Art of Life is the fourth studio album by Japanese heavy metal band X Japan, released on August 25, 1993, by Atlantic Records.

The album consists solely of the 29-minute-long orchestrated title track, which was written and composed by Yoshiki entirely in English and recorded with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.

Furthermore, various business issues eventually stopped the recording of Art of Life and the album Jealousy was released with one piece.

"[6][7] The heavily orchestrated piece (recorded with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra)[7] comprises several passages of varying speeds and instrumentation, including numerous verses, with no set chorus, several harmonized guitar solos, and eight minutes performed solely on piano.

[3] These concerts were held at the Tokyo Dome on December 30 and 31 and titled X Japan Returns, marking the beginning of a New Year's Eve tradition that would last until the group's disbandment.

In the initial counting week of September 1993, Art of Life reached number one on the Oricon chart, with sales of 337,490 copies.

[14] Nick Butler of Sputnikmusic gave Art of Life a perfect 5 out of 5 score and referred to it as "Japan's "Stairway to Heaven" - a multi-layered song with a near-mythical reputation, that crystallizes everything that made the band so great."

Feeling that a comparison to Dream Theater's similarly themed A Change of Seasons was inevitable, he stated that "Art of Life" is "more emotional, diverse, intense, impressive, and epic" and that X's members are more technically skilled at their instruments.

A new version of "Art of Life" was reportedly recorded for X Japan's unreleased studio album,[18] before it was decided to create entirely new material instead.