Blue Blood

This album is fucking ridiculous. Every member of this band pours their heart and souls into playing their music. For people who aren't familiar, X-Japan is a metal band from Japan that popularized metal there, and started the infamous "visual kei" look that paved the way for newer bands. In my personal opinion, the bands that fall under modern visual kei are absolutely awful. Cash in attempts at making money and fucking fangirls. That isn't X-Japan. X-Japan is honest. X-Japan is the cry of youth, encompassing every emotion that a confused by feels growing up, from his early teenage years, to adulthood.

X-Japan is also very talented. Their singer, Toshi, is technically an excellent singer, however his voice is an acquired taste to most. Their guitarists hide (RIP) and Pata are excellent. Extremely tasteful, with plenty of varied licks and chops. They play in perfect harmony, can shred it like Jason Becker, but can also play gut-wrenching emotional solos and clean passages. Their drummer/pianist/main composer Yoshiki is absolutely genius. He's worked with some of the finest in all of music, and he himself is an amazing composer. His drumming is brutal and precise, as well. Lastly, their bassist (on this album) Taiji, isn't just a sit in the corner and follow the guitar bassist. He is EXTREMELY talented, and you can oftentimes hear his bass-lines, doing their own thing, and that's a definite plus.

So what about this album, Blue Blood? Why review this album? I review it because I feel as if it is the best X-Japan album, and perhaps one of the greatest rock albums of all time. There is no filler on here. Everyone song can somehow cater to ANYONE who appreciates any form of rock. If you want blistering speed metal a la PAINFUCKINGKILLER, you can listen to the title track, Blue Blood. If you want rock anthems with killer solos, you can listen to Week End or Celebration. If you want amazing piano, you can listen to Unfinished or Endless Rain. If you want a fucking huge epic song, you can listen to Rose of Pain, which features every aspect of X-Japan's music. However, the undoubted best track on the album is the song Kurenai. Perfect romantic intro. Killer speed metal, ridiculous solos with amazing harmony, and an amazingly epic chorus.

However, points off for some tracks that I don't particularly care for too much, such as Easy Fight Rambling. And some parts in Celebration could be more planned out and stomach-churning. Also, points off for the production on the guitars. The drums, vocals, bass, and piano sound great, but the guitar gets muffled at times.

When X-Japan wants to have balls, they have fucking BALLS. BLUE FUCKING BLOOD ANYONE?! That song is INSANE. When they want to make my girlfriend cry, they can bust out shit like Endless Rain and have girls sobbing at their feet. Their usage of arpeggios, the harmonic scale, and the diminished scale are also the most tasteful I've EVER heard in a metal band, not to mention their chord progressions can cater to some spectacularly emotional singing. All in all, X-Japan is one of the best well-rounded metal bands, certainly one of the most talented of all time, and deserving of the respect of music lovers around the entire world.