Art of Life

Art of Life
Studio album by X Japan
Released	August 25, 1993
Recorded	April 1991-June 1993 One On One Recording, The Complex, Enterprise, Master Control, Pacifique, Devonshire, Red Zone, Abbey Road Studios
Genre	Symphonic metal, progressive metal, power metal
Length	29:00
Language	English
Label	Atlantic
Producer	Yoshiki
X Japan chronology
Jealousy (1991) Art of Life (1993) Dahlia (1996)

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Sputnikmusic	[1]

Art of Life is a mini album by Japanese heavy metal band X Japan, released on August 25, 1993 by Atlantic Records. The album consists solely of the 29-minute long orchestrated title track, which was written and composed by Yoshiki entirely in English and recorded with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. It topped the Oricon chart,^[2] and sold over half a million copies. The album is the band's first after changing their name from simply "X".

Overview

With the release of two successful studio albums, Blue Blood in 1989 and Jealousy in 1991, X Japan was hugely popular for a metal/rock band in Japan and were selling out the country's largest indoor concert venue, the Tokyo Dome, yearly. But in 1992 bassist Taiji was asked to leave the group due to musical differences, or as he claims; after a confrontation with Yoshiki about the substantial income gap between the members, and was replaced by Heath.

Also in 1992, Yoshiki bought a recording studio complex in North Hollywood, California, United States. Known as One on One Recording Studios it would later be re-named Extasy Recording Studios and become the place where recordings for nearly all his projects takes place.^[3] For the release of Art of Life, X Japan left Sony and signed a deal with Atlantic Records, and like the previous album it wasn't recorded in Japan, but in several different places, most notably One on One Recording Studios in the US and Abbey Road Studios in London.^[4] The heavily orchestrated piece (recorded with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra)^[5] comprises several passages of varying speeds and instrumentation, including numerous verses, with no set chorus, several harmonized guitar solos, and eight minutes performed solely on piano.

The mini album was released on August 25, 1993. In the initial counting week of September 1993 it reached number one on the Oricon chart, with sales of 337,490 copies.^[6] By the end of the year it had sold 513,000 copies and was the 28th best-selling album of the year. It charted for 16 weeks.^[2] In 1998 a live album composed solely of the song, titled Art of Life Live, was released by Polydor Records. It was recorded live on December 30 and 31, 1993 at the Tokyo Dome, and reached number twenty on the charts.^[2] The same concerts were released on DVDs in their entirety in 2008 as X Japan Returns 1993.12.30 and X Japan Returns 1993.12.31, the latter was originally released in 2003 on VHS and DVD as Art of Life 1993.12.31 Tokyo Dome.

Legacy

Originally, "Art of Life" was only played live a handful of times. The first taking place on July 30, 1992 at the Nippon Budokan^[7] and two more at the previously mentioned December 30 and 31, 1993 concerts at the Tokyo Dome.

However since reuniting in 2007, X Japan has been performing the song regularly. First at the band's reunion concert on March 28, 2008 at the Tokyo Dome. For the song a hologram of the deceased hide (created using footage from one of the 1993 performances) played alongside the band, though the song was cut short when Yoshiki collapsed midway through, just before the piano solo.^[8] The rest of the song was played at the same venue two days later. It was once again played at the Tokyo Dome on May 3, 2009, starting from the second movement, and at the AsiaWorld-Expo in Hong Kong on January 16 (first movement) and 17 (second movement), 2009. The second movement has been played as the last song at every night of their on going world tour, beginning in 2010 in North America and moving to several South American and Asian countries in 2011.

Song structure

0:00 - 2:58

The song opens with very gentle guitar fading in, with piano following soon after. The strings of the orchestra enter at 25 seconds, softly at first but gradually building in volume until Toshi's first vocals.

2:59 - 4:10

With one drum beat Yoshiki's piano is now traded for drums (as he would do live during this song and others). Two guitars enter immediately following that hit, playing the same solo only with one playing it several steps higher to create harmony. At 3:34 the tempo is sped up with a third guitar coming in to play the heavier riff that drives this, and similar, sections of the song.

4:11 - 8:14

Vocals and the orchestra re-enter as the band continues, and at certain moment, there are some spoken words. Following this is another harmonized guitar solo.

8:15 - 8:43

With the conclusion of the second spoken word, there is an interlude where all guitar, drums, and most of the orchestra, with the exception of a harpsichord and several cellos, drop out.

8:44 - 12:43

A single chord effectively ends the interlude, and a flurry of drums brings the song back into a powerful state. This is followed by another harmonized guitar solo; however, this one differs from the others thus far as it is significantly longer and very staccato in nature.

12:44 - 13:38

The tone of the band and orchestra has shifted as well into a section layered beneath Toshi's vocals. Upon completion of this verse, there is a slow guitar solo that flows into a violin solo.

13:39 - 15:06

The tone of the violin shifts and there is another spoken word verse.

There is another explosive note and flurry of drums, identical to earlier, during the closing lines of the verse that brings the song back around to another powerful tone. Toshi's voice then fades out with his last note along with the band and entire orchestra.

Piano duet (15:07 - 24:18)

The next nine minutes are performed solely on piano. It starts out as a soft, simple riff that builds up and dies back down several times. A second piano is added, and there is a clash of notes as the first continues to play the same riff and the second has bursts of madness. Eventually, the string section joins, and the chaos dwindles away to the soft riff, and that too fades out as the strings replace the piano completely.

Finale (24:19 - 29:00)

A guitar dive dismisses the strings and brings the faster tempo, Toshi's vocals and band back in, and the band drives the song on to the finish.

Personnel

This section requires expansion.

X Japan

• Vocals: Toshi
• Guitar: Pata, hide
• Bass: Heath
• Drums, piano, synthesizer: Yoshiki

Additional musicians

• Orchestra: Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
• Conductor, strings arrangement, orchestration: Dick Marx

Production

• Producer: Yoshiki
• Co-producer: Naoshi Tsuda, X^[9]
• Recording and Mixing engineer: Richard Breen
• Strings arrangement, orchestration: Shelly Berg
• MIDI programming: Kazuhiko Inada

References