X Japan - Dahlia

The album Dahlia is an album from 1996 by X Japan a Japanese rock who dabble with long guitar filled balads, a few hairmetal like tracks and some rather standard rock tracks. One thing they all have in common though is Toshi's vocals. Anyone who has ever listened to J-Rock knows that whether it's J'eanne D'arc or X-Japan the vocals are all very similar, with a slightly muffled throaty sound the lyrics are nearly always sang in tune but the Japanese sound, at least to my ears doesn't really endear it's self to heavy rock music. It is this that puts me off listening to more Japanese music. Dahlia is actually my least favourite album by X-Japan, as ...  Read the complete review

X Japan are my all time favourite Japanese rock band, and Dahlia is arguably their best album released as of yet. Dahlia is full of brilliant songs, whether they are the speed metal that X Japan was known for, or slow ballads. Any metal fan will love the speed metal songs, although many don't like the ballads. However, general rock fans will find something in Dahlia, as it's almost like the metal and the ballads balance each other out into basic rock (I found myself loving the album at the tender age of 10, when I only liked rock). Some metallers think that four ballads in ten songs is a bit much, but if you're a little more open, it doesn't bring down the ...  Read the complete review