X Japan (エックス・ジャパン Ekkusu Japan) is a Japanese
heavy metal band from
Chiba, formed in 1982 by drummer
Yoshiki and lead vocalist
Toshi. Predominantly a
power/
speed metal band with heavy
symphonic elements, they later gravitated towards a
progressive
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, a movement among Japanese musicians comparable to Western
glam.
Originally named
X (エックス Ekkusu), they released their debut album
Vanishing Vision (1988) on Yoshiki's own
Extasy Records a 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 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 (1996), which like their two previous albums debuted at number one. X Japan performed their last concert at the
Tokyo Dome 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.
X Japan has released five studio albums, six live albums, and 21
singles. Three of their albums have consecutively debuted at number one
on the
Oricon chart. 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. It has been reported that X Japan have sold over 30 million records.
1977–92: 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. 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. Their first single, "
I'll Kill You" was released on Dada Records in June and the band contributed "Break the Darkness" to the
sampler 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 label
Extasy Records in April 1986, and released their second single "
Orgasm". 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 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 indies chart and reaching number 19 on the main chart. The Vanishing Tour Vol.2 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'f's Street Fighting Men concert at
Differ Ariake Arena. That year the members also made a brief
cameo appearance in the American film
Tokyo Pop, starring
Carrie Hamilton and
Diamond Yukai.
X's sold out Blue Blood Tour started on March 13, with two of the
concerts selling out in advanced, 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 and 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. When members arrived back in Japan in June, 500 members of the
Japan Self-Defence Forces 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.
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, 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.
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. The
title was possibly more meaningful than it appears at first glance, as
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. On August 24, 1992, the band held a press conference in New York at
Rockefeller Center. There,
Heath
(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 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.
1993–97: X Japan
Art of Life was released on August 28, 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, and the others were December 30–31 at the Tokyo Dome, titled Aoi Yoru
(青い夜, Blue Night) and Shiroi Yoru
(白い夜, White Night) respectively.
1995 was also quiet, until November 19 when the band began the tour
for their next album, Dahlia Tour 1995–1996. Around this time, the group
dropped most of its original
visual kei 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 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 after the March 13 show. They did however perform their tradition of two Tokyo Dome concerts on December 30–31, titled Resurrection Night
(復活の夜) and Reckless Night
(無謀な夜).
On September 22, 1997, at 1pm, Yoshiki, hide, Pata and Heath held a
press conference where they announced that X Japan would disband. Vocalist Toshi decided to leave the band as 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; he was "brainwashed" via violence and abuse and conned out
of money, leading to bankruptcy. X Japan performed their farewell show, aptly 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, 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, until his death on May 2, 1998. Just two months later, the debut album
3.2.1. from his American-based band
Zilch, which included Ray McVeigh (
The Professionals),
Paul Raven (
Killing Joke) and
Joey Castillo (
Queens of the Stone Age), was released. His third solo album
Ja, Zoo, formally including his live band
Spread Beaver, was released and became his most successful, having reached number one and sold over a million copies.
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 teamed up with Spread Beaver percussionist/
programmer 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.
Since 1998 Yoshiki has engaged in numerous activities, such as briefly being a member of the pop band
Globe, producing singles for the
Korean rock band
TRAX 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 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 and
Miyavi, as well as
Luna Sea guitarist
Sugizo. The band gave its first and only performance at the
Anime Expo convention in
Long Beach, California on June 29, 2007.
2007–08: 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,
Tokyo, 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 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, plans for a concert in
Paris,
France 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 in
New York City on September 13, and at the
Taipei World Trade Center in
Taipei on August 2 were also announced.
2008–10: 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 also performed, with
Phantasmagoria and
Luna Sea 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 re-scheduled, 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 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.
On January 15, 2009, the band arrived in
Hong Kong for their January 16 and 17 shows. On May 1, it was announced that
Sugizo
officially joined X Japan as lead guitarist. Their first show with him
as a full member was held the next day at the Tokyo Dome, where they played "
Jade" 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". In February, Yoshiki confirmed that X Japan will be performing at
Lollapalooza
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 claim states that after X Japan reunited, they entered a contract
with Nexstar Corporation in January 2008, which included the use of some
recordings. That initial deal was for 600 million yen in advance royalties and contract money, which has been entirely unpaid. Between 2008 and 2009, the company also sponsored ten of the band's
concerts in Japan and other parts of Asia. About 320 million yen in
performance fees and merchandise sales from those concerts is due to the
band as well. In all, the total unpaid amount is more than 900 million yen. The lawsuit is currently seeking only 375 million yen for the revenue
earned from the concerts, but should the case go to trial, Yoshiki's
side plans to file an additional claim for the 600 million yen in the
initial contract.
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, the
Los Angeles Times and the
Chicago Sun-Times. X Japan performed at
Lollapalooza 2010 in
Grant Park,
Chicago 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, former 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 was expired.
From September 25 to October 10, X Japan performed their first ever North American tour with dates in Los Angeles,
Oakland,
Seattle, Chicago,
Vancouver,
Toronto 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 manga.
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, Brazil, Chile,
Mexico and
Peru later in the year. Due to the
2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami
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", was released, both on
iTunes. That same day they performed in
London, the first concert of the European leg of their ongoing world tour, which was followed by
Paris on July 1,
Utrecht on July 2 and
Berlin 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 concerts were;
Santiago on September 9,
São Paulo on September 11,
Buenos Aires on September 14,
Lima on September 16 and
Mexico City on September 18. The Asian leg of the tour brought stops in
Seoul on October 28,
Shanghai on October 30,
Hong Kong on November 4, Taipei on November 6 and
Bangkok on November 8. The
Beijing
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 on October 11. At both concerts was played the cover of the song "Beneath The Skin" by
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 in 1997.
2015–present: New album, documentary film and Japan tour
In June 2015, Yoshiki announced X Japan's sixth and first studio album in 20 years would be released on March 11, 2016. 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 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 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 of a Tokyo hospital. He was diagnosed with a life-threatening condition, which included a severe
blood clot,
but is 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, currently scheduled for March 4, 2017. In June, Yoshiki stated that Pata was discharged 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.
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