X Japan

X Japan (エックス ジャパン, Ekkusu Japan?) is a Japanese heavy metal band founded in 1982 by Yoshiki Hayashi and Toshimitsu "Toshi" Deyama. Originally named X (エックス?), the band broke through in 1989 with their second album, Blue Blood. A precursor of the visual kei movement, the band's music gradually evolved from power/speed metal toward a more progressive sound, with an emphasis on orchestral ballads. After five albums and eighteen singles, the band split up in 1997.