"We are very happy to be debuting our new single, Born To Be Free, through Metal Hammer UK," says band leader Yoshiki. "We are excited and very pleased with how the new album is going and the single is a really good taster. As soon as I started composing Born To Be Free, I knew it was going to be a special song for X Japan. We want people to interpret the song as a reflection of their personal journey. All of us are born free to dream what we want without any limits."

Born To Be Free is taken from the band's forthcoming album - their first in 20 years - which will be released on March 11 2016 and is the follow-up to 1996's Dahlia. The album was recorded at Yoshiki's home studio in Los Angeles and mixed by engineer Chris Lord-Alge, who has previously worked with the likes of Prince, Tina Turner, the Rolling Stones and Bruce Springsteen.