X Japan

X Japan (エックス ジャパン, X Japan?) (originally X (エックス, X?)) was a Visual Kei band formed in Chiba, Japan by the drummer and pianist, Yoshiki Hayashi and the lead vocalist Toshi. They started out as a Japanese power metal/speed metal band, and later gravitated towards an alternative rock sound, but always retained a huge emphasis on ballads.

After some years of being an indie band only releasing some demos and one album, in 1989 with the release of their second album, Blue Blood , they exploded into the mainstream of the Japanese music, that album is considered by some to be the one of the best albums in all J-Rock history.

X’s music, under the caring and determined supervision of Yoshiki, never stopped evolving. Their music ranges from harsh but very emotive speed metal tracks like Sadistic Desire, Phantom of Guilt and Vanishing Love, to moving piano ballads such as Tears and Say Anything, to alternative and somewhat more popish tracks from their last period like “Dahlia” and “Rusty Nail”. The majority of X Japan tracks were composed by Yoshiki with a handful of pieces composed by hide as well as some early ones by Taiji.

X Japan is widely considered to be one of the most successful and influential bands from Japan, having sold over 20 million albums and singles and over 2 million videos to date.

Taken from wikipedia