Over the course of the decade, they would tone down their appearance to appeal to a more main-stream audience.Thousands of fans from all over the globe are assembled a the SSE Wembley Arena in London, UK.What they all have in common is a passion for Japanese rock, more specifically, for the biggest band to have emerged out of Asia.
When asked the surprisingly common question What, rock music exists in Japan, they can vouch for it. And then some. The band in question is named X Japan, the creators of a multi-layered musical genre which has developed and conquered decade after decade and generation after generation. The genre is called visual kei, and this is a brief overview of how this obscure genre came to be. In visual kei music, the visual is as important as the sound. Visual kei however, is none of these, all of these, and everything else. Today, the genre features a variety of sub-genres and so-called mini-movements, and the definition of what is and isnt to be considered as visual kei (or VK) seems to vary between bands, fans, and scholars alike. The reason for its versatility and self-contradictions may be found in its history and origins. At the Wembley Arena show in 2017, Yoshiki told an amused audience of the origin of their name, explaining that they had no name, and decided to call themselves X for the time being. After finding out that the letter X could be a symbol for infinity, they kept it. Japan at that time was beginning to open up more to western influences, and the young duo found themselves enthralled by Western music. The classically trained Yoshiki went on to listen to Kiss, Sex Pistols, David Bowie and Queen, influences which all went into Xs music as the band began writing their own songs. Three years prior, Yoshiki had already set up his own record label; Extasy Records. As a way of promoting the bands signed to the label, Xtasy Summits were held annually starting in 1988; music festivals where the bands would perform together, often covering each others music or music they had been influenced by. ![]() However, the saying the nail that sticks out, must be hammered down was strongly anchored in Japanese society, largely considered to be of the most uniform nations of the world at the time. Yoshiki recently related to Newsweek that X Japans elaborate hair was something they had come up with themselves having no clue that it was associated with overseas metal acts. Many therefore see visual kei as a rebellion against the strict expectations and conformity of Japanese society and gender, together with other forms of expressions and fashion, such as cosplay and lolita, which both are also closely tied to the VK movement. In X Japans case, Yoshiki told the BBC that the idea to dress feminine came to him after being approached by an agent who felt that X Japans aggressive, speed metal type music should be accompanied with military-style clothes. So I did the exact opposite We were rebelling against everything Yoshiki said laughing. It is also a decade which shows the enormous diversity within the genre, from speed metal and power ballads, to aristocratic tendencies and cosplay-bands. While their effeminate looks and big hair were reminiscent of X Japan, their sound was less aggressive, and more melodious. The five members of the band all had different musical influences: Ryuichi (Vo.) and Shinya (Dr.) tended towards pop music, while Sugizo ( Gt.), Inoran (Gt.) and J (Ba.) preferred rock. Additionally, Sugizos violin gave another dimension to their unique sound.
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