Honestly, I don't even care anymore. We aren't even waiting for a masterpiece. The sad truth is that most songs that have been teased, played, or god forbid, released since the reunion just haven't been that good. The only one that really sticks out to me as a truly great X Japan song is Jade and MAYBE Without You and IV. Lets look at all of the songs we have heard,
Without You- Nice simple little song. Now, the piano and vocal only ballads are so boring and played out, but this is a nice one and the vocal lines are good. Too bad it was never really released properly and when it did, it was on a crappy film soundtrack as a half assed (except for Toshi's vocals) piano and vocal version. After 10 years you'd think they could incorporate the whole band and throw in a melodic guitar solo.
IV- Good, anthemic melodies and was a nice tribute to hide. Still, it felt a little empty without a bigger instrumental part.
Jade- Great song. Its catchy, has some cool guitar and orchestra work. Actually has a solo. Sounds like it could have been on Dahlia.
Born to be Free- This song I liked years ago because I was starved for new material. I still don't hate it and think the studio version sounds well made. The guitar riff is very amateurish, though, and I'd have liked it to be a little bit more full. Its a cheesy song, but whatever.
Scarlet Love Song- Completely forgettable throw away song that sounds like any other simplified X ballad, but more lame.
Beneath the Skin- Song showed promise. Not anything mind blowing, but something cool at least. There seems to be a solo (huzzah) and I like the bass in the verses.
Hero- Basically a pop song with what Yoshiki thinks sounds "commercial"
Angel- Another relatively forgettable ballad
Kiss the Sky- Another ballad but apparently it has guitars at least
La Venus- ANOTHER fucking vocal/piano ballad. I actually like the melodies in this even though its mind blowing almost all of these songs have the same format
Still, what the fuck is this? All of these songs are fucking predictable and generic ballads where you have basically only vocals and piano. The other sock songs are mainly generic commercialized rock where you have dead simple guitar work. A good song doesn't NEED a guitar solo, far from it, but one of the big reasons I became a fan was because of their guitar work. There isn't a SINGLE memorable guitar part in any of these songs save for maybe Jade. These songs aren't offensive or necessarily bad. They just are very subpar and don't make the mark.
So yeah, who cares anymore? Is this album worth all this drama and the 10 year wait? For me? No.
I'd like to see them again and take my friend who didn't get the chance to see them the first time they toured the states. That'd be cool and pretty exciting for me but other than that, it is whatever.
The fact of the matter is, Yoshiki grossly dropped the ball on the reunion. From countless canceled dates, late starts, delays in shows and music release, false promises and lies, and squandered potential, it is VERY easy to see why fans are bored, negative, or worse- indifferent now. Fans like Teemeah are new, and that is great! There is some awesome rock music to be found with X Japan and their history and personalities are very interesting. However, the "YOU AREN'T A TRUE FAN IF YOU DON'T AGREE OR LIKE EVERYTHING THEY DO" mentality is both asinine and counterintuitive. I'm a diehard GNR fan, as well, and I see this ALL THE TIME when it comes to Axl Rose as well. Teemeah said it above, the band doesn't "owe" us anything. Well, I both disagree and agree. If a band offers a product, such as a concert you buy a ticket to, they owe you a show with a respectable performance. They have delayed MANY shows throughout the past 10 years. I understand that health issues happen, and unforeseen events occur, but when it happens the amount of times it has, it isn't all just bad luck. That means there is poor planning, communication, and a failure to adapt to changing events.
Years ago, they announced this big concert in the UK and said the album would be released that day. They announced it almost a year in advance. Well, a few weeks before the show they canceled it blaming it on Pata. Pata's health comes first, of course, but to me it seemed he was used a scapegoat. He is a crucial member, but the band apparently knew about his health weeks before the cancelation announcement, and knew many fans had flights and hotels booked. They waited so late to announce it, it is likely many fans could not cancel their accommodations. Since this was such a big event, the band should have adapted and still provided fans with the album release and some sort of performance with the rest of the band. Here we are YEARS later with no released music, even with the concert performed another year after. This alone tells me that the cancellation was more because they were not prepared.
The above example is just one of MANY... an original Paris show, dates in Asia, an initial NY show in 2008, etc. That goes beyond bad luck. When you have to keep making excuses, it says the problem is with you. Even Yoshiki's recent surgery was something he knew he had to get for years. Why not get it in the years where they weren't doing anything instead of right when he wanted to do an alleged album release and "world" tour? Sure, he is entitled to get it when he wants, but that sure was convenient. Now he has a great excuse not to tour or release an album. I give credit that they didn't cancel those Japanese shows. I am sure he would have liked to, but given the band's track record with cancelations they couldn't. Instead, those shows were some of the coolest in 10 years. Deep cuts were played, the setlist changed, and Yoshiki sounded pretty great on the piano. Yeah, it was more of a Yoshiki+Toshi show with support from other X members, but that is sort of how the band (sadly) functions now anyways. That is the one example I can think of where he properly adapted to a situation. Still, there is no album and tour. What is he doing? He isn't staying at home healing, he is flying around the world promoting a two year old movie he already promoted. He is working on marketing and promoting his name. What does that tell you?
Maybe he knows the material isn't up to par, maybe he lost interest, maybe he really is the perfectionist he leads fans to believe and wants to get it right (personally, I don't buy this), but who cares at this point? He is out of touch with the diehard fans, and has thus alienated a great deal of us with his poor communication and false promises. He isn't working hard in the studio 24/7 on X Japan like he says on social media, he is starting many different projects. Mostly marketing ones such as products and fashion shows, and ignoring his creative side. More power to him, but its an issue because he lies and says he is still passionate and hard at work with musical projects like X Japan and Violet UK (whatever the fuck that is). He doesn't commit to single projects or prioritize the things he said he would, thus, nothing is accomplished and you get several half assed projects like what X Japan is now.
Personally, I don't think about the album anymore or even X Japan much aside from the few times a month I log on here. He does't really owe us in terms of new music, he can do what he likes. At the same time, we don't owe him anything either. If he keeps making false promises, why shouldn't we discuss it on the band's main message board (which is now practically inactive)? I understand it is hard for new fans like you, OP, and Teemeah but we can only talk about the music and all that for so long. Many of us have been here for years. There were positive conversations, there was excitement. But for the majority of us, there isn't much to be excited for and "cheer on". What are we cheering on right now? A non existent album that will never see release? A second or third press tour around Europe for a documentary that is already released and mainly forgotten by the mainstream? Come on...
I am glad they reunited for personal reasons. I, and many other fans, got to see them live and we otherwise wouldn't have. For that reason alone, I view the reunion as something good. A lot of the shows have been pretty damn good and Jade is a pretty cool tune. Other than that, it has been a creative and logistical disaster full of periods (sometimes years) of complete inactivity and many plans that didn't materialize. I am not "spitting on" Yoshiki. I don't know him. He can be the greatest guy for all I know. He seems like a pretty nice person. But as a fan, I can criticize his actions and words to said fans, can I not? It has nothing to do with his personality. He seems genuine and grateful, that is for sure. I'm glad he does, the dude is a multi millionaire, so humility is a welcome and rare thing among celebrities.
There are Facebook pages about X Japan that have all the positivity you seek. They have the blind following and like everything Yoshiki does. You aren't going to necessarily find that here. X Freaks is sadly more of a graveyard because of the years of false starts and inactivity. Fans like you and Teemeah are welcome. Its good to have positivity injected, but you asked why there's negativity from the majority of us old posters?
There you go