X Japan

Japanese music is not very well-known from European people. For, when you ask to any common French or German how Japanese music sounds, most of them talk about the traditional music with shamisen or biwa like we can hear during Bunraku theatre representations... Nevertheless, the reality is far from these stereotypes... Japanese singers have left their kimonos since a long time now. On the contrary, they seem to be a complete part of the Western music. For, their styles are effectively influenced by American pop stars, and their appearances are closer to the Rolling Stones than any old samurais... However, about ten years ago, a style emerged from Japan. Even if it was largely influenced by the punk movement, it differed from this last one... This musical movement was called Visual Kei, or Visual Rock. It was characterised by outlandish outfits, makeup, multi-coloured gravity-defying hairdos, and heavy electric guitars which could alternate with some awe inspiring ballads. One of the leading bands of this movement was called X. It succeeded in making this movement known and accepted by a large part of the population... This group ruled this movement for ten years, and dragged, with its end, the definitive end of the movement...

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