''Shoxx'' (stylized as ''SHOXX'') was a Japanese music magazine published monthly by Ongakusenkasha founded by Seiichi Hoshiko. It focused on Japan's

visual kei is a movement among Japanese musicians that is characterized by the use of varying levels of make-up, elaborate hair styles and flamboyant costumes, often, but not always, coupled with androgynous aesthetics, similar to Western glam rock. Som ...

scene, featuring its most popular bands as well as new ones. It is advertised as a "Visual and Hard Shock" magazine on each cover, a title that was influenced by visual kei pioneers

X Japan was a Japanese rock band from Chiba, formed in 1982 by drummer and pianist Yoshiki and lead vocalist Toshi. Starting as a predominantly power/speed metal band with heavy symphonic elements, they later gravitated towards a progressive soun ...

and taken from their album '' Blue Blood''. Different artists were featured on the cover every month, along with a 20-page feature which covered them through in-depth profiles and interviews, and a poster of the cover star. Regularly featured bands included X Japan,

Miyavi , better known by his stage name Miyavi (雅, stylized as MIYAVI), is a Japanese guitarist, singer-songwriter, record producer, and actor known for his finger- slapping style of playing a guitar. He has been active since 1999, first as guitaris ...

Mucc is a Japanese visual kei rock band, formed in Ibaraki Prefecture in 1997. The classic line up of Tatsuro on vocals, Miya on guitar, Yukke on bass, and Satochi on drums was solidified in 1999 following the departure of original bassist Hiro. Af ...

Nightmare A nightmare, also known as a bad dream, Retrieved 11 July 2016. is an unpleasant dream that can cause a strong emotional response from the mind, typically fear but also despair, anxiety or great sadness. The dream may contain situations of d ...

The Gazette The Gazette (stylized as the GazettE), formerly known as , is a Japanese visual kei Rock music, rock band, formed in Kanagawa Prefecture, Kanagawa in early 2002.''Shoxx'' Vol 106 June 2007 pg 40-45 The band is currently signed to Sony Music Recor ...

, Kra, Sid,

Kagrra was a Japanese visual kei folk rock band. They were originally signed to the now defunct Key Party Records under the name "Crow". The group changed its name when they signed to PS Company in 2000. History The band's major debut was in 2004 wit ...

Alice Nine is a Japanese visual kei rock band formed in Tokyo in 2004. They were a part of PS Company until 2014. The band had King Records as its record label until 2010, when they joined Tokuma Japan. Then, in 2013, the band joined Universal Music Grou ...

An Cafe was a Japanese pop rock band formed in 2003 and signed to Sony Music Japan. Their visual image is oshare kei,''Shoxx Bis'' No 3 October 2004 issue, pg 69 and they describe their music as "Harajuku Dance Rock". The group has released six full-l ...

and

LM.C LM.C is a Japanese visual kei rock duo playing a mix of electronic rock and pop, which they call "new century electrorock". History LM.C was founded by Maya, who was formerly a guitarist for musician Miyavi in his support band Ishihara Gundan, ...

, among others. The magazine tended to appeal to overseas fans due to Suraj gamer22 the large number of photos (often full-page) and advertisements included in each issue. It became more widely available as the popularity of Japanese music increased in the West. In September 2016, it was announced that ''Shoxx'' had filed for bankruptcy. The final issue featured SuG, although Shoxx would later release one more special-edition magazine in February 2017 that featured Nightmare.

References

External links

Official websiteJhouserock Entertainment's archive of translated interviewsmusicJAPAN+ archive of translated interviews
1991 establishments in Japan 2016 disestablishments in Japan Defunct magazines published in Japan Magazines established in 1991 Magazines disestablished in 2016 Magazines published in Tokyo Monthly magazines published in Japan Music magazines Visual kei {{music-mag-stub