Line #182 Music/XJapan


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/rsz_artist_x_japan.png]]
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3	[floatboxright:
4	Influences:
5	* Music/{{KISS}} oh so very much. Classical composers including but not limited to Bach, Beethoven, Chopin, and Rachmaninoff. Music/SexPistols, Music/{{Loudness}}, Music/HanoiRocks, Music/GunsNRoses, Music/MarcBolan (T-Rex), Music/{{Steppenwolf}}, Music/IronMaiden, Music/JanesAddiction, Music/{{Queensryche}}. HardRock, PunkRock and {{Goth}} in general. Later on, Music/{{Radiohead}} and Music/{{Slayer}}.]
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7	[floatboxright: Related Acts - members:
8	* Globe, V2, Music/VioletUK (Yoshiki, see more on Music/YoshikiHayashi)
9	* S.K.I.N. (Yoshiki)
10	* Toshi solo works (Toshi)
11	* hide solo band works (hide, Pata)
12	* DopeHeadz (Pata and Heath)
13	* Pata solo works and Ra:IN (Pata)
14	* Paranoia (Heath)
15	* Music/{{Loudness}} from 92-94, D.T.R., Kings, Otokaze, Music/TheKillingRedAddiction, Taiji With Heaven's (Taiji)
16	* Music/LunaSea, The Flare, Sugizo and the Spank Your Juice, various unnamed solo works (Sugizo)]
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21	->"''Psychedelic Violence / Crime Of [[VisualKei Visual Shock]]''"
22	-->--X Japan band concept
23
24	X Japan is a Japanese rock band founded in 1982 by schoolmates Music/YoshikiHayashi and [[Music/ToshimitsuDeyama Toshimitsu 'Toshi' Deyama]]. In the earlier years of their career they mostly played a hybrid of ThrashMetal, HairMetal and PowerMetal alongside some ballads, but in later years they shifted to a more [[ProgressiveMetal progressive]]/[[AvantGardeMetal experimental]] sound. They were not the first VisualKei band, but they were certainly one of the movement's pioneers, and it is widely claimed that it was bandleader Yoshiki who is the {{Trope Namer\|s}} for VisualKei. X Japan are notable for becoming one of the first Japanese acts to gain notable success whilst being on an independent label, as well as the gravity-defying hair they sported in their earlier years (although in the early 90's the band began to wind down it's visual look, and by the time of the split in 1997, only hide's shocking pink hair remained.)
25
26	The band's membership has remained fairly consistent throughout, although in the very early days when X Japan, then just X, were touring locally, there was a spurt of support members. When the band reached the spotlight in the late 1980's, they had settled on a consistent lineup, and got through the next decade or so with only one change- bassist Taiji was replaced with Heath. Unusually, the bandleader was not a singer or guitarist, but pianist and drummer Yoshiki, who wrote most of the music and lyrics, and who had more or less total creative control over X Japan's direction. In the 80s, they were also the first VisualKei band to appear in an American film (and may still be the only one to have done so): they appeared in a short scene in ''Tokyo Pop.''
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28	By the mid to late 1990's, X Japan had garnered huge popularity, and were filling enormous venues, but in 1997 they decided to split. The band members were more interested in their solo careers with hide's solo career becoming more popular, and when Toshi denounced the band and left because it was [[AgainstMyReligion against his religion at the time]], the other members chose to disband rather than replace him. Whatever had gone on, it was clear that there had been conflict somewhere along the line, because during the band's last live performance together, Yoshiki hugged Toshi, then later revealed that the hug had originally meant to be a punch.
29
30	After the split, the band went off in different directions. Toshi turned to performing 'healing music' on behalf of Home of Heart, Yoshiki set up a new project Music/VioletUK, hide continued work with his solo band and became a founding member of the American band Zilch, and Pata and Heath, after a decent sized hiatus, developed some solo work. Yoshiki and hide were making plans to reunite the band in 2000 with hide as the lead vocalist instead of Toshi. However, in 1998, disaster struck - hide was found having allegedly committed suicide. An ambulance was called, but it was too late, and hide died on the way to the hospital.
31
32	Despite this tragedy, in 2007 a reunion was announced, with several support guitarists, and eventually ex Luna Sea guitarist Sugizo taking over from hide. Three new songs were penned for X Japan, one of which, 'IV', was used for the end credits of the 'Saw IV' film. The other two are a vocal version of 'Without You' and a rock song called 'Jade,' which Yoshiki credited to hide's inspiration. A world tour was announced for 2008 and 2009, although it was later canceled due to a worsening of Yoshiki's neck injury that demanded emergency surgery. Updates in August 2009 suggested an album will be released by the end of 2009, then updates in 2010 suggested then... [[DevelopmentHell though due to other happenings that production date has been moved to spring 2011... then to spring 2012... then to who knows when, though it is]] [[MemeticMutation 98% Complete!]]
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34	Vocalist Toshi developed intercostal neuralgia around November 2009 and was unable to sing or tour as a result until 2010. Later, it would be known that this was due to his life situation's stress at the time. Meanwhile, Yoshiki's recovery and rehabilitation from his neck surgery continued and continues. The band's projects including the new album and any tours, therefore, were on hiatus until their promotional video shoot in Hollywood January 9th 2010, which was held on top of the Hollywood and Highland mall and open to the public.
35
36	Toshi [[TheReveal announced in a subsequent press conference]] that he had left his religion, and accused its leader and his ex-wife [[ScamReligion of taking all his income for over 12 years, filing fraudulent tax returns and taking out loans in his name without his knowledge]]. For a while, [[ConMan Masaya]] still owned many of Toshi's official properties and necessitated that Toshi change his stage name to [=Tosh1=] as well as not have his own online sites for around a year until the legal matters were settled.
37
38	In 2010, the band played Toshi's, ahem, [=Tosh1=]'s, "solo sayonara" show to raise money for him in Tokyo on February 24th, and recorded a new video since then as well as making several public appearances. Music/XJapan played a set at the 2010 Lollapalooza music festival in Chicago, and has also played an outdoor 2-day live at Yokohama's Nissan Stadium in Japan. Music/TaijiSawada rejoined the band then as a second bassist, but played no further gigs with them despite plans to do so...
39
40	The band began a successful North American tour on September 25, 2010, playing in UsefulNotes/LosAngeles on that night, then going to Oakland, Seattle, Vancouver BC, UsefulNotes/{{Chicago}}, Toronto, and [[BigApplesauce New York City]]. Almost all venues were sold out. Later, it would be revealed that Yoshiki had been in incredibly poor health for most of the tour and it was "miraculous" that he managed to play all of the scheduled gigs.
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42	On July 17, 2011, Music/TaijiSawada, the former bassist who reunited with them for the Yokohama 2010 gigs, allegedly [[DrivenToSuicide committed suicide]] in Saipan in the CNMI. Except he may have [[NeverSuicide not committed suicide, but could have been a murder victim]], and no one ''really'' knows except for him and whoever else was directly involved.
43
44	The band is still working on the album projected for an unknown date, allegedly. They completed a successful world tour in 2011, including gigs in South Korea, China, and Thailand. They are also very active in charity work related to the Tohoku Earthquake and Tsunami and the Thailand floods of 2011, auctioning off goods, donating large sums of money, and occasionally doing relief work themselves.
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46	The band has won the Best International Band award via fan vote in 2012 at the Revolver Magazine Golden Gods Awards, defeating Music/{{Rammstein}}, Music/LacunaCoil, Music/{{Meshuggah}}, Music/{{Behemoth}}, and Music/{{Sepultura}} in the vote. Music/YoshikiHayashi has become the composer of note for the 2012 and 2013 Golden Globes, which is more detailed on his page.
47
48	A new GreatestHitsAlbum was released as of 2014 called ''X Japan - The World,'' while they announced a new stylistic look. They would later hold a concert in October 2014 at Madison Square Garden in UsefulNotes/NewYork - the very venue they had tried to introduce themselves to the Western world at back in TheNineties.
49
50	In 2015, the band announced their new album in twenty years, as ''well'' as a '''[[TheMovie documentary about the band]]''', slated for a March 2016 release and to be premiered at the Wembley Arena in London. Instead, it was premiered at the Sundance film festival in January 2016, and will premiere globally on October 21, 2016.
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52	The Wembley Arena show slated for 2016 was canceled and moved to 2017, due to Pata's suffering life-threatening complications of alcoholism (liver and gastrointestinal damage including portal thrombosis and diverticulitis). The album was also delayed once more, with a release date pending. The band is once again active as of 2016 with Pata's successful recovery, planning three shows slated for the Visual Japan Summit (a three-day visual kei festival in Japan), as well as a series of solo events for Yoshiki.
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54	On November 7, 2023, it was announced that bassist Heath passed away from cancer last October 2023 at the age of 55.
55
56	!!Predominant Members
57	* Music/{{Toshi\|mitsuDeyama}}- Vocals, occasionally guitar (on Voiceless Screaming, on a cover of Music/{{KISS}}'s "Hard Luck Woman", and in his solo work). Can play piano and has done solo piano duets with Yoshiki.
58	* Music/{{Yoshiki\|Hayashi}} - Drums, piano, keyboards, bandleader, can play guitar to a limited degree but has done so rarely.
59	* Music/{{Sugizo}} - Guitar, violin.
60	* Music/{{hide\|toMatsumoto}} - Guitar, backing vocals, deceased 1998
61	* [[Music/TomoakiIshizuka Pata]] - Guitar, very rare backing vocals, very rare bass in their cover of [[Music/TRex T. Rex]]'s "20th Century Boy".
62	* Heath - Bass single instrument player. Deceased 2023
63	* Music/{{Taiji\|Sawada}} - Bass, lead guitar on Voiceless Screaming, rare backing vocals. Deceased 2011.
64
65	!!Significant Ex-Members
66	* Jun - Guitar, [[ThePeteBest before hide]]
67
68	!!Guest Members:
69	* [[Music/GunsNRoses Richard Fortus]] and [[Music/LimpBizkit Wes Borland]], both in 2009, before Sugizo was chosen as a permanent lead guitarist.
70
71	!!Not a member but deserves major honorary mention
72	* [[Music/TokyoYankees Soichiro "Ume" Umemura]] - Vocalist of Music/TokyoYankees, but in X Japan's early days as X, he was "that tall blonde roadie". Can be seen in footage of pretty much every tour up to 1993 (he makes an appearance onstage in Chi to Bara/Rose and Blood to carry a fainted Yoshiki off, and he can be seen prominently in Violence in Jealousy and On The Verge of Destruction footage among others). Deceased 2007.
73	* I.N.A. - Worked with X Japan as a mixer and programmer before becoming a member of hide's solo backup band. Still works with X Japan and often blogs about their tours. Chief programmer for hide's solo works and worked with other side projects Zilch and DopeHEADz. Was the primary creator and operator of the hologram of hide for the 2008-09 shows, which kind of makes him a performing member of X Japan in his own way.
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75	!!Studio Albums
76	* ''Vanishing Vision'' - 1988
77	* ''Blue Blood'' - 1989
78	* ''Jealousy'' - 1991
79	* ''Art of Life'' - 1993
80	* ''Dahlia'' - 1996
81	* ''X Japan The World'' - 2014, a "best of" GreatestHitsAlbum / compilation consisting of tracks from other albums, and a live version of the single "Without You"
82	* ''X Japan - Revives Records'' - 2015, another GreatestHitsAlbum, potentially the first half of the long-awaited post-reunion album.
83
84	!!Singles
85	* "I'll Kill You" - 1985
86	* "Orgasm" - 1986
87	* "Kurenai" - 1989
88	* "Endless Rain" - 1989
89	* "Week End" - 1990
90	* "Silent Jealousy" - 1991
91	* "Standing Sex" - 1991 (One of the only songs not to appear on a studio album: it is restricted to the single and to live performances.)
92	* "Say Anything" - 1991
93	* "Tears" - 1993
94	* "Rusty Nail" - 1994
95	* "Longing" - 1995
96	* "Dahlia" - 1996
97	* "Forever Love" - 1996
98	* "Crucify My Love" - 1996
99	* "Scars" - 1996
100	* "The Last Song" - 1998
101	* "I.V." - 2007 (in Saw IV) 2008 (on Itunes)
102	* "Without You," - began to appear in 2002 as Yoshiki's solo song, officially began to be played as an X Japan song around 2008-09
103	* "Jade" - 2009 debut, complete single debut in 2011
104	* "Born To Be Free" - 2010, complete studio single released in 2015
105	* "You With Crystal Piano" - 2010 (available on Toshi's myspace, released on a Toshi solo album and not as [=XJapan=])
106	* "Scarlet Love Song" - 2011 (theme song for the Creator/OsamuTezuka film "Buddha")
107	* "Hero" - 2014 (A case of RearrangeTheSong: originally theme song for ''Saint Seiya: Legend of Sanctuary,'' became a Music/VioletUK song, ''then'' was debuted as an X Japan version in a 2014 "surprise video shoot" in Japan, became a part of X Japan's concert setlist at Yokohama 2014. Violet UK version is officially released on the film soundtrack. X Japan version still does not have a complete studio version released.)
108	* "Beneath The Skin" - 2014 (Another case of RearrangeTheSong - this one was written by Sugizo and Yoshiki for the failed superband S.K.I.N. in the mid 2000s. The X Japan version debuted at the 2014 Yokohama Arena shows adds lyrics, changes most lyrics to English, adds a drum section by Yoshiki, increases the speed/tempo of the song, and obviously has Toshi as the vocalist rather than Creator/{{Gackt}}.
109	* "Born to Be Free" - 2015
110
111	!! TheMovie:
112	''We Are X'' - 2016, debuted at the Sundance Film Festival. A promotional piece/ {{documentary}} about the band which focuses on Yoshiki and glosses over some of the past issues and the like, but which seems to have been somewhat well received both among fans and non-fans who saw it.
113
114	!! Related Bands
115	A full list of the bands signed by Yoshiki and hide during the days of Extasy Records as an indies label can be found at Creator/ExtasyRecords. It used to be listed in this article, but due to the creation of that article and the formatting issues it presents here as a floatbox, it's been moved.
116
117	!!Useful Notes relevant to [=XJapan=]:
118	UsefulNotes/AlcoholismAndAlcoholAbuse \| UsefulNotes/TheEighties \| UsefulNotes/LosAngeles \| UsefulNotes/{{Japan}} \| UsefulNotes/HeavyMetal \| UsefulNotes/NamesInJapanese \| UsefulNotes/TheNineties \| UsefulNotes/{{Punk}} \| UsefulNotes/{{Suicide}} \| UsefulNotes/TheNewTens
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120	----
121	!![=XJapan=]'s Music Provides Examples of:
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123	* AceCustom: The musical version: The Creator/ExtasyRecords studio, which can be and has been used for many artists, but is specifically customized for X Japan, Music/VioletUK, and Yoshiki's solo works. Yoshiki's acrylic "crystal" drum kit and piano, and his drum configuration. Taiji's bass setup. hide's guitars. Sugizo has a few guitars and one violin that are this, as well.
124	* AdvertisingDisguisedAsNews: For a while at the beginning in Japan they used variants: getting interviewed whenever they could for any reason possible, getting on shows for any reason possible, and even staging performances and "inviting" the media to attend (usually without the entire news organization knowing they were covering a staged, planned performance until they already had), the most famous of these being ''ORGASM at YASHIRO NOODLE SHOP.'' They tried it again in 2010-11 with Yoshiki making a few US TV appearances (around the Lollapalooza tour then over his charity efforts for the Tohoku quake) but, due to the increased presence of PR and staging that made it look even more fake, it only appealed to fans.
125	* AfterTheEnd / AlienInvasion: The theme of the 1994 anime ''Rusty Nail'' PV. In a destroyed world under attack by aliens, Toshi's and Pata's and Heath's characters are fighting for LaResistance against the aliens, where hide's character is their representative, controlled by a HypnoTrinket eye. Yoshiki's character is CrystalDragonJesus and the only one who can get hide's character out of his MeatPuppet status and end the invasion, drawn back to the destroyed earth by Toshi's character's prayer for help...
126	* ALadyOnEachArm: Taiji in the Celebration PV.. along with one on his lap.
127	* AllDrummersAreAnimals: In the 2010 ''Jade'' music video, Yoshiki becomes a werewolf.
128	* AmenBreak: At least used by Yoshiki (obvious, his being the drummer)
129	* AnnoyingArrows: Played straight and then averted in what exists of the ''2010 Kurenai'' PV footage (the pachinko clips) - in one of its alternate endings, Yoshiki catches a flaming arrow in his hand saving the princess from it. In another, he takes an arrow through the shoulder - which causes him to collapse and die inside the burning castle.
130	* {{Anorgasmia}}: It's possible that this is referred to in the lyrics of ''Orgasm,'' along with, obviously, it and the song being an aversion of the trope.
131	* AtomicFBomb: The 1987-93 live concert intro, delivered in Toshi's best MetalScream: "ALL RIGHT YOU MOTHERFUCKERRRSSSSSS!!!", later replaced with a different intro, though it would reappear once, in the 2008-09 countdown gig.
132	* AudienceParticipationSong: Kurenai, at least during the last live.
133	** "X" And its most legendary participation, the X jump? Millions of fans doing it at the same time = 2.0 earthquake.
134	** In the 2008 and 2009 lives, it was "Tears" and "X."
135	** In 2010, "IV," "Endless Rain", and "X".
136	** In 2014, ''almost every other song.''
137	* AvantGardeMetal: Their style, pretty much all along, has been fusing genres of metal, rock, and neo-classical music that purists would say have ''absolute zero place'' with each other. It's CrazyEnoughToWork.
138	* AxCrazy: A recurring theme (possibly due to AuthorAppeal - Yoshiki, hide, Taiji, and Toshi all suffered from mental illness to varying degrees) in Music/XJapan's lyrics. If they're not inside the mind of someone who is AxCrazy ("Stop Bloody Rain," "I'll Kill You," "Kurenai," and "Week End") they're a deconstruction of AxCrazy ("Week End"), exploring the boundary between sanity and AxCrazy ("Art of Life") or telling the story of someone who is AxCrazy ("Rose of Pain.")
139	* BadassDriver: Subverted in the 2010 version of the ''Rusty Nail'' PV. Toshi ''looks'' like he's going to be the BadassDriver, until his self-driving car hits LA traffic (in the future, some things never change, after all...), but it's Heath, playing the role of the BadassBiker, that gets him to where he's going.
140	* BadassBiker: Heath played the role in the 2010 ''Rusty Nail'' PV as a CallBack to his predecessor as a bassist.
141	* BloodBath: The song "Rose of Pain" from their album ''Blue Blood'' is about the {{Trope Namer\|s}} UsefulNotes/ElizabethBathory and hints at this practice.
142	* BoozeFlamethrower: Taiji did this in the ''ORGASM at Yashiro Noodle Shop'' demo/PV/media attention seeking bid. Both Taiji and hide did it onstage in the early days of the band. There is in fact some 1987-88 concert footage of Taiji and hide actually ''both doing it at the same time'' in a classic stunt to create an "X" with the flames.
143	* BoundAndGagged: Yoshiki, although bound and blindfolded, not gagged, in ''White Poem'' PV and live.
144	* BreakupSong: ''Silent Jealousy,'' ''Say Anything,'' and along with being a sad love song, ''Crucify My Love''
145	* BSODSong: Two. "Art of Life" is the most famous, as it is Yoshiki's. "Drain" is arguable, but some see it as the beginning of hide's fall into a spiral of depression and self-harming behavior...
146	* CarefulWithThatAxe: Toshi in live performance, though not on studio albums for the most part. In some intros to "Sadistic Desire," hide on backing vocals.
147	* CastFullOfPrettyBoys: The band until roughly 2011, when Pata dropped Visual Kei as a style.
148	* CoolBike: These have made a few appearances in PV:
149	** Courtesy of Music/TaijiSawada, you have the old-style Honda (e.g. no fiberglass casing) bike in ''Week End'' PV, and the Harley in ''Celebration'' PV.
150	** In the ''2010 Rusty Nail'' PV, Heath has a Honda sportbike.
151	* CoolCar: The ''self-driving'' Maserati in ''2010 Rusty Nail'' PV. The real car actually belongs to Yoshiki, though it is obviously not self-driving.
152	* CoverVersion: Their very first song as a band (while still consisting of Yoshiki and Toshi alone) was "In The Mirror" by Music/{{Loudness}}. More covers in their early days as a band (including, but not limited to, "Anarchy In The UK," "20th Century Boy" (which is probably their most famous cover since it was performed with Kurenai as the B-side to the Kurenai single and in at least one show and one TV appearance), "Ode To Joy/Beethoven's 9th" (also a very famous cover due to its being a part of many performances of a certain more well known song), "Black Diamond," Hanoi Rocks's '"Tragedy," and more.)
153	* DarkerAndEdgier: When they debuted in 1987, they were this to pretty much ''all'' of the Japanese music industry. There was a reason that Yoshiki had to make his own label for the band - ''no other label would take them'' until they proved that people really wanted to hear them and see them despite their not being bubblegum pop and, at the time, being part of a scary underground scene no one understood with connections to delinquents, overemotional and over the top displays, and songs about sex, drugs, violence, and all three in combination. It took them until 1989 to get their first major label signing with Sony/Columbia for ''Blue Blood,'' and even for a short while after hitting the mainstream they were still seen as this, only completely beginning to lighten and soften once Taiji left the band and once artists such as Kuroyume cornered more extreme lyrics and actions. While very few would consider them this as of TheNewTens (both because many of the most shocking things they did are ''normal'' for rockers and metal artists at least now, and because they have gone LighterAndSofter), it was their being this way in their time that paved the way for modern DarkerAndEdgier acts such as Music/DirEnGrey and Music/TheGazette.
154	** The cover of the ''Born To Be Free'' single is so, compared to any of their post 2008 work.
155	* DecapitatedArmy: In the 1994 anime ''Rusty Nail'' PV, the only time the alien invasion in the postapocalypse world is defeated is when hide's character's control eye is broken, and the one-eyed monster using him as the target is turned into roses via Yoshiki's character's throwing roses at it.
156	* DeclarationOfProtection:
157	** In the lyrics of ''Endless Rain,'' the singer makes an implied one to his lover.
158	** In the 1994 anime ''Rusty Nail'' PV, Toshi's character to the girl he saved and Yoshiki's character to hide's character.
159	* DespairEventHorizon: A common theme in the band's lyrics and videos: the concept of reaching the DespairEventHorizon and going beyond, either into AxCrazy or into survival.
160	* DeusExMachina: Yoshiki in the 1994 and 2010 ''Rusty Nail'' PV s. Played with in two ways in the 2010 Kurenai PV: played straight in one ending, where he rescues the princess in the castle by appearing and fighting his way out with her, averted in another where he gets shot by an arrow and becomes a FailureHero in a BolivianArmyEnding.
161	* DiabolusExMachina:
162	** The CycleOfRevenge in ''Week End'' PV. There's no real reason why the first murder happens, but there doesn't seem to need to be. This is GeniusBonus TruthInTelevision with a bit of FridgeLogic implied: The CycleOfRevenge is the closest thing to a DiabolusExMachina in RealLife, as many of the things that start it are petty, unknown, or otherwise nowhere worth all the people that end up dead and hurt because of it.
163	** The HypnoTrinket that controls hide's character in 1994 ''Rusty Nail.''
164	* DidYouJustHaveSex: In one PV there is a scene that is either director's cut or outtake (no one knows for sure) that was one thing that fueled the Taiji/Yoshiki ship - a bed scene showing an equally angry and pleased Taiji leaving the bedroom where Yoshiki lay in bed.
165	** The bed scene in film version ''Jade,'' thanks to the full footage and complete outtakes never escaping the studio, is this + FadeToBlack + SexyDiscretionShot. This may well be a case of NoodleIncident and LetUsNeverSpeakOfThisAgain having led to this - Yoshiki accidentally set the bed ''on fire'' during the actual scene leading to everyone on set getting a cold shower from the old, [[ToiletHumor sewage]][[{{Squick}} filled]] sprinkler system where they were filming.
166	* DigitalPiracyIsEvil: ''Averted,'' for the most part. The band's popularity outside of Japan actually happened as a result of piracy and copying: first via underground [=DJs=] in China and Thailand and other Asian countries who happily pirated and played their work, then globally via the Internet and especially Website/YouTube, where their music and visuals really stood out and gained a ''lot'' of attention. Yoshiki knows this, and as a result is very lax on even complaining about piracy and has even gone out of his way to encourage "semi-official" bootlegs and has not gone out of his way to get video footage removed from Website/YouTube.
167	** Played straight, however, by some of the other companies involved such as TV broadcasters who've done their interviews and the like. This is why there is an effort to download and duplicate interviews and appearances and the like, because some ''very'' interesting footage has disappeared this way, including the interview where Taiji was ''beyond'' high and attacking the station mascot and having giggle fits, and the appearance where a fangirl asked Toshi to sign her dildo.
168	** Played straight to a laughable degree by EMI, which managed to delete the ''Jade'' PV off X Japan's ''own Youtube channel'' for copyright violation. Which led to the ironic situation of anyone who wanted to see it or link to it ''having'' to link to actually pirated versions until someone made them aware of their error.
169	* DistressedDude: Yoshiki, in quite a few [=PVs=] and in one live (''White Poem II'')
170	* DisturbedDoves: Sugizo stirs up a flock of these in ''Rusty Nail'' 2010 version, in a scene seen as him paying tribute to hide.
171	* {{Dominatrix}}: These appeared in ''White Poem'' PV and live.
172	* DoubleEntendre: Quite a few. That said, the songs in which they are included are often [[RefugeInAudacity incredibly lacking in any subtlety at all]].
173	* DramaticShattering: The videos for "Week End" and "Jade.". Also happens [[RockersSmashGuitars in]] [[TrashTheSet live shows]] and pretty much [[BarBrawl elsewhere]]
174	* DramaticWind: Makes appearances in the 2010 ''Rusty Nail'' PV, most notably in Yoshiki's scene of walking to and from the helicopter and in Sugizo's doves scene.
175	* DrivenToSuicide: Yoshiki in the original ''Kurenai'' PV, Yoshiki and hide in the ''Week End'' PV, Yoshiki in the ''Silent Jealousy'' PV.
176	* DrowningMySorrows: In the ''Week End'' PV, Pata. In 2010 ''Rusty Nail'' Toshi in a different sense - trying to numb himself to the boredom of his GildedCage..
177	* DualMeaningChorus: "Week End." The song's chorus is about the suicidal/homicidal narrator being at "his wit's end" and "at the world's end" due to Yoshiki's odd wordplay. It makes sense, though: the idea being, "the end of a life" is indeed the "end of the world." For who's dying, anyway....
178	* EarthThatUsedToBeBetter: Implied in the "future UsefulNotes/LosAngeles" of ''Rusty Nail'' 2010. A bit LighterAndSofter than the original anime ''Rusty Nail'' PV, which was set AfterTheEnd during an AlienInvasion as mentioned above.
179	* EldritchAbomination: The one-eyed monster alien and its minions in 1994 ''Rusty Nail'' PV.
180	* EpicRocking: ''Art Of Life'' is the band's most extreme example, its full version clocking in at 29 minutes (33 in one live version). ''Orgasm'' and ''X'' live ([[FridgeBrilliance usually around]] [[DoubleEntendre 15-30 min for the former]], 10-12 min for the latter though both's studio versions are ordinary length for rock songs), and ''Rose of Pain'' full version (10-11 minutes) all are as well.
181	* EverybodySmokes: Cigarettes show up in their videos and lives and the like a lot, which does give them a dated look when they do, since many modern bands at least try to keep it off camera for either their own feelings in the matter or not wanting to upset MoralGuardians.
182	* {{Fanservice}}: It exists.
183	* FingerGun: Both Taiji and hide would use this gesture in [=PVs=] and onstage.
184	* FriendlyNeighborhoodVampire: Yoshiki plays into this ''a lot.''
185	* GadgetWatches: Sugizo has one in ''Rusty Nail'' 2010 version.
186	* {{Gasshole}}: A small meme once originated about Yoshiki being one, because of a pic that captured a pyro going off behind him that looked as if he was blasting fire from his ass and because of his love for UsefulNotes/McDonalds.
187	* GenreRoulette: They've been thrash metal, speed metal, VisualKei, Post-VisualKei, VisualKei again, glam metal, GothicMetal, GothRock... as the band themselves says, no label is sufficient enough for them.
188	* GildedCage / LotusEaterMachine: The "Luxury Life" segment of ''Rusty Nail'' 2010 - Toshi is stuck in one of these. It's a subverted ShoutOut as well - he was living in a situation that was anything ''but'' a GildedCage and yet trapped in that living situation the same way, in RealLife.
189	* GoingCommando: There's some onstage pics of nearly all the members that look like they were doing this at one point or another. Most infamously, Toshi at one 2009 gig where this apparently combined with RagingStiffie, and Heath at Lollapalooza 2010.
190	* GratuitousEnglish: Happened a lot in the early days due to Toshi not a having a very good grasp on English yet (and also because hide and Yoshiki's lyrics weren't exactly very good English, either). Reaches Narmful levels with hide's conversation with Cinderella in the PV for "Celebration".
191	--> '''hide:''' You wanna free damn?
192	--> '''Cinderella:''' Yes!
193	--> '''hide:''' Ret's go to Hebble!
194	* GrayRainOfDepression: Inverted in ''Art of Life'' with "all I see is drowning in cold gray sand..."
195	* GreatestHitsAlbum: more than one.
196	* GriefSong: Tears, which was written for Yoshiki's father who committed suicide when Yoshiki was 10. Without You and Jade are both written for late guitarist and Yoshiki's best friend hide.
197	* HappilyFailedSuicide: The theme of ''Art of Life,'' which is both the band's and Yoshiki's magnum opus ''and'' one of their most life-affirming songs.
198	* HeavyMeta: See "Easy Fight Rambling" and arguably "Desperate Angel." "Joker" could arguably be this, if some of the song's lines do indeed refer to ''mitsukano'' CompensatedDating exchanges in VisualKei.
199	* HighClassGloves: Yoshiki and Heath have worn these on occasion.
200	* HighlyVisibleNinja: Yoshiki in the 2010 ''Kurenai'' pachinko vid.
201	* HorribleHistoryMetal: ''Rose of Pain,'' about UsefulNotes/ElizabethBathory.
202	* IconicItem:
203	** Yoshiki's clear Plexiglas grand piano. After the 2011 tsunami, he auctioned one off for over $200,000 to raise money for relief efforts.
204	** hide's yellow, heart-covered guitar.
205	** The KB-Criminal bass that was designed for Taiji by Killer Guitars.
206	* IllKillYou: The band's very first song (see the discography above).
207	* IndecipherableLyrics: Played straight sometimes, averted others. Often dependent on performance.
208	* IntercourseWithYou: Many songs, especially before 1993.
209	* InterplayOfSexAndViolence: ''Sadistic Desire,'' 'White Poem.''
210	* {{Instrumentals}}: Most of the band's albums include at least one, with "Dear Loser", "[=XClamation=]", and "Piano En Es Dur" being entirely instrumental and "Give Me the Pleasure", "Prologue - World Anthem", and "Love Replica" only containing brief spoken word parts.
211	* LanguageBarrier: One reason the band didn't take off outside of Japan until the mid 2000s and its boost from piracy and more open-minded fans, despite being on par with the Big Four metal bands in TheEighties: many Western metalheads of the time just couldn't get their heads around a heavy Japanese accent (which was why Music/{{Loudness}} and Music/ShowYa didn't do very well in the West either) much less lyrics that weren't in English.
212	* LargeHamTitle: ''Blue Blood,'' ''Rose of Pain,'' and ''Art of Life'' all could be considered Large Ham Titles
213	* LastNoteNightmare: 'Jade.' 'I.V.' could also qualify.
214	* LaughingMad: hide. 1992 ''On The Verge Of Destruction'' ''hide no heya/hide's room.'' That weird, chilling laugh is possibly the inspiration for [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyVI Kefka]], and it adds to the eerie atmosphere of the guitar solo and scene. Possibly actually ''was'' made on drugs (or at least lots of alcohol).
215	* LeadBassist: Taiji, back in the 80s and early 90s.
216	* LighterAndSofter: The band has seemed to self-censor itself slightly since the reunion, aside from Toshi going off-script with TooMuchInformation or Yoshiki's love of the PrecisionFStrike. Most if not all of the IntercourseWithYou and BDSM songs are not performed live anymore, and while some of this is most likely due to physical capacity (e.g. ''Stab Me In The Back'' and ''Standing Sex'' both require drumming that would likely leave Yoshiki in the hospital if he tried it at this point) there may be other reasons as well.
217	* LotusEaterMachine: Inverted in the ''Dahlia'' PV - the imprisoning machine gave the girl ''nightmares'' of torture and suffering and pain until she broke away from it.
218	* LoudOfWar: Used in the ''Celebration'' PV song with the piano solo. ''Damn''.
219	* MasqueradeBall: What exists of a non-live PV for ''Jade'' is this.
220	* MelismaticVocals: Toshi is ''quite'' capable of this, and can also easily combine it with the MetalScream. This combination created the LastNoteNightmare on ''Jade.''
221	* MetalScream: Quite a few songs, most common in live.
222	* MilkingTheGiantCow: Toshi sometimes does this onstage.
223	* MisogynySong: "Sadistic Desire" and "Vanishing Love." Possibly "Standing Sex," if you take the more heterosexual interpretation of it as opposed to the "rough sex between men" interpretation.
224	* MonsterMisogyny: The POV of the subject of ''Sadistic Desire.'' Played for titillation, which is what made the song a MisogynySong. (Although, some people just don't care about what the lyrics mean...)
225	* {{Mooning}}: There is one very old black and white newspaper pic where Taiji and Yoshiki mooned the reporters.
226	* MoralGuardians: A straw moral guardian is parodied in ''Celebration,'' although the young age of the kid the parent is guarding actually makes the parody fall flat.
227	* MotorMouth: hide on backing vocals in some songs and some of his ''hide no heya/hide's room'' performances.
228	* MurderBallad: ''Week End.'' The lyrics are about a murder-suicide from the point of view of the ones committing them, and the music video consists of all of the band members dying in various ways. BolivianArmyEnding, DownerEnding, EverybodysDeadDave are all invoked in the universe of the PV.
229	* MurderersAreRapists: ''Sadistic Desire,'' which is this trope from the murderer/rapist's POV.
230	* MyNaymeIs: Overlaps with StageNames for hide, Pata, Sugizo. Taiji, who went by that name as a nickname offstage as well, rather than his birth name Yasuda.
231	* {{Narm}}: The announer playing over the loudspeaker during the ''World Tour: Live In Tokyo 2009'' gig says this rather ridiculous line seemingly out of nowhere. (In HarshVocals):
232	--> ''YOU CAN DO ANYTHING! YOU'LL BE ALL RIGHT!''
233	** The entire sketch that opens the ''Celebration'' video. It somehow manages to be ''even narmier'' than the Music/TwistedSister "We're Not Gonna Take It" video that so obviously inspired it.
234	* NobodyLovesTheBassist: Both averted and played straight. Averted in that Taiji and Heath ''both'' have large and dedicated fan bases. Played straight in that large portions of the Taiji fanbase dislike Heath, and that some Heath fans don't like Taiji or Taiji fans much.
235	* OdeToIntoxication: ''Easy Fight Rambling,'' ''Joker,'' ''Standing Sex,'' the non gay sex ''Jealousy'' version of ''Stab Me In The Back,'' at least...
236	* OneLetterName: The used to be known only as "X".
237	* JustForFun/OneMarioLimit: Musicians named Yoshiki or Hideto in Japan usually need to alter their names, e.g. to Music/{{Hyde}} or hide-zou rather than hide, or Yoshiki (last name) rather than just YOSHIKI, to avoid confusion.
238	* OneSteveLimit: The possible reason why they haven't been going just by X since the late 80's/early 90's, to avoid confusion with [[Music/XUSBand X the American punk rock band]] -- who allegedly sued them over the name [[InvokedTrope and forced the name change]], although they deny doing so.
239	* PrecisionFStrike: In the old concert open, in the lyrics for "Desperate Angel" and "Born To Be Free," and in backing vocals for "Joker."
240	* PuttingOnTheReich: Three band members have done this, although more often in photoshoots or the like (where hide and Sugizo tended to do so)
241	* RageAgainstTheReflection: In hide's part of the ''Week End'' PV.
242	* RearrangeTheSong: Yoshiki really likes "Silent Jealousy" and has rearranged it at least twice for side projects, among other songs...
243	* RevolvingDoorBand: While their lineup eventually stabilized, the band rotated musicians very frequently in their early days. To put things into prespective, hide and Pata were the band's 10th and 11th guitarists, respectively, and Taiji was briefly a member in 1985 before rejoining for a more permanent position from 1986 to 1992.
244	* RockstarSong: "Easy Fight Rambling."
245	* SacrificedBasicSkillForAwesomeTraining:
246	* SanitySlippage: A common theme in lyrics, accentuated by music or the lyrics/singing "falling apart." ''Rose of Pain,'' ''Voiceless Screaming,'' ''Art of Life,'' ''Drain'' are all major examples, though there are many more.
247	* SelfHarm: Quite a few of their songs and [=PVs=] depict or imply SelfHarm or the intentional seeking of injury/pain. The most visually explicit would be the PV for ''Week End'' or ''White Poem,'' and the most lyrically explicit direct reference to self-harm would be in the 2014 song ''Hero,'' with a direct reference to cutting.
248	* SexDrugsAndRockAndRoll: A fairly large portion of early X's musical output (including, among others, ''Orgasm,'' (which may even be about ''both'' if the part about trying and failing for it is a reference to one of MDMA's more notorious effects) ''Stab Me In The Back,'' ''Joker,'' ''Vanishing Love,'' and ''Standing Sex''), and the band members' personal lives, especially in regard to hide and Taiji.
249	* ShoutOut: Yoshiki started out as a KISS fan, as did hide. There are therefore a fair amount of KISS shoutouts in X Japan, as well as shoutouts to other Western metal, rock, glam, and punk bands....
250	* SignatureStyle: Early on, they played a hybrid of extreme ThrashMetal and HairMetal, which, during TheEighties, would have caught metalheads off-guard, as both genres were seen as polar opposites and therefore very difficult, if not, nigh-impossible to combine. From ''Art Of Life'' onwards, they changed their musical stylings in favor of a more progressive sound that still features their established glam-inspired thrash, but now in UncommonTime and with neoclassical passages (and sometimes, ballad passages) thrown in.
251	* SomethingAboutARose: Roses (and thorns) are a favorite metaphor of Yoshiki's, appearing in many songs.
252	** In the 1994 anime PV for Rusty Nail, Yoshiki's anime avatar used roses as his weapon.
253	* SpiritualSuccessor: They're regarded as the Japanese answer to Music/JudasPriest.
254	** Their non-Japanese fandom community has drawn comparisons to being a fusion of the Music/{{Kiss}} Army with [[Music/TheGratefulDead Deadheads]], with the propensity of fans to follow the band literally around the world or around their countries, for the sheer amount of fan creations and fan support and fan devotion in general, and for the fan communities that fans on similar sides of the various broken bases/able to overcome their differences create.
255	* StuffyOldSongsAboutTheButtocks: The original and single and live version of ''Stab Me In The Back,'' which is about male/male sex. (The album version on ''Jealousy'' has the lyrics changed to be more ambiguous and about sex on drugs.)
256	* StringyHairedGhostGirl: One of the "Hanako"/"toilet ghost"/"well ghost" type can be found in the ''Silent Jealousy'' PV, though a slight subversion in that her hair is long and ''curly'' not straight.
257	* TalkyBookends: The video for Celebration.
258	* TamerAndChaster: Zigzagged but mostly played straight over the 2008 reunion and forward, which used to have songs such as ''Stab Me In The Back'', ''Orgasm'', ''Standing Sex'', and the like - as well as lots of onstage man-on-man fanservice - as a regular feature of the setlist for almost all live shows. Post 2008, ''Orgasm'' was the only one to remain in the setlist (and only then for certain shows for the full version - the gigs outside Japan didn't even feature the full version, if they featured it at all), and most of the homoerotic fanservice became more of the WittyBanter and CallBack variety.
259	* TryNotToDie: In the lyrics of "Born To Be Free."
260	* VideoFullOfFilmClips: The original one for "IV." Justified in that the song was the closing song to ''Film/SawIV''.
261	* VirtualGhost: hide's hologram in the 2008-2009 performances.
262	** Also for Yoshiki in the 2010 North American Tour, as mentioned above.
263

Context Music / XJapan