X Japan💙Blue Blood Album Anniversary (released April 21 1989)💙X LIVE
X Japan has been repped in this sub as hair metal adjacent ~ however, in my opinion, they could easily go alongside EZO and Loudness instead of being solely pegged as Visual Kei, which was heavily inspired by Western glam to begin with. And hey, there is another legit connection as bass player Taiji was a member of Loudness for a while, right there with Masaki of EZO 🤯. Their first 3 albums ~ Vanishing Vision, Blue Blood, and Jealousy ~ are a trifecta and must-listens, in my opinion, for anyone who is unfamiliar but would like an introduction. It is all just as solid and strong as anything that was relevant here in the States during the era. It remains unfortunate that they never broke through here back then…I did not find them until 2021 and have been making up for lost time ever since.
Today (April 21 2026) marks the 37^(th) anniversary of the release of Blue Blood ~ dropped on April 21 1989 as their major label debut. (The actual first album, Vanishing Vision, was an indie release.) This live clip is of their signature song, X, from that tour.
Rest in peace, hide and Taiji…love and miss you both. 🙏💙🙏