With a career spanning thirty five years in 2023 it’s about time we have a page for the man who’s pretty much done it all as both a rockstar and a celebrity in Japan with his only rivals being YOSHIKI and GACKT. L’Arc~en~Ciel, VAMPS, THE LAST ROCKSTARS, and a hugely successful and internationally popular solo career with six albums. Need I say more? HYDE has been around forever and always finds a new way to re-invent himself and live the consoment rockstar life that he has always wanted from childhood with his idol worship of everyone from MORRIE, Kyo (D’ERLANGER), and Baki (Gastunk) to the likes of Motley Crue, Depeche Mode, and David Sylvian. 2023 marks the thirtieth anniversary of DUNE, and HYDE is set to go on another tour in the summer so he’s not slowing down anytime soon, and we might even get the announcement of something from THE LAST ROCKSTARS before years’ end.
So, what are your favorite HYDE projects, do you prefer his solo career over L’Arc, is VAMPS your favorite? Do THE LAST ROCKSTARS have a chance in hell of releasing music? Comment below!
Racking my brain trying to figure out the difference if any between 2004 and 2014 DUNE and what they could possibly do to remaster something that was remastered 19 years ago. Have to spek them when I get home.
I consider myself a follower of his, it was all thanks to VAMPS and his great first album, which made me get into his music little by little. Very constant, hard-working and talented artist. Triple AAA.
I like every project he is involved in, although in all of them I have had jobs that I liked more and others that I liked less.
I don’t like the current path with L’arc because of its few releases and too many anniversary tours. On top of that, admitting that “we’re still together to make money, we barely talk” hurt me, although deep down I expected it.
On the other hand, I have always liked HYDE-VAMPS-HYDE, shame about the separation of VAMPS (I never understood their separation). I’m scared now of HYDE with so many digital singles and nothing physical.
The Last Rockstar is a bit of a dream for me. I love listening to Hyde singing the X Japan track, since I like X Japan but Hyde’s voice more than Toshl’s (I’m not saying it’s better, I just personally like it more). I hope they release an album at least. (the one that will never launch XJapan)
They just felt it reached its end and wanted to do other stuff which is around the time the singles for ANTI started coming out. K.A.Z. seems content with Oblivion Dust and the occasional support. I mean really HYDE’s recent solo is like the evolution of VAMPS.
Hyde was amazing during all the begin of L’Arc en ciel : Dune, Tierra, Heavenly, True…
And he was kind of good during his begin as a solo artist. Especially the ballad album.
All the rest is a bit lifeless, I don’t feel something special, it doesnt feel unique anymore. I probably feel too much of the american influence in his music, like with Vamps. The influence is too big, erasing his personnality.
I will always love SMILE and AWAKE because they were my first albums of them and first J-Rock albums period right when Ready Steady Go was the FMA opening song. Solo wise I love FAITH and Roentgen. I can throw on ANTI and vibe but it doesn’t have the impact the others did. I also enjoyed Kiss, but am not a fan of Butterfly. Dune is amazing which is probably why I have three versions of it.
Last thing he sang in that i liked was Ready Steady Go from 2004, thats 20 years ago… Yeah I loved him during more or less the whole “real” laruku era - before they just started milking old stuff and apparently “dont even talk to eachother anymore” Blurry Eyes to Dive to Blue, Drivers High, Niji… aah there are just so damn many good iconic classic songs its unbelievable.
His solo career never worked for me. I have tried the singles throughout the years and actually listened to a few ones before writing this post as well, and in general they just feel soulless somehow, generic and boring. Someone mentioned influence from ameircan music, that might be one part of it. Or he simply can’t write good stuff on his own, if I remember right Tecchan is the one who wrote all the Laruku classics.
His latest single is a great example actually:
The song stinks tbh… and he tries to be so edgy. It even hurts to see… I don’t want to think this is the same guy as in the “drivers high” PV im watching now…
At last I think he did way too much plastic surgery. I am not gonna post pics here but he is originally a really cool guy. Nowadays he mostly looks like a botox obasan…
you aren’t allowed to show age in Japan, the 8k HD cameras won’t forgive u a skipped botox round.
I really don’t know how you arrived with this comment though, he looks way less plastic than the current generation of idol-adjacent babyfaced jawshaved VK acts.
and ljs a few years ago I would point out he started aging seemingly out of nowhere and that’s typically a sign of being on antidepressant or something like that, but ever since I’ve seen the age train hit Becky Whites and Chad McBros from my past straight into the face once their 20s ended i really dgaf anymore lol.
I never cared for l’arc too much music wise - they have like one song I’ll replay forever and guy who composed it left the band 30+ years ago, but that generation of VK people were stunning young and still are beautiful to my eyes lol.
TLRS are miles more interesting than both his and miyavi’s careers on their own though.
Well not nice to put pics but I think most people agree he is a classic case of plastic surgery addiction, he doesn’t want to get old. You can see it yourself in his latest pv, he is trying to appear more young and crazy than he was in his 20s.
SSRI doesn’t really make you look old. Abuse of benzo does tho. it is said that 40% of the whole population is taking those meds daily, and that Japan is the biggest benso nation on the planet. When I went to get something light to help me sleep a long time ago, when my japanese wasn’t the best, he prescribed me 0.8mg x2 solanax every night, and 3 pills if needed… It’s probably very common in the jrock scene as well since its so hard to earn any money there for so many bands.
Well I recommend you to give two songs another try, blurry eyes and dive to blue!
any newcomer band honestly… double so if they compose for vocaloid things or dabble into female-fronted bands.
I’ve just had a kagerou PV from 2002 pop up in my youtube suggestions, and I sighed through like half of it. it’s like the days of band members having their OG bone structure and personality are literally like gone.
but I mean, my reference point for “plastic surgery addiction” in VK has his own thread on this board in case you’ve missed Mia’s vanity adventures in the land of beauty surgery doctors lol
his career depends on looking younger… and as far as celebrity world goes, he looks good. considering that asian media in general tends to lean on the vain side, VK/rock scenes pretty much carry the essence of that.
I’m not sure what he’s on, but they do - p much all mental medicine eventually relaxes facial muscles, after which gravity hits everything extra hard and you can’t really tone it back after. benzos do that too.
don’t think that would be the case for laruku boi
I mean… thanks I’m familiar with their discography and tend to revisit their stuff once a particular sound craving hits, but generally I can’t call myself an l’arc fan.
The song is nothing special but the rest of your comment seems a bit hard. Drivers high had a totally diffrent vibe, that matched better with a toned down video. This song fits the video and I think it had some very cool parts. The Oni style and Hyde jumping into the audiance! Woa!
I think he even looks a bit wrinkly in the car scenes so I don’t know where you see to much surgery on him. Compared to other people, they did a pretty decened job on him, imho. I also think you overestimate how old people his age look. He’s not that old pleaseeeee!
But don’t you think its a bit sad to see Hyde like that? Like in his newest PV. It honestly like I wrote makes me a bit sad. He doesnt want to accept that hes getting older and tries so hard to appeal to the young generation today. I would say that he even comes off as cringeworthy and it wouldnt surprise me if most people agree with me in silence. And like I said the sound/song itself is terrible, I wonder if it is himself writing the songs and did that for most of his solo career as well. I hate to say it but he doesnt have the talent to write really good memorable music…
Don’t get me wrong I love when artists try new things but this just feels like the wrong direction. I wish he would go a completely different direction for his"second life" career now at 55, or would have changed when he he turned 50, to a more refined, classy direction.
And I hate to come off as the hater, I have problably listened hundreds of hours of my life only to laruku. I used to love them and Hyde. I am so sad that the band just gets together now when they need extra cash (touring) and the famous “we dont even talk to each other” statement, made me even more sad… and then we have the Hyde solo situation where he just… oh ok, I feel Ive said enough about it here at this point…
The cringy the last rockstars project also felt like an extra kick in the balls, as someone who used to love all of them so much… hm.
Dear I am 36. I am already at a point were I dont want to accept getting older. So I won’t blame him. People are always like “can’t you age with dignity?”. Well no, because we are going to die in the end. Why bother?
And that he wants to appeal to the young Generation is your personal interpretation. Maybe he just likes it that way. We don’t know. So I think it’s unfair to judge.
It’s okay if you don’t like his recent projects and that you are disappointed when you loved the old stuff. It seems enough people in Japan still like what he does and they might have a diffrent taste as you.
But I agree that the “we don’t talk to each other” thing is sad. You’d think if you are working together this long you’d become closer. But sounds like passion became just a job.
Huge fan of Hyde - I named my last car after him. I even bought tickets to the In This Moment tour he opened for here in the states before I was a fan of In This Moment so I left after his performance I am now going to see In This Moment as a fan later this year, but that’s beside the point.
I actually remember hearing L’Arc’s music in the original FMA and not liking it really, but watching it as much as I did, it grew on me. L’Arc is great, but I really loved when he was in Vamps the most and now his solo work is also pretty good, it’s in my wheelhouse anyway, I just wish he would release another album.
Or give me the chance to see him live where he is the star of the show…
Seems like HYDE has been a fan of DEXCORE for a while. Here he is last October at a show in Nagoya. Not bad for a indie band to be noticed by an og ojisan of the scene.
Blurry Eyes to Dive to Blue, Drivers High, Niji… aah there are just so damn many good iconic classic songs its unbelievable.
I’m familiar with their discography and tend to revisit their stuff once a particular sound craving hits, but generally I can’t call myself an l’arc fan.
pleaseeeee!
People are always like “can’t you age with dignity?”. Well no, because we are going to die in the end. Why bother?
