YOSHIKI Unveils Wax Figure at Madam Tussauds Hong Kong

X JAPAN's YOSHIKI have joined the ranks of Asian superstars Bruce Lee and Jackie Chan and other famous international figures by having his own wax figure at the renowned Madam Tussauds Wax Museum.

Yoshiki personally attended the event on Mar 26th at The Peak in Hong Kong. A lot of fans attended the event despite the bad weather and there were even shouts of "I love you!" in Mandarin for Yoshiki. The heavy-metal rocker even put the finishing touches by applying his trademark heavy eyeliner on his wax figure.

The measurements for Yoshiki's wax figure started during the London and Paris leg of their X JAPAN's tour last year. It took three months for the figure to be completed with the help of a creative team consisting of 20 people.

Yoshiki's wax figure is expected to be in display in Tokyo when Madam Tussauds Tokyo branch officially opens in 2013.


Sc: JA

X JAPAN Wins Golden Gods Award

On Wednesday night, X JAPAN has won the award for Best International Band at the Golden Gods Awards, after becoming the first Asian band to ever be nominated for a Golden Gods Award.

"Thank you Revolver. Thank you so much for recognizing us," said YOSHIKI, who was present at the ceremony to accept the award. He mentioned their achievements in the United States so far, and revealed the band is planning another World tour soon.

The band beat out internationally acclaimed Rammstein (Germany), Lacuna Coil (Italy), Sepultura (Brazil), Behemoth (Poland) and Meshuggah (Sweden). Other artists that won an award were Avenged Sevenfold, Slash, Korn and Evanescence. The Black Carpet and Show was broadcasted on X Box Live and will be aired again this year on VH1.


Sc: JMW

X Japan to be First Asian Band Nominated for Golden Gods Award

It was announced that X Japan has been nominated for Best International Band at the Golden Gods Awards 2012. This makes them the first Asian band to ever be nominated for this award!
Other bands nominated in this category are Rammstein (Germany), Lacuna Coil (Italy), Sepultura (Brazil), Behemoth (Poland) and Meshuggah (Sweden).
Click here to vote!

The results will be announced on April 11th at America’s biggest hard rock awards show where the following artists will perform this year: Marilyn Manson, Evanescence, Slash, Black Veil Brides and others.

The Golden Gods Awards was created by the hard rock and heavy metal magazine “Revolver” in 2009.


Sc: JA

X JAPAN vs. Black Veil Brides!? And the Winner is...?

The topic has been going around the numerous internet platforms for quite a while already and it has now reached Japanese music news eventually - especially the result of interested!

American online music site "Loudwire" had been opening a poll under its "CAGE MATCH" category, which has recently seen the match between X JAPAN and Black Veil Brides. The battle has ended on January 12th and after winning a total of five battles, X JAPAN have made it into the "Loudwire Cage Match Hall of Fame".

The site had been streaming one song of each band and people could vote for their favorites, whereas X JAPAN's "Jade" was battling against Black Veil Brides "Fallen Angel".

Fans did some serious voting and according to the site, a record number of votes had been cast. It is the first time for a Japanese band to reach this status on the site.

Congratulations to X JAPAN! 

URL: http://loudwire.com/x-japan-enter-loudwire-cage-match-hall-of-fame/


Sc: MJP

X JAPAN Releasing Legendary DAHLIA TOUR FINAL on DVD

On December 21st, X JAPAN have just been releasing their legendary tour final of their "DAHLIA TOUR" as a complete edition on DVD. The live performance had been originally held in 1996 at TOKYO DOME, on December 31st, and the DVD this time is a follow up to the release of "THE LAST LIVE" DVD complete edition, which had been released on October 26th.

Both DVD's contain the originally released footage, as well as unreleased material, making it a must for X JAPAN fans to complete their collection.

To commemorate the release, the DVD contents are also available for mobile download via content provider mu-mo, for Japanese phones.

THE LAST LIVE Complete Edition
Release Date: 2011/10/26

[First Press Limited Edition]
Price: 12,600 Yen (tax in)
GNBL-7009

[Regular Edition]
Price: 5,250 Yen (tax in)
GNBL-7010

DAHLIA TOUR FINAL Complete Edition
Release Date: 2011/12/21

[First Press Limited Edition]
Price: 12,600 Yen (tax in)

[Regular Edition]
Price: 5,250 Yen (tax in)

X JAPAN in Taipei

At the Nangang Exhibition Hall on November 6th, X JAPAN treated fans to a mind-blowing concert.


It had been a three-year wait for all the X JAPAN fans in Taiwan since the last X JUMP concert on May 30, 2009. Although the weather was a little cold and it was raining cats and dogs, the excitement of the loyal fans was not ruined at all. With their red light sticks crossed in an “X,” the well-dressed fans seemed as if they were putting all their love and passion for the legendary X JAPAN on display.

YOSHIKI showed up on stage with his arms crossed in an "X" to declare that they were back, signaling the start of the dream-like time. With the screen behind him showing a big “X,” his “X” pose and the red light sticks crossed in an “X” by all the excited fans, the concert was already so heated up in the beginning. As the music of the first song JADE faded out, the band let the fans sing along and smiled happily on seeing the gathering fans. Then ToshI greeted everyone in Chinese, saying, “Hello! How are you? Taiwan!” With a loud shout of “Are you ready to rock?” one knew that the fire in the fans’ hearts was not going to be easily put out that night!

PATA played the guitar wholeheartedly, so powerful and amazing that the fans screamed loudly upon seeing his strong guitar technique. HEATH’s bass was just as great, intoxicating all the fans. As the temperature rose in the intense atmosphere, HEATH even took off his shirt, setting off a burst of crazy yells from the crowd.SUGIZO’s violin just took everyone’s breath away. Dressed in white, he played a special song only for Taiwan, a beautiful, classic Taiwanese love song titled Everlasting Love. The fans were all surprised and then sang along when he played. It was just so touching. He smiled after getting the fans' explosive reactions with his playing.

As if he didn’t want to let SUGIZO get all the applause, YOSHIKI played a drum and piano solo that also caught everyone’s eyes. He played the drums with all his strength and then switched to the elegant piano. He also prepared a special Taiwanese song for the fans, Gao Shan Qing, which was a song about the energetic and beautiful teenagers living on Mt. Ali in Taiwan and the one of a kind mountain scenery there. All fans went crazy seeing him switch between piano and drums smoothly and confidently. With all those astonishing performances to surprise everyone as always, what else could the addicted fans do? Yes, they screamed his name to show their admiration for his hard work and show.

As 11 000 people did the X jump, the floor of the Nangang exhibition shook harder than it ever had. X JAPANjust led all the fans to rock the world that night. “I love you all! Thank you so much for coming here! We're so happy to be back! WE ARE-" YOSHIKI let every heart of the fans pound in excitement before finishing his sentence, “X!” As the classic song X started, fans and band members all did the fun and meaningful X jump together. At the end of the song, the band members waved goodbye and yelled “Thank you! We love you all!” to all the fans.

Instead of yelling “Encore” as all fans at other lives always do, X JAPAN fans yelled “We are X!” all the time. They even did the wave dance with the flags they made for X JAPAN, the atmosphere never cold or calm. Suddenly, some fans in one area of the hall started to sing the happy birthday song, then all the fans joined in, singing “Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday dear YOSHIKI, happy birthday to you!” Yes, YOSHIKI’s birthday is on November 20th, so close to the performance that all the fans wanted to celebrate in advance together with him. 

YOSHIKI then showed up again, with Chinese robes on him. ToshI chased him and pulled his robes. YOSHIKIthen smiled shyly and took off the Chinese robes, drawing loud screams from the fans when they saw him wearing a nurse dress for them on stage! He then checked ToshI’s blood type and announced the naughty yet correct answer, “Oh! X,” heating up the atmosphere again successfully.

“We are here with HIDE and TAIJI. We are not alone today. We X JAPAN just want to show that nothing is impossible and dreams can come true,” said YOSHIKI. The reminder of HIDE and TAIJI brought tears to the fans’ eyes even though they knew that they would never lose them. All fans held their breaths for the moment, like a holy and beautiful ceremony for the two members. HIDE and TAIJI were with them that night and always, and X JAPAN would always be a seven-member great band in the depths of all their fans' hearts for sure, never forgetting their greatness. 

X JAPAN then played the elegant FOREVER LOVE, followed by ENDLESS RAIN, the song written for dearestHIDE. With the feelings of longing for the two members, the fans became so emotional that they couldn’t stop tears from spilling from their eyes. Following that was the third encore song, the greatest master piece ever, ART OF LIFE. The song evoked such intense emotions in the hearts of the fans that it was almost too much to handle. 

When all the members saw the gift from the Taiwanese fans, a banner on which their faces were printed,YOSHIKI held it and jumped up and down on the stage, smiling happily like a child who had been given a gift that he had always wished for. They put it on the floor of the stage and took a photograph with it and all the wonderful fans that night. YOSHIKI then placed the doll of HIDE on his drums, letting HIDE and the fans see the banner.

Hand in hand, five people – no, it’s seven: YOSHIKI, ToshI, PATA, HEATH, SUGIZO, HIDE and TAIJI did the last X JUMP that night on stage together, and all the fans also did it with them. It was then that the curtains drew shut, signaling the end of a concert that was wonderful beyond description. The love that the fans had for the band, however, will never diminish. 

After the amazing concert that night, the fans in Taiwan can only wait for this world famous band to come back and surprise them again with another ground-shaking X JUMP. As all X JAPAN fans would say, “We are X!”


Set List:
01. JADE
02. RUSTY NAIL
03. SILENT JEALOUSY
04. DRAIN
05. KURENAI 
06. BORN TO BE FREE
07. I.V.
08. X

Encore
01. FOREVER LOVE
02. ENDLESS RAIN
03. ART OF LIFE