X Japan Invades America with First-Ever U.S. Tour

X Japan will be playing at the Riviera on October 6th @ 7:30PM.  Tickets are on sale now for $29 each; with the "Convenience Fee" ($7.25), its $37.25.  Get there early, because it's standing room only. This venue has one of the best sound systems in Chicago, so it ought to be an awesome show.

Get your tickets now! 

[Source: ShockHound] They've sold over 30 million albums and DVDs in their homeland, and sold out the 55,000-seat Tokyo Dome a record 18 times, but Japanese pop-metal icons X Japan have never managed to rise above cult status in the US — in part because they've never toured here.

That, however, is about to change. Having just made their triumphant US concert debut on Lollapalooza's Main Stage — with a spectacular 50-minute set described by TimeOut Chicago as "the coup of the festival" — the band has announced plans to embark on their first-ever North American tour, with seven concert dates scheduled for September and October.

"We feel like a new band now, like we are going back to the beginning," says X Japan's leader/drummer/pianist/composer Yoshiki about the upcoming concerts, "and it's very, very exciting. We are looking forward to playing smaller venues here in the US., something we haven't been able to do in Japan since the very early days."

Since the band won't be able to fit their gargantuan arena stage setup — which includes catwalks, lasers and holograms — into these theater-sized venues, they'll be relying more upon their music to put the show across, and Yoshiki says they're up to the challenge. ""You don't see good rock shows anymore," Yoshiki recently told one reporter. "Rock doesn't have enough drama now, rap, R&B, and dance music have taken care of that. We want to be part of bringing the drama back to rock."

Formed in 1982 by Yoshiki and vocalist Toshi, X Japan initially scandalized their glam-tastic "visual-kei" look (which has since been imitated by countless bands around the world) before becoming accepted as a Japanese musical institution. The band broke up in 1997, but reunited ten years later — albeit without their guitarist Hide, who hung himself (some say accidentally) in 1998.

X Japan are currently working on what will be their first album to contain English lyrics. According to Yoshiki, about half of the album will feature some of the band's most popular songs from throughout their career, with all lyrics re-recorded in English, and the other half will be brand-new songs. The album's first single will be "Jade," which was performed at Lollapalooza and will included in the set list for the North American dates.

"While we are confident about coming to America," says Yoshiki, "I don't know if we are going to end up being successful or not. But what I do know is that music breaks down barriers, and it doesn't matter what country the music comes from. Good music is universal."

Watch for an upcoming ShockHound video interview with Yoshiki, and catch X Japan at the dates and venues listed below.

SEPTEMBER
25 Wiltern Theatre, Los Angeles, CA
28 Fox Theatre, Oakland, CA

OCTOBER
1 Paramount Theatre, Seattle, WA
3 Queen Elizabeth Theatre, Vancouver, BC CANADA
6 Riviera, Chicago, IL
7 Massey Hall, Toronto, ON CANADA
10 Roseland Ballroom, New York, NY