Hide guitar

Toshi vocals

Yoshiki drums, piano

Pata guitar

Heath bass

Unless you're totally unfamiliar with J-Rock then I really don't have to say anything about this band.. but I will anyways. ^_~  X are generally respected as the band that started Japanese visual rock and the biggest Japanese rock band ever.  They were led by the beautiful and egocentric Yoshiki, who wrote most of their songs. ^_^  He was also a very talented pianist, and an amazing drummer.  X started out in the mid eighties and they had a heavy speed metal style then.. but better, to put it simply.  Yoshiki had a talent to combine speed metal with extremely catchy melody and dark, beautiful lyrics.. which made for some really amazing and memorable songs. ^_^  By the nineties with the album Jealousy, Yoshiki started getting more into piano and their music became more dramatic and deep.. and some of Yoshiki's songs became more of symphonic rock pieces.  In 1992 Taiji was replaced by Heath as their bassist and they changed their name from X to X-Japan.  Then in 1993 they released Art of Life.. a single 30 minute symphonic metal song.. which they actually performed live twice.  In 1996 they released the album Dahlia.. on which they took a more romantic theme and contemporary style.. but it was really good and had some great singles and some of their best ballads. ^_^  But then.. in 1997.. they announced they were disbanding. ;_;  But Yoshiki's still around.. he's a producer now and runs the record company Extasy Japan.  He lives in LA and owns many recording studios there.  Most notably, he produced the five singles on Dir en grey's Gauze album.  And he's going to have a solo release called The Violet UK coming out in Japan and the US early next year, yay! :D  Well that's my story of X. ^_^

X-Japan MP3s can be found on Reve Noir Yoshiki's Official Website The X-Japan eGroup Back to Glamour & Suicide...