x japan
they were active from 1985 to 1997, and then they broke up and reformed in 2007. they are one of the founding bands of the visual kei movement. they are widely considered to be the biggest japanese rock band.
music
x japan released five albums before their 1997 breakup.
vanishing vision
this is their first album. it was released in 1988 and it contains "i'll kill you" which was their debut single, as well as an early version of "kurenai."
blue blood
their second album, released in 1989. it has "x," one of their signature songs. it also has a re-recorded version of "kurenai."
jealousy
i forget which the singles on this one were because i only listen to it for "miscast" and "joker." but it's probably their best-known album. it has yoshiki posing in agony on the cover so idk what more you could want.
art of life
art of life is one 30-minute long song. it's an astounding feat of musical artistry. yoshiki is prone to passing out when playing it live and i don't blame him.
dahlia
their last album. unfortunately compared to their other work it is merely "pretty good" as opposed to "incredible." but it has "scars" and "drain" on it which are two of my favorite x songs. i listen to "drain" when i'm sad.
personal top 10
- drain
- stab me in the back
- joker
- week end
- sadistic desire
- miscast
- desperate angel
- x
- scars
- kurenai
hide
hide was the lead guitarist for x, as well as a successful solo artist in the mid-90s. he passed away in 1998 age 33. along with yoshiki and toshi, he was one of the most recognizable members of x. having graduated from cosmetology school prior to joining x, he was one of the driving forces behind their aesthetic. he is known for his bright pink hair and eclectic style tastes.
he's also my favorite, which is why he gets his own sidebar.
music
hide your face
his first solo album, released in 1994. originally, hide had intended to only write the songs and hire guest vocalists to sing them, but he ended up taking voice lessons and singing them himself. there were a lot of singles but the best ones are "dice" and "tell me." my favorite hide song is "blue sky complex" and it's from this album.
just generally the jealousy/art of life/hide your face era is my favorite hide era.
psyence
hide's second solo album. released in 1996. "beauty&stupid" and "misery" are on it. on this album, his signature vocal styling began to emerge.
ja, zoo
his third and last album, released in november of 1998. hide died on may 2, 1998 having left ja, zoo unfinished. his ultimate involvement in the final product is unknown, but his producer I.N.A. is credited on four of the album's ten tracks. "hurry go round" is known to have been unfinished at the time of his death, while "rocket dive," "pink spider," and "ever free" were complete. the only single that was released while hide was alive was "rocket dive," released in january 1998. "pink spider" and "hurry go round" have some of his best vocal performances in my heavily biased opinion.