladies from lack of male interaction.) and then when they pulled a fast one on us and decided to go after people leaking the EXO Overdose. Again they shocked us when they threatened to take legal action against people spreading malicious rumors about one of their artists. If that wasn't a spit what you're drinking from your mouth moment! MAN! My friends and I were VERY excited about this.

In short these are our biggest problems with SM:

1) lack of safety of the artists
2) Lack of concern or care of the health of the artists
3) Mistreatment of artists
4) Inability to keep foreign members from being bullied in dorms/as trainees (Seriously. Get it together.)
5) The manidtory plastic surgery clause in the contract. (. You. You're one to talk Lee sooman. Have you seen your gnarly face lately?)
6) Their inability to control events due to lack of financial backing
7) Their refusal to pay extra for artist privacy
8) Their refusal to allow the artists any say in the musical process
9) Their inability to pursue legal action against malicious physical/invasive sasaeng attacks
10) The way they squeeze as much out of an artist as they can with absolute disregard of the artists and little payout to the individuals making them the money.

All in all, this album was wonderful and if we're lucky, SM is heading into a new direction where we can appreciate them and support them as a company instead of hope like hell that our artists will break contract and go find a new company to take care of them the way they deserve (See Block B, JYJ for success stories). Other companies with FAR LESS money and power are able to provide their artists with 10 times as much. (Look at TS entertainment with B.A.P.---teeny tiny company who fund world tours and blockbuster concepts for their artists though they are mostly overlooked. SM has NO excuses.)