Dahlia was the last album X JAPAN released before their breakup in 1997. Although criticized by some for the large amount of ballads it contains, Dahlia still features some of the band’s best work with songs such as Rusty Nail (used as the opening song for most concerts) and the autobiographic Tears.

As usual, most songs are written by the band’s leader (as well as drummer and pianist) Yoshiki, with a few additions by hide and the rest of the band.

1. Dahlia (7:58)

The opening track for the Dahlia album is the title song, which is a fairly fast track. Not one of my favorites, but it grew on me after listening to it a few times and seeing the recording.

2. SCARS (5:06)

hide-written song, which is quite obvious because this sounds very different from X JAPAN’s usual style. The best part of it is where it slows down in the middle, and obviously hide’s vocals during the intro in live performances.

3. Longing~跡切れたmelody~ (7:39)

Not one of X JAPAN’s most popular ballads, but in my opinion this is very underrated. The chorus is really beautiful and I can’t help singing along throughout the whole thing. I’m always happy when they decide to perform this live once instead of the classics such as Forever Love.

4. Rusty Nail (5:47)

Ahh, Rusty Nail. This is one of the very few songs in the world which I am quite happy listening to all day without ever getting tired of it. So much energy comes out of this song, even more so when it is performed live.

5. White Poem I (3:18)

This is a quite strange song. I wouldn’t even call it a song – it seems like you’re having a look inside Yoshiki’s mind. It has some kind of ethereal feel to it, which is interesting – though at the same time I can’t help but thinking of this as a bit of a filler song.

6. CRUCIFY MY LOVE (4:36)

This is an English-language ballad and one of the first by X JAPAN to which I got really addicted and I even found myself singing it when I was still barely aware of waking up in the morning. (Apparently it must have stuck with me all night up till the morning?) I’ve been listening to and singing this a lot in the past, however recently I’ve gotten tired of it a little. Still, objectively it’s a very good song.

7. Tears (10:30)

This song was written by Yoshiki as a tribute to his father, who committed suicide when Yoshiki was only 11 years old. Therefore needless to say, it’s a very emotional song and probably the best ballad on this album. I always look forward to Yoshiki grabbing the microphone during live versions to whisper the last lines of the song: “I will try to live, with love, with dreams, and forever with tears”.

8. WRIGGLE (1:28)

An interlude written by Pata and Heath. It has a bit of an experimental feel to it. I like how it starts off, but then it becomes a little too heavy.

9. DRAIN (3:24)

My favorite hide-written X JAPAN song after CELEBRATION. My favorite part is near the end, where hide does backing vocals for Toshi and somehow sounds very happy even though Toshi’s parts sound kind of dramatic and sad.

10. Forever Love (Acoustic Version) (7:54)

The acoustic version of Forever Love, which never appeared on an album in its original form but was only released as a single. It obviously has the same beautiful melody and the sad memories attached to it (the live version from The Last Live showing the whole band in tears, and the performance on hide’s funeral), however I have to confess I rarely listen to this version and I prefer the normal one.

Overall opinion: This is probably my favorite X JAPAN album, especially if not counting ART OF LIFE. Along with ART OF LIFE, Rusty Nail is my favorite song by them and something I think everyone should have heard. As for the amount of ballads, it’s still only 5 out of 10 songs, so why make a big deal out of it? Besides, if they’re good ballads, then I don’t get the complaints either way. And, in this case, they are. ‘Good’ might not even cover it. A shame this album is out of print!