Hidden behind this atrocious album cover – admittedly, I really don’t like dogs – is one of the most pleasant musical surprises of the year. It should not be too surprising that a record featuring an all-star line-up of sorts, including Fumihiko Kitsutaka on guitar, recorded something I like, but XYZ→A’s recent albums have been quite hit and miss for me. ‘Wonderful Life’, on the other hand is one of the most enjoyable albums I have heard all year. It harkens back to a time when hardrock and heavy metal were not necessarily separate things yet without ever sounding too dated or nostalgic.

As experienced and skilled as all musicians in XYZ→A are, their greatest works are largely defined by all the members of the band being excellent songwriters. Almost all of the songs on this album have been composed by Kitsutaka and drummer Funky Sueyoshi, who obviously know how to combine memorable hooks with enough riffs to keep the guitar freaks interested. It also seems like they are intent to write for Minoru Niihara’s voice. His vocal cords may sound as worn as they do on Loudness’ recent records, but overall, Niihara sounds far more free and comfortable on XYZ→A’s material.

It really is remarkable how much variation XYZ→A packed into ‘Wonderful Life’ without the album ever sounding unfocused or messy. On the one hand, there are intense, riff-heavy power metal tracks such as ‘Chapter Has Begun’, the awesome speed metal of ‘Yusha Wo Tataeru Kane’ and the typical Kitsutaka approach – dense riffs and neoclassical themes broken up by open passages – of ‘Shijo No Takera’. But when XYZ→A goes a little lighter and hypermelodic, such as on Niihara’s jumpy poprocker ‘Hey! Hey! Hey!’ or the stellar title track, the band sounds equally powerful while skillfully avoiding the clichés that plague so many J-rock songs. Call it experience.

Some of the tracks on ‘Wonderful Life’ are surprisingly adventurous. ‘Senshitachi No Requiem’ technically counts as a ballad, but through the use of Kitsutaka’s classical guitar and the obvious nod to Deep Purple’s ‘Child In Time’ halfway through, is heavier and nowhere hear as saccharine as one would expect from a Japanese ballad. Opener ‘Give Us The Power’ is surprisingly multi-faceted as well. The AOR of ‘Here You Go!’ works really well too. With a somewhat cleaner singer, the track could have been on any record released by Frontiers Records, although Kitsutaka’s guitar sound is notably more ballsy.

Truly, I did not expect ‘Wonderful Life’ to be as good as it is. The album has an almost carefree, spontaneous nature that really benefits the songs. The excellent performances drive that home. Niihara sounds better than on most recent Loudness albums and Kitsutaka never disappoints, while Sueyoshi’s drums and the melodically very interesting bass work by Tatsuhiko Wasada are surprisingly fitting for this type of hardrock and heavy metal, despite their background being in J-pop. If you are looking for an hour of dynamic, melodic and powerful music, there are certainly worse places to start than ‘Wonderful Life’.

Recommended tracks: ‘Yusha Wo Tataeru Kane’, ‘Shijo No Takera’, ‘Here You Go!’, ‘Wonderful Life’

 

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