Ark (L'Arc-en-Ciel album)

Ark
Ark
Studio album by L'Arc-en-Ciel
Released	July 1, 1999
Genre	Pop rock; alternative rock;
Length	53:08
Label	Ki/oon
Producer	L'Arc-en-Ciel, Hajime Okano
L'Arc-en-Ciel chronology
Singles from Ark
	"Dive to Blue"; Released: March 25, 1998; "Forbidden Lover"; Released: October 14, 1998; "Heaven's Drive"; Released: April 21, 1999; "Pieces"; Released: June 02, 1999; "Driver's High"; Released: August 11, 1999;

Ark is the sixth album by L'Arc-en-Ciel, released on July 1, 1999, simultaneously with Ray. It reached number one on the Oricon chart and sold over two million copies, being certified by the RIAJ.^[1]

Track listing

All lyrics are written by hyde, except track 8 by tetsu

No.	Title	Music	Length
1.	"Forbidden Lover"	ken	6:01
2.	"Heaven's Drive"	hyde	4:15
3.	"Driver's High"	tetsu	4:10
4.	"Cradle"	yukihiro	4:56
5.	"Dive to Blue"	tetsu	5:33
6.	"Larva" (instrumental)	yukihiro	3:55
7.	"Butterfly's Sleep"	ken	5:10
8.	"Perfect Blue"	tetsu	3:48
9.	"Shinjitsu to Gensou to" (真実と幻想と)	ken	5:22
10.	"What is Love"	tetsu	4:13
11.	"Pieces (Ark Mix)"	tetsu	5:45

Personnel

hyde – vocals
ken – guitar, keyboards on tracks 1, 4, 5, 9 and 10, tambourine on tracks 2, 5 and 10, "Hong Kong handclaps" on track 5
tetsu – bass guitar, backing vocals, keyboards on tracks 5, 8 and 11, metal percussion and "Hong Kong handclaps" on track 5
yukihiro – drums, keyboards and turn table on track 4, "Hong Kong handclaps" on track 5
Hajime Okano – keyboards on tracks 1, 2, 3, 4, 8, 9, 10 and 11, chromaharp on track 10
Hitoshi Saitou – keyboards on all but track 9, piano on track 9
Yukarie – tenor saxophone on track 2
Smily – baritone saxophone on track 2
Akatsuki Tada – trumpet on track 2
Naoki Hirata – trumpet on track 2
Eishi Yoshizawa – organ and keyboards on track 3
Chieko Kanehara – strings on track 7
Keiko Abe – strings on track 11

Charts

Weekly charts

Original release

Chart (1999)	Peak position
Japanese Albums (Oricon)^[2]	1

15th Anniversary Edition

Chart (2006)	Peak position
Japanese Albums (Oricon)^[3]	13

Year-end charts

Chart (1999)	Position
Japanese Albums (Oricon)	5

Certifications


Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Japan (RIAJ)^[4]	2× Million	2,000,000^{^}
^{^} Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

^ "RIAJ CERTIFIED MILLION SELLER ALBUMS". ocn.ne.jp. Archived from the original on August 5, 2012. Retrieved February 13, 2015.
^ "ark | L'Arc～en～Ciel". ORICON NEWS. Retrieved 2024-05-21.
^ "『ark』15th Anniversary Expanded Edition | L'Arc～en～Ciel". ORICON NEWS. Retrieved 2024-05-21.
^ "Japanese album certifications – L'Arc～en～Ciel – ark" (in Japanese). Recording Industry Association of Japan. Select 1999年7月 on the drop-down menu

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[1] "RIAJ CERTIFIED MILLION SELLER ALBUMS". ocn.ne.jp. Archived from the original on August 5, 2012. Retrieved February 13, 2015.

[2] "ark | L'Arc～en～Ciel". ORICON NEWS. Retrieved 2024-05-21.

[3] "『ark』15th Anniversary Expanded Edition | L'Arc～en～Ciel". ORICON NEWS. Retrieved 2024-05-21.

[JapanL'Arc～en～CielarkalbumCertRef-4] "Japanese album certifications – L'Arc～en～Ciel – ark" (in Japanese). Recording Industry Association of Japan. Select 1999年7月 on the drop-down menu

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