Cross (Luna Sea album)

According to Sugizo, Luna Sea, who had never worked with a producer in their 30-year career, had been wanting to work with one for about the last five years. He explained that he wanted to be a student again and learn more, but none of the producers in Japan fit for various reasons. Talks with Steve Lillywhite began even before the production of Luna Sea's previous album Luv (2017). Lillywhite and Inoran had become friends several years earlier after meeting through a mutual acquaintance at a Japanese music convention. The British producer attended his 2014 concert in Bangkok, where he was asked to produce the guitarist's solo album. However, the timing never worked out and Lillywhite prefers to work with bands instead of solo musicians anyway. After getting the offer from Luna Sea, Lillywhite went to see them perform live at Saitama Super Arena as he believes the true value of a band is in their live shows. Impressed, he agreed to produce their album. The band sent him songs and he sent back his ideas on them. Lillywhite returned to Japan about two and a half years later before recording began, during Luna Sea's Nippon Budokan concerts. Guitarists Inoran and Sugizo had previously visited him at his home in Jakarta, but this was the first time all five band members had met with the producer about the album. He said that he still believes in the idea of an album working as a whole instead of just standalone songs put together. So he eliminated some tracks because there were already too many slow songs or they did not fit the album. Lillywhite said that he noticed each member has their own style and that mixing them all together made a good album. He explained that J is a hard rocker, Inoran likes indie rock, Sugizo likes progressive rock, and Ryuichi is Frank Sinatra, while Shinya can adapt and interpret each one in his own way as a good drummer should. == Composition ==

The songs "Sora no Uta ~Higher and Higher~" and "Hisōbi" were already recorded before the Budokan meeting with Lillywhite. Inoran wrote the opening track "Luca" around October 2018, after coming back from visiting Lillywhite. It features about 15 string players and around 20 high school drummers and flutists, for about 40 or 50 people in total. Lillywhite described it as a flower blooming; it gradually builds with a swell at the end. The producer called "Closer", which was composed by J, musically simple but lively and said it would appeal to rock fans. At Lillywhite's suggestion, Sugizo added a counter-melody at the second chorus for Inoran to play. According to Lillywhite, the fifth track "You're Knocking at My Door" was difficult like all of Inoran's songs. Through repeated trial and error he tried to find the best balance between retaining the song's power but making it gentle enough on the ears. He said that while its sound is completely different, you could compare its chaotic mood to U2's song "Bullet the Blue Sky". Ryuichi originally wrote "Anagram" before Sugizo added his ideas. But Lillywhite preferred Ryuichi's version, so the final version is closer to the singer's demo. He called it reminiscent of David Bowie, and said that the calm song acts as a relief in the middle of the album. It was Lillywhite's idea to have an English-language announcement in , for which he chose J because the bassist has a good voice. Lillywhite said that someone felt it was wrong to end the album with "So Tender...", and admitted that "Seijyaku" would be most people's choice. But he is of the opinion that the last song should be like a nice dessert after a meal, and the latter was too heavy for dessert. == Release ==

Album The album title Cross was coined by Shinya. It is the band's tenth studio album and the Japanese numeral for the number 10 is , which looks like a cross. Five limited editions of Cross were produced: Limited Edition A includes music videos for the two single tracks on DVD; Limited Edition B includes a different music video for "Sora no Uta ~Higher and Higher~" on a DVD and a separate CD including Luna Sea's cover of TM Network's . Two editions were exclusive to members of the band's fan club; Premium Box A includes a live CD recorded at their May 31 and June 1, 2019 concerts at the Nippon Budokan and two live DVDs or Blu-rays recorded at their May 29, 2019 concert at Zepp Tokyo and December 24, 1998 concert at the Tokyo Dome in addition to a photo book and two replica staff passes; Premium Box B includes the same live CD and a DVD or Blu-ray recorded at their May 31, 2019 concert in addition to a photo book and one staff pass. An edition sold exclusively at the band's December 21 and 22, 2019 concerts at the Saitama Super Arena includes a live CD recorded at their December 22 and 23 concerts at the arena the previous year. Singles The double A-side single "Sora no Uta ~Higher and Higher~/Hisōbi" was released on May 29, 2019. On April 29, 2020, their twenty-first single "The Beyond Gunpla 40th Edition The Beyond x MS-06 Zaku II Ver. Luna Sea" was released in limited production. It includes the song "The Beyond" and a Luna Sea custom Zaku II Gundam model made of eco-friendly plastic. It became their first single in over 20 years, since "Gravity" (2000), to top the Oricon Singles Chart. It also topped the new Rock Singles Chart, and came in twentieth on the combined digital download and streaming singles chart. == Reception ==

John D. Buchanan writing for AllMusic called Cross a "really great rock album" that, while lacking the "power, drive, and freshness" they had in the '90s, feels like Luna Sea's songwriting skills are "arguably at their peak." Buchanan described the opening track "Luca" as a U2 homage, "Philia" as reminiscent of the '80s rock sound of Cali Gari and David Bowie, and said the solos and singalong chorus of "Closer" reminded him of Bon Jovi. Although noting a mid-album lull, he said that there are enough great tracks with prominent drums or bass lines, and a progressive power ballad with an "impassioned vocal performance," that will be ideal for "newcomers to the band who like '80s and '90s hard and soft rock, enjoy a bit of a proggy twist, and can cope with the language barrier." == Cross the Universe Tour ==

From February 1 to May 31, 2020, Luna Sea was scheduled to have a nationwide 30th anniversary hall tour titled Cross the Universe with over 29 performances in 13 cities, ending with three concerts between May 29 and 31 at to be newly opened Tokyo Garden Theater. However, all tour performances from the end of February on were postponed until 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Japan. The three Tokyo Garden Theater performances took place in 2021 on May 28–30 and was followed by the rescheduled Cross the Universe tour, which began on June 12. The tour's new "Grand Final" shows were held at Saitama Super Arena on January 8 and 9, 2022, but the regular tour actually ended on February 1, when Luna Sea gave their last performance before entering a "recharging period" as Ryuichi underwent surgery to remove microvascular lesions in his vocal cords. == Track listing ==

;Luna Sea • Ryuichi – vocals • Sugizo – guitar, violin • Inoran – guitar • J – bass • Shinya – drums ;Other • Daisuke "d-kiku" Kikuchi – sound effects and programming • Ikuro Fujiwara – strings supervisor and conductor on "The Beyond" and "Hisōbi" • MNP Strings Japan – strings on "The Beyond" and "Hisōbi" • Mayumi Tabata – strings copyist on "The Beyond" and "Hisōbi" • Hiroaki Hayama – strings arrangement and copyist on "Luca" and "You're Knocking at My Door" • Naoko Ishibashi Strings – strings on "Luca" and "You're Knocking at My Door" • Yumi Kawamura – female chorus on "Luca", "Philia" and "So Tender..." • Maiko Kawabe Rivera – piano and Hammond organ on "Philia" and "Seijyaku" • Brass band club of The Second High School, Tokyo University of Agriculture and Takasaki Green Crest – marching drums on "Luca" • Ichiro Higuchi – conductor on "Luca" • Shinya Yamada – chorus direction on "Luca", "You're Knocking at My Door" and "So Tender..." • Masatsuna Yamamoto – English direction on "Seijyaku" ;Production • Steve Lillywhite – co-producer and mixing • Masayuki Nakahara, Junpei Ohno, Masashi Hashimoto, Masaaki Taya, Shintaro Inoue, Takahiro Okubo – recording engineers • Stuart Hawkes – mastering • Ryotaro Kawashima and Arata Kato – cover artwork design == References ==