X-Japan Article

[bulmasman]

Ok, this was written primarily for www.neomag.co.uk/forum you may remember the magazine that insulted Ayu. Well, i'm one of the main members there now, and have decided to write a series of articles or "suggestions" for the forum on some of my favourite japanese singers/bands.

This is a complete copy from my original version, so please bear with the neo_admin comment etc...

Hopw you enjoy reading it as much as i enjoyed writing it ^_^

Well, Here we are… the first in what I hope to make an ongoing (if Stu, mr neo_admin himself allows it) set of in depth looks at some of my favourite Singers/bands from Japan (and maybe 1 or 2 Chinese/Korean acts thrown in for good measure)
In a way, I suppose the idea for this was sparked by the Ayu article in the back of issue 1 (yes I’m still moaning). I feel that it’s always good to have more than 1 viewpoint on a singer or group, as for those only just entering into the world of Jpop will be confused as to who they should start listening to. Now, I’m not saying these will be counter articles to what’s printed in the magazine, but I just like to write about stuff I’m interested in.

Well, with that out of the way, let’s get this show on the road ^_^

I think I’ll get the ball rolling with X-Japan.

X-Japan – Ah, X-Japan… what else can one say but absolutely magnificent. Well, technically that’s a false statement, as upon my first few attempts to listen to them, I was completely disappointed and started thinking they weren’t all the reviews had cracked them up to be. How wrong wrong WRONG I was. I will admit that for the most part, my initial dislike of this band was down to Toshi’s vocals. Screaming being my main gripe, but I had yet to discover what he could truly do. After a few listens, I stumbled upon a gem known as Tears… I haven’t looked back since.

The line up for the band is as follows:

-Vocals: Toshi
-Bass (I believe): Taiji (until 1992)
-Bass: Heath
-Guitar: Pata
-Guitar: hide (R.I.P)
-Piano & Drums: Yoshiki

Yoshiki and Toshi formed the band in the early 80’s. Yoshiki always wanted to break into music, namely Rock music, and managed to tempt Toshi away from going to medical school to start the band with him. Originally called X, they then went through many other musicians until 1987 when Taiji, Pata and firm fan favourite hide, the most extraordinary guitar player I have ever had the pleasure of finding, joined. Heath replaced Taiji in 1992 and the band kept that line up until it’s split in 1997.

Now the problems of explaining the line up are out of the way, let’s get cracking with the music ^_^.
How can I put this… Take everything you expect from a rock band, and throw it out of the window. There’s such a mix of songs from this band, I can seriously go on record saying there’s something for everyone. The high screaming of Sadistic Desire, the excellent Rock Anthem X (featured on X the motion picture by Clamp), and the emotion of Tears, this band was, and in my opinion, still is a force to be reckoned with. It is also safe to say, this band had more charisma than ANY present day act. Unable to keep stil, Toshi, hide, pata and heath could always be seen moving from end to end of the stage, producing music the defies belief, the crowning achievement of which would have to be Art Of Life, a 30 minute song. Yes, 3 0 minutes of musical heaven, tackling softness and heaviness, with huge piano solo’s, drum solo’s and guitar solo’s to keep you interested from start to finish.

Another stand out factor of X-Japan was by far their look. Eccentric? YES! Crazy? DOUBLE YES! But this was only the beginning. Dubbed Visual Shock, this style has evolved in Japan to become what we consider today as Visual Kei. It’s fair to say that X-Japan started this genre and it’s impossible to ignore the significance of it. Without Visual Kei, there would be NO Dir En Grey. NO Malice Mizer. NO Miyavi and NO Gackt. If this indepth view gives you any interest in checking the band out, please don’t be put off by their initial appearance, it’s not worth missing out on the best band of all time.

Sadly though, how all things starts… all thing must come to an end. In 1997, Japan was shocked to hear that Toshi would be leaving the band. Without a vocalist, and with nobody else even remotely able to fill the void left by this departure, the band split on September 22nd after a spellbinding final concert where emotions were high the entire night.

Now, Toshi has yet to gain success as a solo artist, while Heath and Pata are member of the band DOPE Headz and Yoshiki, now a producer is also a drummer for the band GLOBE.

hide went onto to enjoy huge success as a solo artist, but it was short lived. Sadly he was found hanging from his balcony on May 2nd, 1998. Nobody knows the motive for this, though there are various theories floating around.

So finally, if I were to give X-Japan a rating out of 10, it would most certainly be 10/10. If I were to give it a rating out of 100, it would most certainly be 100/100. What I’m trying to say is a band like X-Japan don’t come around very often, and when they do, sadly they are taken away from us prematurely. I urge each and everyone of you to check them out, I’m sure you will not be disappointed.


RECOMMENDED songs: Tears, Forever Love, Crucify my Love, Endless Rain, Blue Blood, Dahlia, Sadistic Desire, Rusty Nail, Silent Jealousy, Art Of Life, X, Standing Sex… I could sit here and list everything by them, but these are the main ones to hear.

If anyone would like to talk to me about X-Japan, feel free to contact me on msn, yahoo, or aim, or just email me.

msn: hibiki_tokaiuk@yahoo.co.uk
Yahoo: hibiki_tokaiuk
AIM: ssjoflight

Email: hibiki_tokaiuk@yahoo.co.uk

[hana_sanctuary]

Good article n.n

[sxesven]

Great article, mate!

[paper_doll]

Very good article.

[extepan]

yay!!
i thought you were writing about ayu though

[hana_sanctuary]

Originally Posted by extepan

yay!!
i thought you were writing about ayu though

*blinks*

ooo nice bulmasman, thats one excellent peice of writing, i love X-Japan ^__^

[ReaverAce]

Good article
I agree with you that Endless Rain is a good song

[X-Japan Rules]

X-JAPAN ISSS DAAA BESTTTTTTTT IN THE WORLDDDDD

[tinyppl]

Hey nice article~! I listen to a few songs of them; current fave is rusty nail. Though I was never really very into them, I often have this high respect for them being extraodinary and the pioneer of jrock bands. My heart is with Luna Sea though; very thanks to Hide for introducing them to extacy records XD