Press release 2011-01-27

X JAPAN AND EMI MUSIC ANNOUNCE NORTH AMERICAN AGREEMENT

Band In The Studio Recording American Debut Set for a Summer 2011 Release

LOS ANGELES, CA ­ (Thursday, January 27, 2011) -- X Japan, one of the most
successful rock band in Japanese history, and EMI Music have signed an
exclusive three-year manufacturing and distribution agreement that will have
EMI Label Services handle the band¹s releases in North America. The first
release will be the track ³Jade² on March 15, followed by the band¹s as yet
untitled American debut set for a Summer, 2011 release.

"We are so honored to have X Japan as part of the EMI Label
Services/Caroline family," commented Mike Harris, Executive Vice
President/General Manager, EMI Label Services & Caroline Distribution."
After the highly successful North American tour last fall, the timing is
perfect for the upcoming X Japan release."

Added Dominic Pandiscia, Executive Vice President EMI Music Services North
America, "We are thrilled to have the opportunity to work with X Japan.
They have cultivated a strong following in the U.S. and we look forward to
working with them, helping to reach even more fans."

X Japan ­ Yoshiki/band leader/producer/songwriter/drums, piano,
Toshi/vocals, Pata/guitar, Sugizo/guitar, violin, and Heath/bass - is in the
studio putting the finishing touches on the album, the band¹s first new
studio album since 1996, and fifth overall. Half of the songs will be
culled from some of the band's Gold and Platinum Japanese singles; the other
half are brand-new songs, and an estimated 95% of the lyrics are being sung
in English.

"Some of the songs on this new album were originally written with Japanese
lyrics," Yoshiki explained, "so translating them into English has been
challenging. For some reason, English needs more words, so I ended up
re-writing many of the lyrics but kept the same message."

Most of the album has been recorded in Los Angeles at Yoshiki's own studio.
It's the same studio where Metallica recorded its classic "Black" album, and
artists from Van Halen to Michael Jackson to KISS also recorded there before
Yoshiki bought it and turned it into a private facility. Yoshiki, who lives
in Los Angeles, traveled to Japan a handful of times to record with the rest
of the band there. In addition, some of the album has been recorded live
over the Internet, with Yoshiki in L.A. and the band's other members at
their studio in Japan.

Added Yoshiki, "X Japan's music is everything from fast, super-heavy rock to
ballads with classical piano - all of those elements are what makes X
Japan¹s music. We don't play just one kind of music - we want to take
people on a journey."

The X Japan/EMI agreement comes on the heels of X Japan¹s U.S. concert debut
last August at Lollapalooza, and the band¹s first-ever North American tour
that wrapped up on October 10 with a sold out show at New York¹s Roseland
Ballroom. Many of the new album¹s tracks were introduced to western fans
when they were performed on the tour, including "Rusty Nail," "Kurenai,"
" I.V.," "Born to Be Free," and the album's first single, "Jade."

Over the course of the tour¹s seven dates, all played in theatre-sized
venues, X Japan easily demonstrated why they've sold more than 30-million
units and filled the 55,000-seat Tokyo Dome a record-setting 18 times. X
Japan hadn't played venues that small in more than 15 years, so they
tailored their "stadium-mindset² production to the theaters, making every
effort to bring their take-no-prisoners theatrics and spectacular visuals to
America. As the SF Weekly put it, "All it took was one show to make it very
clear why X Japan is such a phenomenon in its homeland."

Distribution agreements outside of North America, including Japan, will be
announced shortly.

To support the new album, X Japan plans to tour extensively in 2011.

Check out some song teasers from the new album, here:
www.xjapanmusic.com

Source: BAM! Marketing, Publicity & Promotions