No. 34: X Japan

Clappers, get a load of X Japan. If you like hair bands and songs that sound like Vince Neil singing Motley Crue songs with a mouthful of marbles, then you just might dig the hell out of X Japan. If you are a fan of Adult Swim on Cartoon Network like I am, you probably already know what these guys sound like. You know how certain Japanimation cartoons like Cowboy Bebop always have those sappy songs during the end credits that are a mix of Japanese and Engrish? Well, that's X Japan in a nutshell, folks.... The band has been around in Japan since 1982, which explains the hair, and rode a wave of success in their native land up until around the early '90s and subsequently broke up around 1997. The members soon went their separate ways with some of them even joining cults. Guitarist Hideto "Hide" Matsumo went on to work on his solo career as well as his new band, Spread Beaver (Yeah, he went there.), but soon after died in 1998.

The band announced its return in 2007 and booked shows all over the world including the Taipei World Trade Center and Madison Square Garden among other coliseums and arenas. X Japan announced earlier this year at the Midwest Animation Promotion Society Convention that they would play at Lollapalooza, much to many an ecstatic manga nerds' delight. I'm always looking for new dynamic musical experiences, so I think I will check this band out.

Video For "Tears". Dry your tears with love, people... Dry your tears with love.

Note: X Japan doesn't really have a Myspace or a website... at least an American website... They sort of have a Myspace... But as you can see, it's a ghost town. Basically all I had to go on for this review is the half a song they have on their Myspace plus that "song" in the video, so I apologize to all X Japan fans who are reading this if my article seemed a bit lopsided.