Concept
Yoshiki (musician)
Related concepts (5)
Sugizo
, born Yasuhiro Sugihara and better known by his stage name Sugizo, is a Japanese musician, songwriter, composer and record producer. He is best known as the lead guitarist and violinist of the rock band Luna Sea since 1989. Sugizo started his solo career in 1997 and has since collaborated with a variety of different artists. He formed the psychedelic jam band Shag in 2002, the rock duo The Flare in 2004, and the electronica duo S.T.K (Sensual Technology Kooks) in 2005.
Gackt
, better known by his mononymous stage name Gackt (stylized in all caps), is a Japanese musician, singer, songwriter, record producer and actor. Born in Okinawa, Japan, to a Ryukyuan family, Gackt learned the piano at a young age and was raised on classical music and enka before becoming interested in rock music while attending high school. He has been active since 1993, first as the frontman of the short-lived independent band Cains:Feel, and then for the now-defunct visual kei rock band Malice Mizer, before starting his solo career in 1999.
Hide (musician)
, known professionally as hide, was a Japanese musician, singer, songwriter and record producer. He achieved international fame as the lead guitarist of the rock band X Japan from 1987 to 1997 and a solo artist from 1993 onward. He also formed the United States-based rock supergroup Zilch in 1996. Hide sold millions of records, both solo and as a member of X Japan. X Japan rose to prominence in the late 1980s and early 1990s, credited as founders of the Japanese visual kei movement.
Dir En Grey
Dir En Grey is a Japanese heavy metal band formed in February 1997 and currently signed to Firewall Div., a sub-division of Free-Will. With a consistent lineup of guitarists Kaoru and Die, vocalist Kyo, drummer Shinya and bassist Toshiya, they have released eleven full-length albums. Numerous stylistic changes have made the genre of their music difficult to determine, though it is generally considered to be a form of metal. Originally a visual kei band, the members later opted for more subtle attire, but have continued to maintain a dramatic image on stage.
X Japan
is a Japanese rock band from Chiba, formed in 1982 by drummer and pianist Yoshiki and lead vocalist Toshi. Starting as a predominantly power/speed metal band with heavy symphonic elements, they later gravitated towards a progressive sound with an emphasis on ballads. Besides being one of the first Japanese acts to achieve mainstream success while on an independent label, the group is widely credited as one of the pioneers of visual kei, a movement among Japanese musicians comparable to Western glam.