L'Arc~en~Ciel - BUTTERFLY

Released Feburary 8, 2012 in Japan under Ki/oon Records, BUTTERFLY marks L'Arc~en~Ciel’s twelfth album release. The album debuted at first place on the Oricon Charts and sold over 170,000 within the first week of sales. L'Arc~en~Ciel have it down.

BUTTERFLY kicks off with two previously released chart-topping singles, CHASE and XXX (Kiss Kiss Kiss) before moving into the string-instrument driven Bye Bye.

Beginning with layers of violin that compliment the vocal line, Bye-Bye cools down from the very seductive XXX (Kiss Kiss Kiss). The mood is a little different than the opening two tracks; the combination of ken’s guitar line and tetsu bass with hyde can put listeners at ease.

GOOD LUCK MY WAY -BUTTERFLY Ver.- is no different than the original version, sans the instrumental intro. The track was used as the closing theme in the film "Fullmetal Alchemist: The Sacred Star of Milos."

There's a bit of a surprise for the following track: drummer yukihiro wrote shade of season instead of hyde. A slight difference in style can be heard and is very refreshing. Towards the end of shade of season, the soft notes sung for the repeated line “round and round and round” stand out more than earlier in the track—if only the same mood for this line was found throughout the track.

One of the new tracks, wild flower, shows an eerie undertone. In, hyde sings the opening lines softly before any guitar, drum line or bass is included and in that moment, the song differentiates itself from the other tracks. The adage of violin and symphonic strings in the background paint a magical feeling. The melody and vocals through the chorus are little too strong on some words but the verses, including the guitar solo, are fitting for wild flower’s seemingly "wild" concept.

SHINE, originally released in mid-2008, mirrors the magical feeling heard in wild flower through synthesizers and a major key. The track is fairly energetic without stepping outside of L'Arc~en~Ciel usual style.

The album wraps up with another new track, Mirai Sekai. Starting off as a gentle ballad, the track tests hyde’s vocal range with several high notes. As soon as the guitar hits, Mirai Sekai transforms into a power ballad that listeners might want to sway to.

Overall, the new album is a pretty good collection of work. For a group whose career has spanned many years, L'Arc~en~Ciel have kept up a consistent, strong sound. BUTTERFLY collects six previously released singles from the 2010 single Drink It Down up to the more recent CHASE, plus a few new tracks and throws it into one convenient album. The limited edition includes a bonus CD with tracks from L'Arc~en~Ciel’s alter ego band, Punk~en~Ciel, plus a DVD. What a treat for fans!