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
Progressive may refer to:
Politics
* Progressivism, a political philosophy in support of social reform
** Progressivism in the United States, the political philosophy in the American context
* Progressive realism, an American foreign policy par ...
sound with an emphasis on ballads. Besides being one of the first Japanese acts to achieve mainstream success while on an independent label, the group is widely credited as one of the pioneers of
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 ...
, a movement among Japanese musicians comparable to Western
glam.
Originally named , they released their debut album ''
Vanishing Vision'' (1988) on Yoshiki's own
Extasy Records
Extasy Records is a Japanese record label founded in April 1986 by Yoshiki Hayashi, co-founder of the heavy metal band X Japan. The label's first release was X's 1986 single " Orgasm".
Over the next few years, the label signed several then ...
one year after finalizing their line-up including bassist
Taiji, lead guitarist
Hide and rhythm guitarist
Pata. They achieved breakthrough success in 1989 with the release of their second and major debut album ''
Blue Blood''. Following 1991's ''
Jealousy'', Taiji left the band in early 1992. He was replaced by
Heath
A heath () is a shrubland habitat found mainly on free-draining infertile, acidic soils and characterised by open, low-growing woody vegetation. Moorland is generally related to high-ground heaths with—especially in Great Britain—a cooler ...
and the group changed their name to X Japan before producing the mini album ''
Art of Life'' (1993), which is composed solely of the 29-minute title track. In 1995 the group dropped most of its original visual kei aesthetics in favor of a more casual look and released ''
Dahlia
Dahlia (, ) is a genus of bushy, tuberous, herbaceous perennial plants native to Mexico and Central America. A member of the Asteraceae (former name: Compositae) family of dicotyledonous plants, its garden relatives thus include the sunflower ...
'' (1996), which like their two previous albums debuted at number one. X Japan performed their last concert at the
Tokyo Dome
is an indoor stadium in Bunkyo, Tokyo, Japan. It was designed as a baseball stadium following its predecessor, Korakuen Stadium. Construction on the stadium began on May 16, 1985, and it opened on March 17, 1988. It was built on the site of ...
on December 31, 1997, making it the last of five consecutive sold-out New Year's Eve concerts the group held at the stadium.
After ten years, X Japan reunited in 2007 and recorded the new song "
I.V.". Over the next two years they performed several concerts, including their first overseas show in Hong Kong, and formally added
Sugizo as lead guitarist in place of Hide, who died in 1998, before holding a North American tour in 2010. In 2011, the band went on their first world tour throughout Europe, South America and Asia. Shortly after reuniting, work began on their
sixth studio album. During its ten years of production, several release dates were announced, but it remains unreleased despite Yoshiki's claim of its completion in September 2018.
X Japan has released five studio albums, six live albums, and 21 singles. In 2003,
HMV Japan ranked the band at number 40 on their list of the 100 most important Japanese pop acts. In 2007, ''
Rolling Stone Japan'' ranked ''Blue Blood'' number 15 on its list of the 100 Greatest Japanese Rock Albums of All Time. In 2017, ''
Loudwire
''Loudwire'' is an American online media magazine that covers news of hard rock and heavy metal artists. It is owned by media and entertainment business Townsquare Media. Since its launch in August of 2011, ''Loudwire'' has secured exclusive ...
'' named X Japan the Best Metal Band from Japan. It has been reported that X Japan has sold over 30 million records.
History
1977–1992: X
In 1977,
Yoshiki and
Toshi formed a band called Dynamite in their hometown of
Tateyama, Chiba, when they were just 11 years old. Dynamite changed its name to Noise in 1978, while they were still in high school. At this time, Toshi played guitar and they had a singer named Kurata.
In 1982, Noise disbanded and Yoshiki and Toshi formed a new band, they named it X while they tried to think of another name, but the name stuck. X began to actively perform in the Tokyo area in 1985 with a frequently changing lineup. They originally attempted to pitch in with Japan's underground punk movement, but the band did not fit in with it as they were considered too commercial and flamboyant.
Their first single, "
I'll Kill You
"I'll Kill You" is the debut single by Japanese heavy metal band X Japan, then named X, released in June 1985.
Overview
In 1988, Yoshiki explained that the song is not about killing people as the title would suggest, but is a love song in the ve ...
" was released on Dada Records in June and the band contributed "Break the Darkness" to the
sampler
Sampler may refer to:
* Sampler (signal), a digital signal processing device that converts a continuous signal to a discrete signal
* Sampler (needlework), a handstitched piece of embroidery used to demonstrate skill in needlework
* Sampler (surna ...
''Heavy Metal Force III'' in November, which also featured a song by
Saver Tiger.
In November 1985 bassist
Taiji (ex:Dementia) joined X, though he left the group shortly thereafter.
To ensure a continuous outlet for the band's music, Yoshiki founded the
independent
Independent or Independents may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups
* Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s
* Independe ...
label
Extasy Records
Extasy Records is a Japanese record label founded in April 1986 by Yoshiki Hayashi, co-founder of the heavy metal band X Japan. The label's first release was X's 1986 single " Orgasm".
Over the next few years, the label signed several then ...
in April 1986, and released their second single "
Orgasm
Orgasm (from Greek , ; "excitement, swelling") or sexual climax is the sudden discharge of accumulated sexual excitement during the sexual response cycle, resulting in rhythmic, involuntary muscular contractions in the pelvic region charact ...
".
Taiji would officially rejoin the band in November of that same year.
The songs "Stab Me in the Back" and "No Connexion", for the February 1987
Victor Records sampler ''Skull Thrash Zone Volume I'', were recorded with
Pata (ex:Judy) as a support guitar player.
Soon after these recordings
Hide (ex:
Saver Tiger) joined as a guitarist.
After Pata once again provided support, this time at a live show, he officially joined completing the group's first well-known lineup.
In August 1987 they performed at the Rock Monster event at Kyoto Sports Valley and gave out their first home video, ''Xclamation''.
On December 26, 1987, the band participated in an
audition
An audition is a sample performance by an actor, singer, musician, dancer or other performer. It typically involves the performer displaying their talent through a previously memorized and rehearsed solo piece or by performing a work or piece ...
held by
CBS/Sony which led to a recording contract in August of the following year.
In the meantime the band released its first album, ''
Vanishing Vision'' through Extasy Records on April 14, 1988, and toured extensively in support of the record.
The album's first press of 10,000 copies sold out in a week, topping the
Oricon
, established in 1999, is the holding company at the head of a Japanese corporate group that supplies statistics and information on music and the music industry in Japan and Western music. It started as, which was founded by Sōkō Koike in N ...
indies chart and reaching number 19 on the main
Oricon Albums Chart
The Oricon Albums Chart is the Japanese music industry standard albums popularity chart issued daily, weekly, monthly and yearly by Oricon. Oricon originally published LP, CT, Cartridge and CD charts prior to the establishment of the Oricon ...
, making them the first independent band to appear on the main chart.
The
Vanishing Tour Vol.2
Japanese Heavy metal music, heavy metal band X Japan has performed more than 250 concerts from 1987 until October 2018. This number does not include the so-called "film gig" concerts, which are included below.
Concerts and other performances
...
took the band to 20 locations for 24 shows from June to July, while the
Burn Out Tour had 12 performances throughout October.
In November, X participated in music magazine ''Rockin'fs Street Fighting Men concert at
Differ Ariake Arena.
That year the members also made a brief
cameo appearance
A cameo role, also called a cameo appearance and often shortened to just cameo (), is a brief appearance of a well-known person in a work of the performing arts. These roles are generally small, many of them non-speaking ones, and are commonly ei ...
in the American film ''
Tokyo Pop'', starring
Carrie Hamilton and
Diamond Yukai.
X's sold out
Blue Blood Tour
Japanese heavy metal band X Japan has performed more than 250 concerts from 1987 until October 2018. This number does not include the so-called "film gig" concerts, which are included below.
Concerts and other performances
* ''film ...
started on March 13, with two of the concerts selling out in advance, including the March 16 show at
Shibuya Public Hall, which was later released on home video as ''
Blue Blood Tour Bakuhatsu Sunzen Gig''.
The album ''
Blue Blood'' was released on April 21, 1989, and debuted at number six on the Oricon chart. The single "
Kurenai" reached number five and the band went on the
Rose & Blood Tour, which was temporarily suspended when Yoshiki collapsed after a November 22 concert.
This success earned the band the "Grand Prix New Artist of the Year" award at the 4th annual
Japan Gold Disc Awards in 1990.
On November 24, 1990, X flew to Los Angeles to begin recording their follow-up album, ''
Jealousy''.
['' Jealousy'' liner notes, 1991.] When members arrived back in Japan in June, 500 members of the
Japan Self-Defence Forces
The Japan Self-Defense Forces ( ja, 自衛隊, Jieitai; abbreviated JSDF), also informally known as the Japanese Armed Forces, are the unified ''de facto''Since Article 9 of the Japanese Constitution outlaws the formation of armed forces, the ...
were at the airport to control the crowd.
The album was released on July 1, 1991, and debuted at number one, selling over 600,000 copies. It was later certified million by the
RIAJ.
In August the band performed their first concert at Japan's largest indoor concert venue, the
Tokyo Dome
is an indoor stadium in Bunkyo, Tokyo, Japan. It was designed as a baseball stadium following its predecessor, Korakuen Stadium. Construction on the stadium began on May 16, 1985, and it opened on March 17, 1988. It was built on the site of ...
. Footage from most of the band's shows in that stadium would later be released on CD and home video. The show was part of the
Violence in Jealousy Tour
Japanese heavy metal band 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 ...
, which lasted to the end of the year and once again saw Yoshiki collapse after the October 24
Yokohama Arena gig.
December 8 saw the X with Orchestra concert at
NHK Hall, where, as the name suggests, the band performed backed by an
orchestra
An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families.
There are typically four main sections of instruments:
* bowed string instruments, such as the violin, viola, c ...
.
1992 began with three sold out concerts at the Tokyo Dome, titled
Tokyo Dome 3 Days: On the Verge of Destruction, on January 5–7. On January 31, it was announced that bass player Taiji had left the group.
The official reason given for his departure was due to musical differences. However, in his autobiography, Taiji claims he was asked to leave because he confronted Yoshiki due to the substantial income gap between Yoshiki and each of the other members. When asked about Taiji's departure in 2016, Yoshiki said "he crossed the line of our band's rules" and "To this day I still don't know if the decision was right or wrong, but we didn't have a choice." On August 24, 1992, the band held a press conference in New York at
Rockefeller Center
Rockefeller Center is a large complex consisting of 19 commerce, commercial buildings covering between 48th Street (Manhattan), 48th Street and 51st Street (Manhattan), 51st Street in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. The 14 original Art Deco ...
.
There,
Heath
A heath () is a shrubland habitat found mainly on free-draining infertile, acidic soils and characterised by open, low-growing woody vegetation. Moorland is generally related to high-ground heaths with—especially in Great Britain—a cooler ...
(ex: Media Youth) was announced as their new bass player. Around this time, the band's success in Japan made an international breakthrough appear likely, leading to them leaving Sony for an American record contract with
Atlantic Records
Atlantic Recording Corporation (simply known as Atlantic Records) is an American record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Over its first 20 years of operation, Atlantic earned a reputation as one of the most ...
and the renaming of the band from X to X Japan,
in order to distinguish from the American
punk group
X. (An American album release would never happen.) Their first show with Heath was at the October 1992 Extasy Summit at
Osaka-jō Hall.
1993–1997: X Japan
''
Art of Life'' was released on August 25, 1993,
by Atlantic Records, and consists solely of the 29-minute, heavily orchestrated title track.
It debuted at number one,
however the band only performed two concerts that year, as each member began solo careers.
Aptly titled
X Japan Returns, the concerts were held at the Tokyo Dome on December 30 and 31, marking the beginning of a New Year's Eve tradition that would last until the group's disbandment.
The solo careers continued into the following year, with X Japan only performing four shows. The first two were the last two days of
The Great Music Experience
The Great Music Experience was a concert starring Japanese and international musicians staged at the eighth century Buddhist temple of Tōdai-ji, in Nara, Japan in May 1994. The concert, held over three nights (May 20 - May 22) and partly backed b ...
, and the others were December 30–31 at the Tokyo Dome, titled and respectively.
1995 was also quiet, until November 19 when the band began the tour for their next album,
Dahlia Tour 1995–1996
Japanese heavy metal band 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 ...
. Around this time, the group dropped most of its original
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 ...
aesthetics in favor of a more casual look.
While it wasn't released until November 4, 1996, singles from the album had been released as early as a few months after ''Art of Life''. Though this caused ''
Dahlia
Dahlia (, ) is a genus of bushy, tuberous, herbaceous perennial plants native to Mexico and Central America. A member of the Asteraceae (former name: Compositae) family of dicotyledonous plants, its garden relatives thus include the sunflower ...
'' to contain relatively little new material, the album reached number one on the charts. The tour was originally scheduled to end on March 31, 1996, however, it was cut short when Yoshiki
herniated
cervical vertebrae
In tetrapods, cervical vertebrae (singular: vertebra) are the vertebrae of the neck, immediately below the skull. Truncal vertebrae (divided into thoracic and lumbar vertebrae in mammals) lie caudal (toward the tail) of cervical vertebrae. In ...
after the March 13 show.
They did however perform their tradition of two Tokyo Dome concerts on December 30–31, titled and .
On September 22, 1997, Yoshiki, Hide, Pata and Heath held a press conference where they announced that X Japan would disband.
Vocalist Toshi decided to leave the band, claiming that the glamorous, success-oriented life of a rock star failed to satisfy him emotionally, as opposed to a simpler life and career.
He stated that he had made the decision back in April 1996, though it was not publicly disclosed.
However, around twelve years later, he confirmed what was long-reported in the media; that he was "brainwashed" via violence and abuse and conned out of money, leading to bankruptcy. X Japan performed their farewell show, titled
The Last Live: Last Night, at the Tokyo Dome on December 31, 1997, making it the last of five consecutive New Year's Eves the group performed at the stadium. Although later that same day they played "
Forever Love" at that year's ''
Kōhaku Uta Gassen
, more commonly known simply as ''Kōhaku'', is an annual New Year's Eve television special produced by Japanese public broadcaster NHK. It is broadcast live simultaneously on television and radio, nationally and internationally by the NHK ne ...
'', marking their true last performance.
1998–2007: Post X Japan
While reissues, compilations and live footage continued to be released, the members of X Japan pursued solo careers and other projects.
Hide, who released his first solo album ''
Hide Your Face'' in 1994, continued his solo career with a sound distinctively different from X Japan's music, leaning more towards
alternative rock
Alternative rock (also known as alternative music, alt-rock or simply alternative) is a category of rock music that evolved from the independent music underground of the 1970s. Alternative rock acts achieved mainstream success in the 1990s w ...
, until his death on May 2, 1998.
Just two months later, the debut album ''
3.2.1.'' from his American-based band
Zilch
Zilch means " nothing" or " zero". Zilch may also refer to:
* Zilch (software), a compiler used by Infocom to create Z-machine games
* Zilch (electromagnetism), a group of conserved quantities of the electromagnetic field
* Zilch (game), an altern ...
, which included Ray McVeigh (
The Professionals),
Paul Raven (
Killing Joke) and
Joey Castillo (
Queens of the Stone Age
Queens of the Stone Age (commonly abbreviated QOTSA) is an American rock band formed in 1996 in Palm Desert, California. The band was founded by vocalist and guitarist Josh Homme, who has been the only constant member throughout multiple line ...
), was released.
His third solo album ''
Ja, Zoo'', formally including his live band
Spread Beaver, was released in November 1998 and became his most successful, having reached number one and sold over a million copies.
Prior to his death, Hide and Yoshiki talked about restarting X Japan with a new vocalist in the year 2000.
Toshi's solo career, which began in 1992, has been extensive, with him having released over 30 albums and performed numerous
acoustic shows for smaller audiences. According to his website, his Utatabi Traveling Concert tour included over 3,000 concerts between 1999 and 2003.
After both having released solo albums in the early 90s,
Pata and
Heath
A heath () is a shrubland habitat found mainly on free-draining infertile, acidic soils and characterised by open, low-growing woody vegetation. Moorland is generally related to high-ground heaths with—especially in Great Britain—a cooler ...
teamed up with Spread Beaver percussionist/
programmer
A computer programmer, sometimes referred to as a software developer, a software engineer, a programmer or a coder, is a person who creates computer programs — often for larger computer software.
A programmer is someone who writes/creates ...
I.N.A., who worked on several of X Japan's releases, to provide a track for the 1998 Hide tribute album ''
Tribute Spirits''.
The three would reunite again in 2000 to form Dope HEADz, which released two albums before ceasing activity. Heath then continued his solo career and Pata formed the instrumental rock group
Ra:IN, which later added Spread Beaver keyboardist DIE.
Before the band's breakup,
Yoshiki had already independently collaborated with
Queen drummer
Roger Taylor on the single "Foreign Sand" and provided the Japanese contribution to the international
Kiss tribute album ''
Kiss My Ass: Classic Kiss Regrooved'', an
orchestra
An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families.
There are typically four main sections of instruments:
* bowed string instruments, such as the violin, viola, c ...
l arrangement of the song "
Black Diamond".
A compilation with orchestral treatments of X Japan songs, titled ''
Eternal Melody
Eternal Melody is the first classical studio album by Japanese musician Yoshiki. It was released on April 21, 1993.
Overview
In 1991, Yoshiki released his first album, classical compilation ''Yoshiki Selection'', which included various classica ...
'' was also released. It was performed by the
London Philharmonic Orchestra
The London Philharmonic Orchestra (LPO) is one of five permanent symphony orchestras based in London. It was founded by the conductors Sir Thomas Beecham and Malcolm Sargent in 1932 as a rival to the existing London Symphony and BBC Sym ...
and among others featured
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the most influential band of all time and were integral to the developm ...
producer
George Martin
Sir George Henry Martin (3 January 1926 – 8 March 2016) was an English record producer, arranger, composer, conductor, and musician. He was commonly referred to as the " Fifth Beatle" because of his extensive involvement in each of the B ...
as an arranger.
Since 1998 Yoshiki has engaged in numerous activities, such as briefly being a member of the pop band
Globe
A globe is a spherical model of Earth, of some other celestial body, or of the celestial sphere. Globes serve purposes similar to maps, but unlike maps, they do not distort the surface that they portray except to scale it down. A model glo ...
,
producing singles for the
Korea
Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republi ...
n rock band
TRAX
Trax may refer to:
Music
* ''Trax'' (album), the debut album from Japanese electronic music group Ravex
*TRAX (band), a Korean rock band
*Trax Records, first house music label owned by Larry Sherman in Chicago
* Trax (sequencer), an old MIDI sequ ...
and numerous others, as well as working on his solo project Violet UK, which has yet to publish a major release. He has also contributed music to the movie ''
Catacombs
Catacombs are man-made subterranean passageways for religious practice. Any chamber used as a burial place is a catacomb, although the word is most commonly associated with the Roman Empire.
Etymology and history
The first place to be referred ...
'' and produced the soundtrack of ''
Repo! The Genetic Opera''.
On May 25, 2007, the formation of the
supergroup S.K.I.N. was announced, which besides Yoshiki consists of pop/rock artists
Gackt
, better known by his mononymous stage name Gackt (stylized as GACKT), is a Japanese musician, singer, songwriter, record producer and actor.
Born in Okinawa, Japan, to a Ryukyuan family, Gackt learned the piano at a young age and was raised ...
and
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 guitarist ...
, as well as
Luna Sea
Luna Sea (stylized as LUNA SEA) is a Japanese rock band formed in Kanagawa Prefecture in 1986. Due to the use of make-up and costumes early in their career and their widespread popularity, they are considered one of the most successful and infl ...
guitarist
Sugizo. The band gave its first and only performance at the
Anime Expo
Anime Expo, abbreviated AX, is an American anime convention held in Los Angeles, California and organized by the non-profit Society for the Promotion of Japanese Animation (SPJA). The convention is traditionally held annually on the first ...
convention in
Long Beach, California
Long Beach is a city in Los Angeles County, California. It is the 42nd-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 466,742 as of 2020. A charter city, Long Beach is the seventh-most populous city in California.
Incorporate ...
on June 29, 2007.
2007–2008: Reunion
According to a report by the newspaper ''
Sponichi'', Toshi visited Yoshiki in Los Angeles in November 2006 to work on the song "Without You" as a tribute to Hide.
On March 21, 2007, Toshi announced on his website that he and Yoshiki had recently resumed working together, stating that a "new project" would commence soon.
Rumors of an X Japan reunion subsequently began, and in June Yoshiki was reported as having expressed interest in a tour (beginning in Los Angeles), "Without You" being released as a single, and that he was in talks with Heath and Pata regarding their participation.
The band made its first public appearance on October 22, 2007, on the rooftop of the shopping center Aqua City in
Odaiba
today is a large artificial island in Tokyo Bay, Japan, across the Rainbow Bridge from central Tokyo. Odaiba was initially built in this area for defensive purposes in the 1850s. Reclaimed land offshore Shinagawa was dramatically expanded du ...
,
Tokyo
Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and List of cities in Japan, largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, ...
, to film a music video for the newly recorded song "
I.V.". The song was used as the theme of the American horror movie ''
Saw IV''. It was written by Yoshiki and recorded with all X Japan members of the pre-breakup lineup, as it utilizes previously unreleased guitar tracks by
Hide.
"I.V." was released through iTunes on January 23, 2008, topping the store's charts on that day.
On January 20, 2008, two Tokyo Dome concert dates were announced for March 28 and March 30.
Due to popular demand, they added another concert for the 29th. These three shows were entitled
X Japan Resume Attack 2008 I.V. – Towards Destruction, with each individual concert titled Night of Destruction, Night of Madness and Night of Creation, respectively, and featured three guest guitarists filling in for the late Hide –
Wes Borland,
Richard Fortus and
Sugizo.
The March 28 concert was aired live on the pay-per-view channel
WOWOW.
During the song "Art of Life" a
hologram of Hide (taken from footage of the "Art of Life" performance at the Tokyo Dome in 1993) played alongside the band.
Because of technical difficulties, possibly due to the hologram, the first concert was delayed for over two hours and later came to an abrupt end when drummer Yoshiki collapsed eight songs into the performance.
The subsequent shows were without such difficulties and during a
press conference
A press conference or news conference is a media event in which notable individuals or organizations invite journalists to hear them speak and ask questions. Press conferences are often held by politicians, corporations, non-governmental or ...
, plans for a concert in
Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. ...
,
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan ar ...
on July 5, 2008, were announced, with an intended audience of 20,000 people.
In addition to the Paris date, plans for concerts at the
Madison Square Garden
Madison Square Garden, colloquially known as The Garden or by its initials MSG, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in New York City. It is located in Midtown Manhattan between Seventh and Eighth avenues from 31st to 33rd Street, above Pennsyl ...
in
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the U ...
on September 13, and at the
Taipei World Trade Center in
Taipei
Taipei (), officially Taipei City, is the capital and a special municipality of the Republic of China (Taiwan). Located in Northern Taiwan, Taipei City is an enclave of the municipality of New Taipei City that sits about southwest of the ...
on August 2 were also announced.
2008–2010: Delays, Sugizo joins and first overseas performances
The
Hide memorial summit took place on May 3 and 4, 2008, at
Ajinomoto Stadium, with X Japan performing the second day, as a tribute to the musician who was also a former X guitarist. Numerous other popular acts such as
T.M.Revolution,
Oblivion Dust and
Versailles
The Palace of Versailles ( ; french: Château de Versailles ) is a former royal residence built by King Louis XIV located in Versailles, about west of Paris, France. The palace is owned by the French Republic and since 1995 has been managed, ...
also performed, with
Phantasmagoria
Phantasmagoria (, also fantasmagorie, fantasmagoria) was a form of horror theatre that (among other techniques) used one or more magic lanterns to project frightening images, such as skeletons, demons, and ghosts, onto walls, smoke, or semi-t ...
and
Luna Sea
Luna Sea (stylized as LUNA SEA) is a Japanese rock band formed in Kanagawa Prefecture in 1986. Due to the use of make-up and costumes early in their career and their widespread popularity, they are considered one of the most successful and infl ...
even reuniting for one day.
Organizers planned for an estimated 100,000 fans to attend the two shows. On June 8, it was reported that all of X Japan's previously scheduled shows would be postponed until further notice, due to a recurrence of Yoshiki's
disc herniation. The Paris and Taipei concerts were rescheduled, Paris for November 22, 2009.
On September 15, 2008, Yoshiki held a press conference in Tokyo, where he announced a new, unnamed X Japan song was in the works.
Concerts at
Saitama Super Arena
is a multi-purpose indoor arena located in Chūō-ku, Saitama, Saitama Prefecture, Japan. It opened preliminarily on May 5, 2000, and then was officially opened on September 1 of the same year. Its maximum spectator capacity is 36,500, making ...
on Christmas and New Year's Eve 2008 were also announced. After the conference Yoshiki went on a promotional tour across Asia. On November 7, the French ticketing website Avos announced that the planned ticket sale for the show in Paris would be canceled. Later that day, X Japan released a press statement through their French language website apologizing for the second postponement and announced that the planned Christmas shows would likely suffer a similar fate.
On December 31, X Japan performed their New Year's Eve countdown performance at the
Akasaka Blitz
was a music venue in Minato, Tokyo, which opened in April 1996, and was owned and operated by Tokyo Broadcasting System Television, Inc. On September 22, 2020, the venue was permanently shut down due to COVID-19. As part of a redevelopment plan th ...
.
On January 15, 2009, the band arrived in
Hong Kong
Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delta i ...
for their January 16 and 17 shows. On May 1, it was announced that
Sugizo officially joined X Japan as lead guitarist. Since the band still considers the deceased Hide a member, Sugizo became the sixth member of X Japan. Their first show with him as a full member was held the next day at the Tokyo Dome, where they played "
Jade
Jade is a mineral used as jewellery or for ornaments. It is typically green, although may be yellow or white. Jade can refer to either of two different silicate minerals: nephrite (a silicate of calcium and magnesium in the amphibole gro ...
" for the first time. The Taiwan concert that was postponed for a second time in January, was finally held on May 30, 2009.
On January 9, 2010, the band made its first public U.S. appearance by shooting four new music videos in
Hollywood. The four videos were for "
Rusty Nail", "
Endless Rain", "
I.V.", and their new song "
Jade
Jade is a mineral used as jewellery or for ornaments. It is typically green, although may be yellow or white. Jade can refer to either of two different silicate minerals: nephrite (a silicate of calcium and magnesium in the amphibole gro ...
". In February, Yoshiki confirmed that X Japan would be performing at
Lollapalooza
Lollapalooza (Lolla) is an annual American four-day music festival held in Grant Park in Chicago. It originally started as a touring event in 1991 but several years later made Chicago the permanent location for the annual music festival. Mus ...
in August. Later that month, he announced at a press event that the band would be relocating to Los Angeles, California, with a concert being planned for a "simple" venue in the city area to mark the band's first official North American show. It was also announced that a
sixth album was in the works and was expected to be released in the fall.
In March 2010, Yoshiki filed a lawsuit against Nexstar Corporation, for 375 million yen in damages.
The band's contract with the company included the use of recordings,
the initial deal was for 600 million yen in advance royalties and contract money, which the band claims not to have received.
Between 2008 and 2009, the company also sponsored several concerts around Asia and Japan, not having paid performance fees and merchandise sales to X Japan.
In all, the total unpaid amount was more than 900 million yen.
The lawsuit sought only 375 million yen for the revenue earned from the concerts, with an additional claim of 600 million yen in case the trial proceeded.
Yoshiki's side eventually won the lawsuit in 2014, where the
Tokyo District Court ordered Nexstar to pay 660 million yen in damages.
On July 1, the band appeared at Club Nokia in Los Angeles where they performed an acoustic setlist, and recorded a music video for the new song, "Born to Be Free".
On July 4, the two founding members Toshi and Yoshiki, appeared in Paris at the
Japan Expo 2010 where they performed some songs. During the following month, X Japan and Yoshiki were featured in numerous newspapers and websites such as
ABC News
ABC News is the journalism, news division of the American broadcast network American Broadcasting Company, ABC. Its flagship program is the daily evening newscast ''ABC World News Tonight, ABC World News Tonight with David Muir''; other progra ...
, the ''
Los Angeles Times
The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the ...
'' and the ''
Chicago Sun-Times
The ''Chicago Sun-Times'' is a daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Since 2022, it is the flagship paper of Chicago Public Media, and has the second largest circulation among Chicago newspapers, after the ''Chicago T ...
''.
X Japan performed at
Lollapalooza 2010
Lollapalooza (Lolla) is an annual American four-day music festival held in Grant Park in Chicago. It originally started as a touring event in 1991 but several years later made Chicago the permanent location for the annual music festival. Musi ...
in
Grant Park,
Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
, image_map =
, map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago
, coordinates =
, coordinates_footnotes =
, subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...
on August 8. In the following days, Yoshiki did a Q&A article with the ''Phoenix New Times'' and was interviewed by ABC News.
On August 14 and 15, 2010, the band performed a two-day show at
Nissan Stadium, the largest stadium in Japan. Some media reported an estimated attendance of 140,000 for the two concerts.
Ex-bassist
Taiji joined them on stage both nights as a guest for the song "X"; he would die the following year.
Soon after, formerly deceased guitarist Hide's management company, Headwax Organization, filed a lawsuit against Yoshiki and X Japan's management, Japan Music Agency, for using images of the former member without a formal agreement in place.
The claim states that in 2000 the two companies signed an agreement allowing Yoshiki and X Japan to use visual images of Hide during concerts. However, images were used at these Nissan Stadium shows, when apparently the contract already expired.
From September 25 to October 10, X Japan performed their first ever
North American tour with dates in Los Angeles,
Oakland
Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast of the United States, West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third ...
,
Seattle
Seattle ( ) is a port, seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the county seat, seat of King County, Washington, King County, Washington (state), Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in bo ...
, Chicago,
Vancouver
Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the city, up from 631,486 in 2016. Th ...
,
Toronto
Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most pop ...
and New York City.
On December 17, Yoshiki announced that a new X Japan song, "
Scarlet Love Song", was composed for the animated movie adaptation of the ''
Buddha
Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha, was a wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism.
According to Buddhist tradition, he was born in ...
''
manga
Manga ( Japanese: 漫画 ) are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long prehistory in earlier Japanese art. The term ''manga'' is use ...
.
2011–2014: World tour and Madison Square Garden
It was announced on January 27, 2011, that X Japan signed a 3-year agreement with
EMI in November 2010. The label will handle the American distribution of their single "Jade", which was to be released on March 15, and their untitled album, which was set for release in late summer. In promotion of the new album, it was also stated they would be touring extensively around the world throughout 2011. X Japan performed on March 6 at Asia Girls Explosion, a fashion event and music concert that Yoshiki created with Jay FR. It was announced they would perform in
Argentina
Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, t ...
, Brazil, Chile,
Mexico
Mexico ( Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guate ...
, and
Peru
, image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg
, image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg
, other_symbol = Great Seal of the State
, other_symbol_type = Seal (emblem), National seal
, national_motto = "Fi ...
later in the year.
Due to the
2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami
The occurred at 14:46 JST (05:46 UTC) on 11 March. The magnitude 9.0–9.1 (M) undersea megathrust earthquake had an epicenter in the Pacific Ocean, east of the Oshika Peninsula of the Tōhoku region, and lasted approximately six m ...
that occurred in Japan on March 11, the band decided to postpone the release of "Jade" until June 28. Yoshiki also decided to auction off one of his used signature
Kawai crystal grand pianos, of which all proceeds were sent to help provide aid to the victims of the earthquake and tsunami.
"Scarlet Love Song" was released in Japan on June 8, and on June 28 their first worldwide single, "
Jade
Jade is a mineral used as jewellery or for ornaments. It is typically green, although may be yellow or white. Jade can refer to either of two different silicate minerals: nephrite (a silicate of calcium and magnesium in the amphibole gro ...
", was released, both on
iTunes. That same day they performed in
London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
, the first concert of
the European leg of their ongoing world tour, which was followed by
Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. ...
on July 1,
Utrecht
Utrecht ( , , ) is the fourth-largest city and a municipality of the Netherlands, capital and most populous city of the province of Utrecht. It is located in the eastern corner of the Randstad conurbation, in the very centre of mainland Nethe ...
on July 2 and
Berlin
Berlin is Capital of Germany, the capital and largest city of Germany, both by area and List of cities in Germany by population, by population. Its more than 3.85 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European U ...
on July 4.
X Japan also performed at the 2011
Summer Sonic festival that was held on August 13 and 14, in Tokyo and Osaka. Their world tour's
South American leg took them to;
Santiago
Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile, is the capital and largest city of Chile as well as one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is the center of Chile's most densely populated region, the Santiago Metropolitan Region, who ...
on September 9,
São Paulo
São Paulo (, ; Portuguese for 'Saint Paul') is the most populous city in Brazil, and is the capital of the state of São Paulo, the most populous and wealthiest Brazilian state, located in the country's Southeast Region. Listed by the Ga ...
on September 11,
Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the Capital city, capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata ...
on September 14,
Lima
Lima ( ; ), originally founded as Ciudad de Los Reyes (City of The Kings) is the capital and the largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón, Rímac and Lurín Rivers, in the desert zone of the central coastal part of t ...
on September 16 and
Mexico City
Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital and largest city of Mexico, and the most populous city in North America. One of the world's alpha cities, it is located in the Valley of ...
on September 18.
The
Asian leg of the tour brought stops in
Seoul
Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the Capital city, capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the North Korea, Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea ...
on October 28,
Shanghai
Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flowin ...
on October 30,
Hong Kong
Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delta i ...
on November 4, Taipei on November 6 and
Bangkok
Bangkok, officially known in Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estimated populatio ...
on November 8.
The
Beijing
}
Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...
show, originally scheduled for November 2, was cancelled by the promoters on October 25 due to "technical and production issues".
After more than two years of inactivity, X Japan announced the remastered compilation album ''
The World ~X Japan Hatsu no Zensekai Best~'' for release on June 17, 2014.
Prior to its physical release, a digital version titled ''X Japan World Best'' became available in 111 countries via iTunes on May 21.
They performed at
Yokohama Arena on September 30 and October 1, and at
Madison Square Garden
Madison Square Garden, colloquially known as The Garden or by its initials MSG, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in New York City. It is located in Midtown Manhattan between Seventh and Eighth avenues from 31st to 33rd Street, above Pennsyl ...
on October 11. At both concerts, the cover of the song "Beneath The Skin" was played, originally written by
Sugizo for
S.K.I.N., the group formed by Yoshiki in 2007. They participated in ''
Music Station Super Live 2014'' on New Year's Eve, marking their first television appearance in seventeen years, the last being on ''
Kōhaku Uta Gassen
, more commonly known simply as ''Kōhaku'', is an annual New Year's Eve television special produced by Japanese public broadcaster NHK. It is broadcast live simultaneously on television and radio, nationally and internationally by the NHK ne ...
'' in 1997.
2015–present: Unreleased sixth studio album, documentary film, Japan tour, second breakup
In June 2015, Yoshiki announced X Japan's sixth and first studio album in 20 years would be released on March 11, 2016.
The band has announced that the sixth album would contain between 13 and 14 tracks, including some short pieces. It was also announced that they were to perform at the
Wembley Arena in London on the following day, where ''
We Are X'', a documentary film about the band, would be premiered.
The band performed on June 28 at
Makuhari Messe
is a Japanese convention center outside Tokyo, located in the Mihama-ku ward of Chiba City, in the northwest corner of Chiba Prefecture. Designed by Fumihiko Maki, it is accessible by Tokyo's commuter rail system. '' Makuhari'' is the name o ...
as part of the second night of Luna Sea's Lunatic Fest. The first single from the album, "
Born to Be Free", was released on November 6, 2015.
X Japan's first
domestic tour of Japan in 20 years began with three consecutive dates at Yokohama Arena on December 2, continued with Osaka-jō Hall on December 7,
Marine Messe Fukuoka on December 9,
Hiroshima Green Arena
is an indoor arena located in Hiroshima, Japan. The original arena was built sometime shortly after World War II. The arena was rebuilt for the 1994 Asian Games. It hosted some of the group games for the 2006 FIVB Men's World Championship and t ...
on December 11, and finished on December 14 at the
Nippon Gaishi Hall.
They also performed on ''Kōhaku Uta Gassen'' for the first time in 18 years.
On January 15, 2016, Pata was rushed to the
intensive care unit
220px, Intensive care unit
An intensive care unit (ICU), also known as an intensive therapy unit or intensive treatment unit (ITU) or critical care unit (CCU), is a special department of a hospital or health care facility that provides intensi ...
of a Tokyo hospital. He was diagnosed with a life-threatening condition, which included a severe
blood clot, but was in stable condition. On February 3, X Japan announced the postponement of their album release and March 12 concert at the Wembley Arena for a whole year; the concert subsequently taking place on March 4, 2017.
In June, Yoshiki stated that Pata was discharged from the hospital in March, but had to go back for surgery in August. Pata announced he was discharged on August 10. X Japan headlined all three nights of the Visual Japan Summit on October 14–16, 2016 at Makuhari Messe. The
''We Are X'' soundtrack album was released on March 3, 2017. The soundtrack reached No. 4 in its first week in the Oricon Albums Chart, No. 27 in the
UK Albums Chart
The Official Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales and (from March 2015) audio streaming in the United Kingdom. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the Official Charts ...
, and No. 1 in the
UK Rock & Metal Albums Chart. On March 3, 2017, an album signing took place at
HMV in
Oxford Street
Oxford Street is a major road in the City of Westminster in the West End of London, running from Tottenham Court Road to Marble Arch via Oxford Circus. It is Europe's busiest shopping street, with around half a million daily visitors, and ...
, London. All the physical copies of the ''We Are X'' soundtrack available at the signing were sold in the event. According to store staff, this was the first time there was a sell-out of all physical copies at such a signing.
A new song, "La Venus" was used as the ending theme song for ''We Are X'' and was one of 91 songs in contention for nomination for the
Academy Award for Best Original Song for the
89th Academy Awards.
In April 2017, Yoshiki announced that the sixth album's songs were ready and only mixing and mastering remained, and the release was expected "in the next few months". When Yoshiki performed on
BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. It broadcasts a wide variety of Talk radio, spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history fro ...
's ''
Front Row'' on October 20, 2017, it was announced the sixth album would be released in Spring 2018.
On May 9, 2017 Yoshiki's management announced that the drummer would undergo urgent surgery on May 16, where an artificial disc would be inserted between his
vertebrae
The spinal column, a defining synapomorphy shared by nearly all vertebrates, Hagfish are believed to have secondarily lost their spinal column is a moderately flexible series of vertebrae (singular vertebra), each constituting a characteristi ...
. Due to his health conditions, it was reported that concerts would need to be either rescheduled or cancelled. On June 9, X Japan announced at a press conference that the concerts would not be postponed but instead performed as
an acoustic tour, with Yoshiki at the piano, as it is uncertain whether he would be able to play the drums in the future. In November it was announced that X Japan will perform at the year-end ''Kōhaku Uta Gassen'', as part of the White Team. The band performed a medley of "Endless Rain" and "Kurenai", and during the performance Yoshiki played drums again for the first time since his neck surgery.
The January 2018 issue of ''
Neo
Neo or NEO may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Fictional entities
* Neo (''The Matrix''), the alias of Thomas Anderson, a hacker and the protagonist of the Matrix film series
* Neo (''Marvel Comics'' species), a fictional race of superhumans
* ...
'' magazine named X Japan the "Best Musical Act" in their annual awards, with ''We Are X'' named the "Best Asian Movie".
In February 2018, the band's performance at Wembley in 2017 was named the "Best Event" at Wembley Arena in the 2017 SSE Live Awards.
In March 2018, ''We Are X'' was named the "Best Music Film" in the
Space Shower Music Awards.
On April 10 and 11 the band performed at
Zepp Divercity in Tokyo for a limited audience, and the concert was broadcast live across Asia in selected theaters.
Richard Fortus,
Wes Borland, and
Miya appeared as guest musicians. All three also joined X Japan for their first performance at the
Coachella Coachella may refer to:
* Coachella, California
* Coachella Canal, in California
* Coachella (festival), an annual music and arts festival in California
* "Coachella – Woodstock in My Mind
"Coachella – Woodstock In My Mind" is a song by Ame ...
festival on April 14. At the second weekend of the festival,
Marilyn Manson
Brian Hugh Warner (born January 5, 1969), known professionally as Marilyn Manson, is an American rock musician. He came to prominence as the lead singer of the band which shares his name, of which he remains the only constant member since it ...
joined the band on stage and performed "
Sweet Dreams
Sweet Dreams or Sweet Dream may refer to:
Music Albums
* ''Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)'' (album), by Eurythmics, or the title song (see below)
* ''Sweet Dreams'' (Sword album)
* ''Sweet Dreams'' (soundtrack), from the 1985 film (see below) ...
" with Yoshiki on piano. When interviewed for
KLOS's ''
Jonesy's Jukebox,'' Yoshiki said the album would be released in either summer or fall 2018.
In July, it was also announced that X Japan would perform at the
TV Asahi
JOEX-DTV (channel 5), branded as (also known as EX and and stylized as TV asahi), is a television station that is owned and operated by the subsidiary of certified broadcasting holding company , itself controlled by The Asahi Shimbun Com ...
Dream Festival on September 15. On Christmas Day 2018, X Japan were named 43rd in that year's Oricon Favorite Artists poll. In an interview with JRock News on February 13, 2019, Yoshiki said, "X Japan's album is actually completed. It took over 10 years to record, I'm looking for the perfect timing to release it."
In November 29, 2021, the artist-approved visual-kei music rhythm game "EXTASY VISUAL SHOCK" was announced, with YOSHIKI, PATA, and HEATH as members of X JAPAN.
In 2022, after several years of silence and speculation, an interview from 2018 surfaced, where Toshi confirmed that he is no longer speaking to Yoshiki and that the band is effectively finished.
Musical style
X Japan's music developed in the wake of American and British
glam and
heavy metal music, and is characterized by driving
speed
In everyday use and in kinematics, the speed (commonly referred to as ''v'') of an object is the magnitude of the change of its position over time or the magnitude of the change of its position per unit of time; it is thus a scalar quantity ...
/
power metal
Power metal is a subgenre of heavy metal combining characteristics of traditional heavy metal with speed metal, often within symphonic context. Generally, power metal is characterized by a faster, lighter, and more uplifting sound, in contra ...
compositions with
symphonic elements (e.g. "
Kurenai", "
Silent Jealousy
"Silent Jealousy" is a single released by X Japan (then named X) on September 11, 1991.
Summary
The song's structure is comparable to " Kurenai", opening with a calm intro, performed on a single instrument, followed by a speed metal composition ...
") and emotional
ballad
A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads derive from the medieval French ''chanson balladée'' or '' ballade'', which were originally "dance songs". Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and ...
s (e.g. "
Endless Rain", "
Forever Love").
Many of the group's songs make use of
orchestra
An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families.
There are typically four main sections of instruments:
* bowed string instruments, such as the violin, viola, c ...
ted passages, particularly on longer tracks such as the ten and a half minute "
Tears
Tears are a clear liquid secreted by the lacrimal glands (tear gland) found in the eyes of all land mammals. Tears are made up of water, electrolytes, proteins, lipids, and mucins that form layers on the surface of eyes. The different types of ...
", "
Crucify My Love
"Crucify My Love" is the fifteenth single by Japanese heavy metal band X Japan, released on August 26, 1996. A power ballad, "Crucify My Love" is written and performed entirely in English, unlike most of the band's songs.
Summary
Its B-side is ...
", and the twenty-nine-minute "
Art of Life". The majority of the band's lyrics are in Japanese, the band's native language, however many instances show the lyrics alternating from Japanese to English and back. Examples of this include the spoken-word background vocals during the bridge of "
Rusty Nail", and multiple lines (including the entire pre-chorus) of the song "
Week End". The first recorded version of "Kurenai" from ''
Vanishing Vision'' contains lyrics entirely in English.
The majority of the band's catalog of music was written by
Yoshiki with relatively little composition from the other members.
Hide contributed several songs, including the single "
Scars
A scar (or scar tissue) is an area of fibrous tissue that replaces normal skin after an injury. Scars result from the biological process of wound repair in the skin, as well as in other organs, and tissues of the body. Thus, scarring is a nat ...
", while
Pata's only claim is "White Wind from Mr. Martin ~Pata's Nap~".
Toshi's contributions are limited to lyrics for a few songs.
Taiji contributed music to a couple of songs, notably "Voiceless Screaming" from the album ''
Jealousy'', for which, when performed live, he played the acoustic guitar, and "Desperate Angel".
Heath
A heath () is a shrubland habitat found mainly on free-draining infertile, acidic soils and characterised by open, low-growing woody vegetation. Moorland is generally related to high-ground heaths with—especially in Great Britain—a cooler ...
's only writing credit is the instrumental song "Wriggle" on the 1996 album ''
Dahlia
Dahlia (, ) is a genus of bushy, tuberous, herbaceous perennial plants native to Mexico and Central America. A member of the Asteraceae (former name: Compositae) family of dicotyledonous plants, its garden relatives thus include the sunflower ...
'', which he wrote with Pata. Only one song is credited as a full band collaboration, "Easy Fight Rambling" on the 1989 album ''
Blue Blood''. Of songs from the band's lesser-known former members, only the track "Time Trip Loving" from the single "Orgasm", composed by Jun with Toshi writing the lyrics, was officially released. In 2010 it was reported that
Sugizo had written some songs, though no further information has been given since. That year, Yoshiki claimed that their new material was "pretty much the same thing, maybe a little edgier." However, in 2014 he specifically stated it will not be the same as before, adding that it will be very heavy, melodic, and "more contemporary".
Yoshiki's songwriting process begins with writing the
score
Score or scorer may refer to:
*Test score, the result of an exam or test
Business
* Score Digital, now part of Bauer Radio
* Score Entertainment, a former American trading card design and manufacturing company
* Score Media, a former Canadian m ...
for each song by hand before playing it with the band. His composing style tends to make use of chords in sequences of eights or more with riff-based motifs or call-and-response style phrasing. He has maintained this style for the majority of his career as a composer. Having played classical piano since he was four years old, Yoshiki claims to be as influenced by classical music as he is by rock. While also serving as the main songwriter, Yoshiki has production credit on much of X Japan's later material. During live performances, the band relies on its members (with drummer and pianist Yoshiki and guitarist and violinist Sugizo switching between their instruments) and prerecorded tracks for
orchestrated strings,
spoken word
Spoken word refers to an oral poetic performance art that is based mainly on the poem as well as the performer's aesthetic qualities. It is a late 20th century continuation of an ancient oral artistic tradition that focuses on the aesthetics o ...
passages, and more recently, some of Hide's guitar parts.
Appearance and image
X Japan's appearance was inspired by
glam rock
Glam rock is a style of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom in the early 1970s and was performed by musicians who wore outrageous costumes, makeup, and hairstyles, particularly platform shoes and glitter. Glam artists drew on div ...
,
Kiss,
David Bowie
David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known professionally as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer-songwriter and actor. A leading figure in the music industry, he is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the ...
, as well as traditional Japanese
kabuki
is a classical form of Japanese dance-drama. Kabuki theatre is known for its heavily-stylised performances, the often-glamorous costumes worn by performers, and for the elaborate make-up worn by some of its performers.
Kabuki is thought ...
theatre, where it was customary for male actors to play female roles and dress like women.
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 ...
artists still often employ feminine looks and garbs for their stage.
According to Josephine Yun, "like its music, X's look was individualistic. Square-shouldered Toshi donned leather and metal, looking like a character out of the anime ''
Gundam''. Taiji dolled up in perfect, pretty glam. Pata's sleepy, backseat demeanor and whiskey bottle became his trademark, as Hide forever goaded the audience. And Yoshiki was a paradox all his own, bewitchingly effeminate one moment — and a full-force, wrist-breaking (literally) hurricane in concert the next."
Will Hodgkinson of ''
The Times
''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper '' The Sunday Times'' ...
'' described X Japan as having, "the grandiosity of Queen, the heavy-metal hysteria of
Iron Maiden
Iron Maiden are an English heavy metal band formed in Leyton, East London, in 1975 by bassist and primary songwriter Steve Harris. While fluid in the early years of the band, the lineup for most of the band's history has consisted of Harri ...
and the symphonic sophistication of classical music, all tied up with a healthy dose of melodrama."
Their early image was characterized by heavy
make-up
Cosmetics are constituted mixtures of chemical compounds derived from either natural sources, or synthetically created ones. Cosmetics have various purposes. Those designed for personal care and skin care can be used to cleanse or protec ...
, dark
eyeliner and
eyeshadow, face-painting and high-standing hair, which one critic described as "skyscraper hair". Yoshiki's highly
androgynous looks, dressed in
lace
Lace is a delicate fabric made of yarn or thread in an open weblike pattern, made by machine or by hand. Generally, lace is divided into two main categories, needlelace and bobbin lace, although there are other types of lace, such as knitted o ...
and pearls, were referred to as "decadent". The band also used accessories reminiscent of glam-
goth (metal jewelry, crosses). Their stage reflected the band's duality in nature: the forceful, "masculine"
heavy metal songs were balanced out by Toshi's high-pitched
tenor
A tenor is a type of classical male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the countertenor and baritone voice types. It is the highest male chest voice type. The tenor's vocal range extends up to C5. The low extreme for tenors i ...
voice and Yoshiki's soft piano playing, where he would often wear long female dresses, and act effeminate.
By the release of their 1995 studio album ''
Dahlia
Dahlia (, ) is a genus of bushy, tuberous, herbaceous perennial plants native to Mexico and Central America. A member of the Asteraceae (former name: Compositae) family of dicotyledonous plants, its garden relatives thus include the sunflower ...
'', the band toned its stage appearance down, cutting their hair and wearing more rock-inspired outfits.
In a 2010 interview, Yoshiki stated that the abandoning of stronger make-up and outrageous outfits was a natural progression in their style, however, they still do use make-up on stage, "sometimes heavy, sometimes less", and that he still considers the band visual kei.
Legacy and influence
X Japan is considered one of the founders of
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 ...
, a movement among Japanese musicians comparable to Western
glam, with the name itself believed to have been derived from their slogan "Psychedelic Violence Crime of Visual Shock".
In 2011, Yoshiki briefly described their early years and the movement's development, saying "when we started the band, the problem was we didn't belong anywhere. Because we were playing very heavy music, we were wearing tons of make-up and crazy outfits. So we couldn't belong anywhere", "
e did our own thing and
E, or e, is the fifth letter and the second vowel letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''e'' (pronounced ); plura ...
that eventually became visual kei."
He added "But visual kei is more like a spirit, it's not a music style or, you know... I think it is a freedom about describing myself, a freedom to express myself, that's what I believe visual kei is."
Upon former guitarist Hide's death in 1998, less than a year after the band broke up, ''
Billboards Steve McClure declared it "the end of an era", explaining "X was the first generation of visual kei bands
..For the next generation of bands, it's like: ''That's it. The torch has been passed to us.''"
Many bands and artists, most related to visual kei, count them as an influence or look up to them, including
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 guitarist ...
,
Dir en grey
Dir En Grey (stylized as DIR EN GREY and previously as Dir en grey) is a Japanese heavy metal band formed in February 1997 and currently signed to Firewall Div., a sub-division of Free-Will. With a consistent lineup of guitarists Kaoru and D ...
,
Syu
is a Japanese musician, best known as leader and guitarist of the power metal band Galneryus. He also performs guitar and lead vocals in Spinalcord (formerly known as Aushvitz) and was formerly a member of Animetal. Under his own name, Syu has re ...
and Fumiya of
Galneryus,
The Gazette,
D,
Sadie Sadie may refer to:
People Given name or nickname Women
* Sadie Tanner Mossell Alexander (1898–1989), first African-American woman to earn a Ph.D. in the United States and to practice law in Pennsylvania
* Sadie Benning (born 1973), Americ ...
vocalist Mao,
Tōru Kawauchi from
12012
is a Japanese visual kei rock band. Formed in 2003 in Osaka Prefecture, the group centers its work around the concept of "madness inside a human" (人間の内面における狂気 '). 12012 is also the penal code for the possession of a dan ...
,
Maya
Maya may refer to:
Civilizations
* Maya peoples, of southern Mexico and northern Central America
** Maya civilization, the historical civilization of the Maya peoples
** Maya language, the languages of the Maya peoples
* Maya (Ethiopia), a popu ...
of
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, ...
,
Flow
Flow may refer to:
Science and technology
* Fluid flow, the motion of a gas or liquid
* Flow (geomorphology), a type of mass wasting or slope movement in geomorphology
* Flow (mathematics), a group action of the real numbers on a set
* Flow (psych ...
,
Yuuki from
Unsraw,
DJ Ozma,
Kei of
Dio – Distraught Overlord,
aie from
Deadman,
Screw's Jin,
Mari of
Mary's Blood, and
DaizyStripper.
The members of
Versailles
The Palace of Versailles ( ; french: Château de Versailles ) is a former royal residence built by King Louis XIV located in Versailles, about west of Paris, France. The palace is owned by the French Republic and since 1995 has been managed, ...
named X and
Luna Sea
Luna Sea (stylized as LUNA SEA) is a Japanese rock band formed in Kanagawa Prefecture in 1986. Due to the use of make-up and costumes early in their career and their widespread popularity, they are considered one of the most successful and infl ...
as influences, with singer
Kamijo saying "I think there isn't anyone in the Japanese music business who hasn't been influenced by them." Likewise, Leda of
Galneryus and
Deluhi claims he was not even interested in music until a friend played him X Japan and Luna Sea, and also declared X Japan's music his "
Bible
The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts o ...
". Established musicians Dancho (
Nogod),
Miya (
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. ...
), Yuu (
Merry
Merry may refer to:
A happy person with a jolly personality People
* Merry (given name)
* Merry (surname)
Music
* Merry (band), a Japanese rock band
* ''Merry'' (EP), an EP by Gregory Douglass
* "Merry" (song), by American power pop band Magna ...
), Akane (ex-
The Scanty The Scanty (stylized as THE★SCANTY) was a Japanese girls pop-rock band formed in Tokyo in October 2001. They disbanded in October 2003. Futami and Akane formed their own bandPlink? They performed the two opening themes for the anime series ''Full ...
) and Daisuke (
Jupiter
Jupiter is the fifth planet from the Sun and the largest in the Solar System. It is a gas giant with a mass more than two and a half times that of all the other planets in the Solar System combined, but slightly less than one-thousandt ...
) occasionally perform in a X Japan cover band called X Suginami. American musician
Marty Friedman called X Japan the biggest band in visual kei and "by far the most versatile musically," and cited them as the reason he got into Japanese rock music.
Kai from
Esprit D'Air named X Japan as one of his top ten rock and metal bands from Japan and also covered their song "Kurenai".
In ''We Are X'',
Gene Simmons claims that if the X Japan members were "born in America or England and sang in English, they might be the biggest band in the world." Due to band's various misfortunes with the suicide of band members, Toshi's brainwashing and lack of overseas success, X Japan has been described in ''The Times'' as: "The world's unluckiest band", in an article published on
Friday the 13th October, 2017.
When asked in an interview if the band was unlucky, Yoshiki answered: "Kinda? I mean, you know, with so much crazy drama that has happened over the years. But at the same time, we have amazing fans around the world so I can't say 'the world's unluckiest band', but what I can say is 'the world's luckiest band'. Thanks to our fans."
The group was popular among rebellious youths, who were attracted to, as ''
Asiaweek'' put it, "the tone of alienation and frustration for which X was revered."
Their music was described by ''Asiaweek'' as having "an angry sound that rejected the cookie-cutter principles of Japanese society."
In 1998, Radio and TV host Bryan Burton-Lewis explained "In Japan, the image that we have of the X audience is rural kids going through a rebellion phase. They put their life into being X fans: they dress like it, they breathe it."
In the documentary ''
Global Metal'', Yoshiki stated that the music industry and media hated the band and would not even interview them, "but eventually we sold 20 million albums, so they had no choice".
X Japan has also been named one of the first Japanese acts to achieve mainstream success while on an independent record label.
In 1990, they won the "Grand Prix New Artist of the Year" award at the 4th annual
Japan Gold Disc Awards.
HMV Japan ranked the band number 40 on a 2003 list of the 100 most important Japanese pop acts, and in 2010 they came in third in a poll by
Oricon
, established in 1999, is the holding company at the head of a Japanese corporate group that supplies statistics and information on music and the music industry in Japan and Western music. It started as, which was founded by Sōkō Koike in N ...
on which Japanese bands people want around for future generations. In 2011,
Consequence of Sound
''Consequence'' (previously ''Consequence of Sound'') is an independently owned New York-based online magazine featuring news, editorials, and reviews of music, movies, and television. In addition, the website also features the Festival Outl ...
named X Japan one of their Top 15 Cult Acts. In April 2012, X Japan won the ''
Revolver'' Golden Gods Award for "Best International Artist".
They were awarded "Most Devoted Fans" in the 2012
Loudwire
''Loudwire'' is an American online media magazine that covers news of hard rock and heavy metal artists. It is owned by media and entertainment business Townsquare Media. Since its launch in August of 2011, ''Loudwire'' has secured exclusive ...
Music Awards on January 17, 2013, and won the poll again two years later on February 3, 2015. Later that year, they also won the website's Best Live Band Tournament in August, beating out
Pearl Jam
Pearl Jam is an American rock band formed in Seattle, Washington, in 1990. The band's lineup consists of founding members Jeff Ament (bass guitar), Stone Gossard (rhythm guitar), Mike McCready (lead guitar), and Eddie Vedder (lead vocals, ...
in the final round. ''
LA Weekly
''LA Weekly'' is a free weekly alternative newspaper in Los Angeles, California. It was founded in 1978 by Jay Levin, who served as president and editor until 1991. Voice Media Group sold the paper in late 2017 to Semanal Media LLC, whose pare ...
'' ranked X Japan tenth on an October 2014 list of the 10 Best Prog Metal Bands. In March 2017, Loudwire named X Japan the Best Metal Band from Japan writing that "their high-octane power metal and exhilarating live show make them the pinnacle of heavy music in the 'Land of the Rising Sun'."
However, X Japan has also made a mark outside of the music industry. In 1999, at the request of the Japanese government, Yoshiki composed and performed a classical song for Japan's Emperor
Akihito
is a member of the Imperial House of Japan who reigned as the 125th emperor of Japan from 7 January 1989 until his abdication on 30 April 2019. He presided over the Heisei era, ''Heisei'' being an expression of achieving peace worldwide.
B ...
at a celebration in honor of the tenth anniversary of his enthronement.
Japan's former
Prime Minister
A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is ...
Junichiro Koizumi is a well-known fan of the band.
His political party, the
Liberal Democratic Party, even used X Japan's song "Forever Love" in several commercials in 2001. It was also reported that Koizumi was influential in getting the Hide Museum opened in Yokosuka in 2000.
Yoshiki stated he loved "the punkish elements" of the albums
Iron Maiden
Iron Maiden are an English heavy metal band formed in Leyton, East London, in 1975 by bassist and primary songwriter Steve Harris. While fluid in the early years of the band, the lineup for most of the band's history has consisted of Harri ...
and
Killers by
Iron Maiden
Iron Maiden are an English heavy metal band formed in Leyton, East London, in 1975 by bassist and primary songwriter Steve Harris. While fluid in the early years of the band, the lineup for most of the band's history has consisted of Harri ...
.
He also cited
Sex Pistols
The Sex Pistols were an English punk rock band formed in London in 1975. Although their initial career lasted just two and a half years, they were one of the most groundbreaking acts in the history of popular music. They were responsible for ...
,
the Clash
The Clash were an English rock music, rock band formed in London in 1976 who were key players in the original wave of British punk rock. Billed as "The Only Band That Matters", they also contributed to the and new wave music, new wave moveme ...
,
GBH, and
Chaos UK as favorite bands.
Members
Former members
*
Yoshiki – drums, piano, keyboards, guitar, bandleader
(1982–1997, 2007–2018)
*
Toshi – lead vocals, acoustic guitar
(1982–1997, 2007–2018)
*
Pata – guitar, backing vocals
(1987–1997, 2007–2018)
*
Heath
A heath () is a shrubland habitat found mainly on free-draining infertile, acidic soils and characterised by open, low-growing woody vegetation. Moorland is generally related to high-ground heaths with—especially in Great Britain—a cooler ...
– bass guitar, backing vocals
(1992–1997, 2007–2018)
*
Sugizo – guitar, violin, backing vocals
(2009-2018) as a touring musician (2008–2009)
* – guitar
(1982–1985, died 2002)
* – guitar
(1984–1985)
* – bass guitar
(1984–1985)
* – guitar
(1985)
* – guitar
(1985)
* – guitar
(1985–1986)
* – guitar
(1985, 1986)
* – bass guitar
(1985–1986)
* – guitar
(1986)
* – guitar
(1986)
* – guitar
(1987)
*
Taiji – bass guitar, acoustic guitar, backing vocals
(1985, 1986–1992, died 2011)
*
Hide – guitar, backing vocals
(1987–1997, died 1998)
** Although Hide and Taiji are deceased, the band still considers them members and introduces them at every concert, with the group going as far as to play audio/video clips of their voice/guitar for some songs.
Timeline
Discography
;Studio albums
* ''
Vanishing Vision'' (1988)
* ''
Blue Blood'' (1989)
* ''
Jealousy'' (1991)
* ''
Art of Life'' (1993)
* ''
Dahlia
Dahlia (, ) is a genus of bushy, tuberous, herbaceous perennial plants native to Mexico and Central America. A member of the Asteraceae (former name: Compositae) family of dicotyledonous plants, its garden relatives thus include the sunflower ...
'' (1996)
Tours and performances
Kōhaku Uta Gassen
X Japan performed 7 times on ''
Kōhaku Uta Gassen
, more commonly known simply as ''Kōhaku'', is an annual New Year's Eve television special produced by Japanese public broadcaster NHK. It is broadcast live simultaneously on television and radio, nationally and internationally by the NHK ne ...
'', a prestigious year-end television show on
NHK network.
Concerts
;
Tokyo Dome
is an indoor stadium in Bunkyo, Tokyo, Japan. It was designed as a baseball stadium following its predecessor, Korakuen Stadium. Construction on the stadium began on May 16, 1985, and it opened on March 17, 1988. It was built on the site of ...
concerts (18)
* August 23, 1991
* January 5, 6, 7, 1992
* December 30, 31, 1993
* December 30, 31, 1994
* December 30, 31, 1995
* December 30, 31, 1996
* December 31, 1997
* March 28, 29, 30, 2008
* May 2, 3, 2009
Awards
See also
*
List of J-pop concerts held outside Asia
References
Further reading
* by
Taiji, Tokuma Shoten, 2000,
* ''Hide Days'', by
Takarajimasha, 2003,
* , by Narumi Kamotsu, Kadokawa Shoten, 2009,
* , by
Toshi,
Kodansha, 2014,
External links
Official websiteOfficial YouTube
{{Good article
Visual kei musical groups
Japanese progressive metal musical groups
Japanese power metal musical groups
Japanese glam metal musical groups
Japanese symphonic metal musical groups
Japanese speed metal musical groups
Atlantic Records artists
Ki/oon Music artists
Sony Music Entertainment Japan artists
Musical groups established in 1982
Musical groups disestablished in 1997
Musical groups reestablished in 2007
Musical quintets
1982 establishments in Japan
Musical groups from Chiba Prefecture
English-language musical groups from Japan