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| ==History== | ==History== | ||
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===X era (1980s - 1992) === | ||
| Plans for the band started in ] by Yoshiki Hayashi and Toshi (Toshimitsu Deyama) when they were only children in school. Influenced by western hard rock, the band was to be modelled after the band ]. Initial names for the band included Dynamite (1978-1980) and Noise (1980-summer 1982) before settling on "X". This name was to be changed to "X Japan" in 1993 with the departure of bassist Taiji. | |||
| Yoshiki, Toshi & Terry played live shows in the 1982 & 1983 culture festivals of their Chiba secondary school, where they first publicly performed the original X song, "I'll Kill You". They also covered the songs "Highway Star" (]), "In The Mirror" (]), "World Anthem" (]) and "Killers" (]) at the festival. The band had previously played other covers of western hard rock bands during the East West Japan audition in 1982, where they played "Rock and Roll" (]) and "Burn" (Deep Purple). | |||
| ===Indies era (1984-1988)=== | |||
| 1984 saw the release of their first demo tape, "I'll Kill You". The title track, "We Are X" and "Stop Bloody Rain" were the three songs included which showed the band was moving towards power metal. | |||
| X seemed to have been publicly inactive between the their demo tape release and the follow-up single "I'll Kill You", released in June 1985 ("Break The Darkness" as the B-side). The members at that time were: Yoshiki (Drums, Piano), Toshimitsu (Vocal), Yuji (Guitar), Tomoyuki (Guitar), Tokuo (Bass). No record labels would sign the band because of their form of dressing and performing, which would later become a popular trend in Japanese rock music, known as ]. Not to be stopped, Yoshiki formed his own record label, ], with money he and his mother helped provide by selling their family's business. In April 1986. the ''Orgasm'' EP was released on Extasy Records, with the title song, and B-sides "Time Trip Loving" (written by ]) and "X" <ref>{{cite web | title=Hisashi Takai (Jun) official website | work=www.geocities.jp/takaihisashi2005 | url=http://www.geocities.jp/takaihisashi2005/X.html}}</ref> . After the release of this, they began touring. As a side note, the 2nd release on Extasy Records was actually Poison's (better known as the punk band Poison Arts) "Mystery Temptation". | |||
| Of course before this they were quite active. The end of June 1985 saw the release of two demo tapes, "X Live" (also known as "Live") and "Endless Dream." They each featured the same four songs ("Kurenai", "Stop Bloody Rain", "Lady in Tears", "Endless Dream") but with a different track order and alternate versions of Endless Dream. In July 1985 they contributed a much faster version of "Break The Darkness" to the ''Heavy Metal Force III'' sampler. | |||
| In early 1986 the "Kurenai" demo tape was released, containing an updated version of "Kurenai" (in English for the first time), as well as "Time Trip Loving" and "X". | |||
| It is often debated whether the infamous "Feel Me Tonight" demo tape was released in 1985 or 1986. The song "Feel Me Tonight" seems to have been first publicly played live at the Yoshiki Birthday Gig, November 20, 1985, while "Stab Me In The Back", the other song on the tape, was never publicly (or at all?) played until 1986. Both songs feature Yoshiki on vocals and most likely Toshi on drums, as the two switched those very same parts during a famous '86 live part switch performance of "20th Century Boy" (a ] cover). This same year they also covered "God Save The Queen". | |||
| The summer of that year, believed to be June, was the time of the "Jun Tape" also called the "(Jun) Studio Rehearsal Tape." It had the four songs Right Now, Only Way, Tune Up Baby (aka Junon Baby) and the 4th track was untitled. Only Way in particular was a mainstay at live shows for the year. | |||
| On 27 July that year Toshi, Yoshiki & Jun appeared on an NTV show in a segment called 天才たけしの元気が出るテレビ. In August their song Kurenai was the subject of a flexi disc in the "Rockin' f" magazine. | |||
| In March 1987 they contributed two songs -Stab Me In The Back & No Connexion- to the V/A album "Skull Thrash Zone vol. 1." The official line-up of the time was Toshi, Yoshiki & Taiji. Their guitarist Isao broke his arm in a car crash so Pata played support guitar but was not yet an official member. In March Hide joined and in April Pata officially jumped aboard, forming the 5-year line-up for which they are most famous. In August that year they released at two Xclamation Haifu GIG live shows, their famous "Xclamation" video tape. It featured the songs Xclamation, Stab Me In The Back and Kurenai (English). ], ] saw the band perform at the CBS Sony audition, where they played Xclamation, Piano Solo~Kurenai (English) and Orgasm. | |||
| ===X era (1988 - 1992) === | |||
| ] | ] | ||
| X released their first single "]" on Dada Records in 1985. To ensure a continuous outlet for the band's publications, Yoshiki founded the ] label ] in the following year on which a second single ("]") was released, as well as the group's ], '']'' in 1988.<ref>{{cite web | title=Extasy Records company history | work=extasyrecords.co.jp | url=http://www.extasyrecords.co.jp/eng/company.html}}</ref> X's lineup at that time consisted of Toshi on vocals, ] on lead guitar, ] on rhythm guitar, ] on bass and Yoshiki on drums and piano. The band makes a cameo in the 1988 comedy '']'', starring the late ] and ].<ref>{{cite web | title=Credits for ''Tokyo Pop'' | work=imdb.com | url=http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0096281/fullcredits}}</ref> | |||
| After being singed on by ], the band's second album '']'' was released in 1989 and spawned several successful singles, such as "]" and "]", as well as a ] containing one of the concerts of the subsequent tour (later re-released on ]).<ref>{{cite web | title=''Blue Blood Tour'' DVD re-release information | work=cdjapan.co.jp | url=http://www.cdjapan.co.jp/detailview.html?KEY=KSB5-5734}}</ref> Recordings for the follow-up album '']'' took place in ]. It was released in July 1991 and shortly followed by the band's first performance in Japan's largest live venue, the ]. The show would later be released both on ] and VHS/DVD. | After being singed on by ], the band's second album '']'' was released in 1989 and spawned several successful singles, such as "]" and "]", as well as a ] containing one of the concerts of the subsequent tour (later re-released on ]).<ref>{{cite web | title=''Blue Blood Tour'' DVD re-release information | work=cdjapan.co.jp | url=http://www.cdjapan.co.jp/detailview.html?KEY=KSB5-5734}}</ref> Recordings for the follow-up album '']'' took place in ]. It was released in July 1991 and shortly followed by the band's first performance in Japan's largest live venue, the ]. The show would later be released both on ] and VHS/DVD. | ||
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Revision as of 23:39, 17 January 2007
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X Japan (エックス ジャパン) was a popular Japanese band founded in the 1980s by drummer and pianist Yoshiki Hayashi and vocalist Toshimitsu "Toshi" Deyama. Originally named X (エックス), the group achieved its breakthrough success in 1989 with the release of their second album Blue Blood. They started out as a power/speed metal band and later gravitated towards a progressive sound, at all times retaining an emphasis on ballads. After three more albums, X Japan disbanded in 1997.
History
X era (1980s - 1992)
X released their first single "I'll Kill You" on Dada Records in 1985. To ensure a continuous outlet for the band's publications, Yoshiki founded the independent label Extasy Records in the following year on which a second single ("Orgasm") was released, as well as the group's debut album, Vanishing Vision in 1988. X's lineup at that time consisted of Toshi on vocals, Hideto "Hide" Matsumoto on lead guitar, Tomoaki "Pata" Ishizuka on rhythm guitar, Taiji Sawada on bass and Yoshiki on drums and piano. The band makes a cameo in the 1988 comedy Tokyo Pop, starring the late Carrie Hamilton and Diamond Yukai.
After being singed on by Sony Records, the band's second album Blue Blood was released in 1989 and spawned several successful singles, such as "Kurenai" and "Endless Rain", as well as a VHS containing one of the concerts of the subsequent tour (later re-released on DVD). Recordings for the follow-up album Jealousy took place in Los Angeles. It was released in July 1991 and shortly followed by the band's first performance in Japan's largest live venue, the Tokyo Dome. The show would later be released both on CD and VHS/DVD.
By 1992 the band's ongoing success in Japan made an international breakthrough appear likely enough to warrant the renaming to "X Japan", in order to distinguish the group from the United States punk band X. Around the same time, Taiji was replaced by Hiroshi "Heath" Morie, supposedly due to creative differences with Yoshiki. He went on to work with Loudness and Cloud Nine. While still named X, the band appeared on two heavy metal samplers, Heavy Metal Force III and Skull Thrash Zone Volume I.
X Japan era (1993 - 1997)
For the release of their next album, X Japan left Sony and signed a deal with Atlantic Records. Art of Life was released in August 1993, notable for containing only the almost 29 minutes long title track, which would only be performed twice for a live audience. By then, the members of the group also maintained several side projects. For example, 1994 saw the release of Hide's first solo album, Hide Your Face, which featured a distinctively different sound from X Japan's music, leaning more towards alternative rock. Yoshiki 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, a classical arrangement of the song "Black Diamond". A compilation with classical treatments of X Japan songs, titled Eternal Melody was also released. It was performed by the London Philharmonic Orchestra and among others featured Beatles producer George Martin as an arranger.
In 1996, Dahlia, the band's first studio album in more than three years was released, though with relatively little new material, given that singles included on the record had been coming out as early as a few months after Art of Life. Around that time, the group dropped most of its original visual kei aesthetics in favor of a more casual look. Dahlia would be the band's last major release, since vocalist Toshi left the group, the subsequent dissolution being officially announced in September 1997. X Japan performed their farewell show at the Toyko Dome on December 31, making it the last of five consecutive New Year's Eves the group performed in that stadium.
Much has been made of Toshi's departure, including allegations of him joining a cult and being influenced by it. Toshi has since denied these claims, stating that his decision to leave X Japan dated back as far as April 1996, more than a year before he met the organization's leader, Masaya and that the glamorous, success-oriented life of a rock star failed to satisfy him emotionally, as opposed to a simpler life and career.
After the breakup
The former members of X Japan have since pursued various projects. Hide continued his solo career as Hide with Spread Beaver, which now formally included his previous live band. The group did not last long though, due to Hide's death in May 1998, which left fans and colleagues equally surprised and shocked.
Pata and Heath, along with Spread Beaver percussionist/programmer I.N.A. founded Dope Headz in 2001 which released two albums but then ceased activity. The trio also provided a track for the Hide tribute album Tribute Spirits. Heath is currently pursuing a solo career and Pata is a member of Ra:In (an acronym for "rock and inspiration").
Yoshiki has engaged in numerous activities, such as being briefly a member of the pop band Globe, producing singles for the Korean rock band TRAX and working on his solo project Violet UK, which as of January 2007 has not yet published a major release. In late 2006 it was reported that there might be an upcoming collaboration with pop/rock artist Gackt and former Luna Sea guitarist Sugizo.
Lineup
As with numerous other Japanese bands, the members of X Japan were usually credited with their first or stage name.
- Toshimitsu "Toshi" Deyama (出山利三, Deyama Toshimitsu) – Vocals
- Hideto "Hide" Matsumoto (松本秀人 Matsumoto Hideto) – Lead guitar
- Tomoaki "Pata" Ishizuka (石塚智昭 Ishizuka Tomoaki) – Rhythm guitar
- Hiroshi "Heath" Morie (森江博 Morie Hiroshi) – Bass (from 1992)
- Yoshiki Hayashi (林佳樹 Hayashi Yoshiki) – Drums and piano
- Taiji Sawada (沢田泰司 Sawada Taiji) – Bass (1980s - 1992)
Discography
Main article: X Japan discographyReferences
- "Extasy Records company history". extasyrecords.co.jp.
- "Credits for Tokyo Pop". imdb.com.
- "Blue Blood Tour DVD re-release information". cdjapan.co.jp.
- "List of Japanese heavy metal samplers". japanesemetal.gooside.com.
- ""Foreign Sand" release information". queenpicturehall.com.
- "Kiss My Ass release information". kissfaq.com.
- "Eternal Melody release information". cdjapan.co.jp.
- "Interview with Toshi". naturallyart.net.
- "Neil Strauss' article on Hide's death". nytimes.com.
- "Tribute Spirits release information". hide-city.com.
- "Globe profile". avexnet.or.jp.
- ""Scorpio" release information". cdjapan.co.jp.
- ""Rhapsody" release information". cdjapan.co.jp.
- "Interview with Yoshiki". jmusiceuropa.com.
- "News report regarding possible Sugizo involvement". sponichi.co.jp.
External links
- X Japan official website
- Toshi official website
- Hide official fan club
- Ra:In official website
- Heath official website
- Yoshiki official website
- Taiji official website
- Extasy Records official website
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