"Destiny
Alive
Heaven
Love
Innocence
Always..."
What I remember the most when I think of X-Japan's
Dahlia is driving through the woods in Michigan, in autumn. The leaves were turning from orange, yellow, and red to brown as they fell from the trees, blowing past my speeding car and swirling in the wind before finally resting on the dusty streets. While I drove, I listened to the title track from
Dahlia, the volume cranked on my CD player as I sang along at the top of my lungs during the chorus. I remember feeling insanely happy at that moment, and thinking back to that day, the first time I experienced
Dahlia, puts a smile on my face as I write this review.
Dahlia is not only one of the finest, most beautiful melodic metal albums ever created, but also an intense emotional experience for those willing to open themselves up and give in to the brilliance of X-Japan.
The title track opens the album in the best way possible - by blowing out the listener's ears with a fury of heavy, speedy guitar work and Yoshiki's inhuman double bass drum fireworks. Though
Silent Jealousy from the band's previous album is my favorite song by these musicians,
Dahlia is a close, close second. The majority of the song is powerful, symphonic metal beauty with melodies from heaven and an absolutely superb guitar solo. What makes this song so special though is the section in the middle where everything slows down and all that's left is Toshi singing with the piano and orchestra. It only lasts briefly, but it adds an extra layer of emotion to what was already a perfect song.
Longing and
Tears are the Yoshiki-penned power ballads of
Dahlia, and to paraphrase Comic Book Guy from
The Simpsons: Best. Power ballads. Ever. Gorgeous, flowing melodies swirl around, mixing to create some truly heartbreaking music. I can't count the number of times I've cried listening to
Tears; it's simply amazing.
As wonderful as those two tracks are however, they don't compare to the hauntingly beautiful
Crucify My Love. With strings, a piano, and Toshi's voice the only elements to this track, it feels lighter and simpler than the other ballads on this disc, but it's the most excellent one as well. Close your eyes, listen to this song, and prepare to be swept away to another world. The melodies are out of this world, and I always feel as if I'm on a beach somewhere as the wind blows across my face when I listen to this one.
Rusty Nail is another track I need to mention. Similar to the title track (it's a speedy, ultra melodic metal song that slows down briefly in the middle),
Rusty Nail is another of X-Japan's greatest songs. The keyboards add a ton of melody to this track and almost give it an 80s feel. It's a great song to bang your head and sing along to.
I could write much more about this album from my favorite band, but I highly recommend that everyone reading this go out and buy a copy to experience
Dahlia themselves. Any fan of music will enjoy this album, and fans of symphonic metal in particular
need to hear this stuff. Simply mind blowing.
Written by
Matthew Tuesday, June 21, 2005
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