Maps of Music

Vanishing Vision (1988)

Where the lyrics of Vanishing Vision take you, and where it was really made.

Vanishing Vision was released on an independent label yet reached the main Oricon Albums Chart, making X the first indie band to enter it.

Place unknown

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Vanishing Vision: debut studio album by Japanese heavy metal band X Japan, then known simply as X
Released 14 April 1988 on drummer Yoshiki's own label, Extasy Records
Topped the Oricon indies chart and reached number 19 on the main chart
Title chosen to mean the band was shedding its shameless image for a fresh start
Cover art drawn by Shiro Nishiguchi, inspired by "Sadistic Desire", with input from each band member

Band toured extensively in support of the record
Vanishing Tour '88 Spring ran through March and into early April
Vanishing Tour Vol.2 visited 20 locations for 24 shows from June to July
Burn Out Tour '88 Oct. had 12 performances throughout October
Limited pressing of 5,000 picture discs in late October 1988, marking sales of 20,000 copies
Includes a separate flexi disc of "Stab Me in the Back" recorded live at Kyoto Sports Valley
CD released 15 October 1989, after the band's second album Blue Blood on the major label CBS/Sony
First CD press included a photobook; the Extasy mail-order version included a sticker designed by Hide

X Japan is a Japanese rock band from Chiba, formed in 1982 by drummer and pianist Yoshiki and lead vocalist Toshi.
The group began as a predominantly power/speed metal band with heavy symphonic elements and later moved toward a progressive sound with an emphasis on ballads.
The band is widely credited as one of the pioneers of visual kei, a Japanese movement comparable to Western glam.

Current members are Yoshiki (drums, piano), Toshi (lead vocals), Pata (guitar) and Sugizo (guitar, violin).
Hide, who died in 1998, and bassist Heath, who died in 2023, are still considered members by the band.

The band released its debut album Vanishing Vision on Yoshiki's own Extasy Records in 1988 and reached the main Oricon chart as the first independent band to do so.
Blue Blood (1989) brought breakthrough success, and Jealousy (1991) debuted at number one.
The group changed its name from X to X Japan in 1992 and disbanded after its Tokyo Dome farewell show in 1997.
The band reunited in 2007, toured internationally, and released the We Are X soundtrack in 2017.
The band has sold over 30 million records.

Rockin'f magazine: in its June 1988 issue, Hirotake Kawamoto briefly wrote that X created a world of aesthetically beautiful thrash metal with an emphasis on melody lines
Re:minder: Kazuaki Nakatsuka described a diverse array of tracks, including the piano ballad "Alive", "Sadistic Desire", and the instrumental "Give Me the Pleasure"
Nakatsuka called "Kurenai" a "timeless masterpiece" and a quintessential example of melodic speed metal
Nakatsuka noted that the album received consistently lukewarm reviews in heavy metal publications of the time, and was occasionally criticized for resembling Helloween
Nakatsuka said fans supported the album on a level not typically seen in the independent music scene
Music writer Takuya Ito called Vanishing Vision the X album with the most spirit and sheer, unstoppable momentum
Ito wrote that the intense sound, though raw, sublimates the aggression and madness of German metal, thrash, and hardcore into extreme art
Ito described beautiful and intense guitar interplay, spectacular basslines, thunderous drums, and vocals ranging from piercing screams to heartfelt singing

We Rock magazine's "Metal General Election" in 2018: readers and professional musicians voted it the seventh best album in the history of hard rock and heavy metal

Oricon indies chart: number 1
Oricon main Albums Chart: number 19, making X the first indie band to enter the main chart
Sold more than 10,000 copies in its early period, despite the independent label
1990: 158,220 copies sold, 78th best-selling album of the year
Stayed on the charts for 47 weeks
By 1997: sold over 800,000 copies
Digitally remastered CD released 13 September 2000 by Warner Music Japan

The intro of "Alive" contains an excerpt of the first movement of Ludwig van Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata.
"Sadistic Desire" comes from Hide's previous band Saver Tiger, where it was originally called "Sadistic Emotion"; Yoshiki rewrote the lyrics about violent sex, inspired by the 1986 film Blue Velvet.
Yoshiki wrote "Unfinished..." after the album was completed, feeling it needed an ending theme.
Hide revealed that "Kurenai" was his favorite X song before he joined and had to nag the band to play it.
An earlier studio version of "Stab Me in the Back" appeared on the February 1987 Victor Records sampler Skull Thrash Zone Volume I, recorded with Pata as support guitarist.
The 1988 album's versions of "Kurenai" and "Unfinished..." were preliminary and later reworked for Blue Blood.