X Japan is 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 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.
Tetsuya Komuro is a Japanese musician, songwriter and record producer. He is recognized as the most successful producer in Japanese music history and has introduced contemporary electronic dance music to the Japanese mainstream. He was also a former owner of the disco Velfarre located in Roppongi, Tokyo.
Hideto Takarai, known by his stage name Hyde, is a Japanese musician, singer-songwriter, record producer, and actor. Best known as the lead vocalist of the rock band L'Arc-en-Ciel since 1991, he is also the lead vocalist of Vamps and has a solo career.
Globe was a dance-oriented Japanese pop band, formed in 1995 by the producer and songwriter Tetsuya Komuro. Originally consisting of Komuro, Keiko Yamada and Marc Panther, the group's singles consistently entered the charts. In late 2002, Yoshiki, the drummer and pianist of X Japan, joined the group, but he left the band about a year later.
Yoshiki Hayashi, known as Yoshiki, is a Japanese musician, songwriter, composer, record producer, film director, and fashion designer. He is best known as the leader of the visual kei rock bands X Japan and the Last Rockstars, for which he is the drummer, pianist, and main songwriter. He has been described by Billboard as a "musical innovator" and named "one of the most influential composers in Japanese history" by Consequence. Yoshiki's solo career includes several classical studio albums and collaborations with artists such as George Martin, Bono, will.i.am, St. Vincent, the Chainsmokers, Skrillex, Ellie Goulding, Stan Lee, Roger Taylor and Brian May of Queen, Gene Simmons and KISS, Nicole Scherzinger, and Sarah Brightman.
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".
Hiroshi Morie, known exclusively by his stage name Heath, was a Japanese musician and singer-songwriter. He was best known as bass guitarist of the rock band X Japan from 1992 to 1997, and again from 2007 until his death in 2023.
Toshimitsu Deyama, known exclusively by his stage name Toshi, is a Japanese singer and songwriter who is the lead vocalist and a co-founder of the rock band X Japan, who rose to prominence in the late 1980s and early 1990s and is credited as founders of the visual kei movement. Toshi began an extensive solo career in 1992 before leaving X Japan at the end of 1997. Toshi laments he was "brainwashed" by a group called Home of Heart, whose leader would control his musical output for the next 12 years. In 2007, X Japan reunited and began a world tour. Toshi severed ties with Home of Heart in January 2010 and renewed his solo career. His distinctive, impassioned tenor vocals have been compared to those of Steve Perry. In January 2018, he began to use the stage name Ryugen Toshi.
Song Nation is a charity compilation album featuring some of the most important Japanese performers from the Avex Trax label. The CD was made to raise money for the September 11, 2001 attacks. It was produced by two of the most important record producers of Japan: Masato "Max" Matsuura and Globe's Tetsuya Komuro. A remix album was released titled Song Nation 2: Trance. It contained an additional disc and additional tracks along with of the original tracks from the first Song Nation. A Song Is Born, the track by Ayumi Hamasaki and Keiko was able to peak at #1 on the Oricon chart. Upon its release, the album entered the Oricon Albums Chart at number one with first week sales of over 81 100 copies.
Vanishing Vision is the debut studio album by Japanese heavy metal band X Japan, then known as simply X. It was released on April 14, 1988 by Extasy Records, topped the Oricon indies chart and reached number 19 on the main chart.
Dahlia is the fifth studio album by Japanese rock band X Japan, released on November 4, 1996, by Atlantic Records. It is the band's last album before breaking up the following year, and the last to feature new work by guitarist hide, due to his death two years later. The album is composed largely of ballads, with only a few tracks retaining the band's heavier musical traits seen on previous releases. It topped the Oricon chart and stayed on the chart for only 15 weeks, but managed to sell over half a million copies. Seven, nearly all, of the album's songs were released as singles, most of which also topped the singles chart and sold well.
Jealousy is the third studio album by Japanese heavy metal band X Japan, then known as simply X. The album was released on July 1, 1991, by Sony, as the band's second major label release. Jealousy is the band's best-selling album, having sold more than one million copies, it topped the Oricon chart and stayed on the chart for 50 weeks. The album's singles would also reach the top three on the chart. It is their last album under the name "X", before changing to "X Japan", and the last to feature Taiji on bass, who would be replaced by Heath.
"Kurenai" is a song by Japanese heavy metal band X Japan, written by Yoshiki. One of the band's oldest songs, they have been performing "Kurenai" since 1985, and several versions have been released, most significantly as their major-label debut single on September 1, 1989.
"Say Anything" is a single released by X Japan on December 1, 1991.
Show-Ya are a Japanese all-female heavy metal band formed in 1981. The group disbanded in 1998 but reformed with the original line-up in 2005 for the 20th anniversary of their first release. Their music is deeply rooted in classic rock and they have covered songs by bands and artists such as The Beatles, The Doors, the Yardbirds, Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple, and AC/DC in their albums and live shows. Their music evolved from the pop rock genre of their first offerings to the heavy metal genre of their most successful albums, Outerlimits (1989) and Hard Way (1990). Show-Ya annually organizes and produces the all-female rock festival Naon no Yaon, which they founded in 1987.
Ikimonogakari (いきものがかり) is a Japanese pop rock duo from Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan consisting of Yoshiki Mizuno and Kiyoe Yoshioka. The group started in February 1999 with Hotaka Yamashita and Yoshiki Mizuno, who had known each other since they were six years old, and was joined by vocalist Kiyoe Yoshioka in November of the same year. The group's name is a reference to ikimono-gakari (いきものがかり), a group of children who are responsible for looking after plants and animals in Japanese elementary schools.
Eternal Melody II is the second classical studio album by Japanese musician Yoshiki. It was released on March 23, 2005.
Yoshiki Classical is the third classical studio album by Japanese musician Yoshiki. It was released on August 27, 2013. The album peaked at 21st place on Billboard Top Classical Albums chart.
"Red Swan" is a song by Japanese musician Yoshiki, featuring vocals by Hyde. Written and produced by Yoshiki, it is the opening theme song of the first 12 episodes of the third season of the Attack on Titan anime series. The television edit of the song was published on digital platforms on July 23, 2018, while the full single version was released on October 3, 2018.
The untitled X Japan album is an unreleased studio album by Japanese heavy metal band X Japan. Initially planned to be half new songs and half re-recordings of old songs, this was abandoned at some point in its 10 years of production in favor of all new material. Several different release dates were announced in that time, but the album remains unpublished despite drummer and bandleader Yoshiki confirming its completion in September 2018. However, several songs reported to be on it have been made commercially available digitally. If released, it will be X Japan's first album of new material in over 28 years, their first since reuniting in 2007, and their first to feature newest member Sugizo. It will also be the last to feature longtime bass player Heath, due to his death in 2023.
