L'Arc-en-Ciel In 1991, Hyde left his band Jelsarem's Rod and joined L'Arc-en-Ciel, where he became the main lyricist and vocalist. L'Arc-en-Ciel was signed to
Danger Crue Records, where they released their first official album
Dune. It peaked at number five on
Oricon's main chart, but topped its independent chart. In December 1997, L'Arc-en-Ciel sold out the 55,000-seat
Tokyo Dome in a record-breaking four minutes. Since then, L'Arc-en-Ciel has sold-out the Tokyo Dome 16 times. By 2003, L'Arc-en-Ciel expanded their market overseas and had their first North American debut at
Otakon in Baltimore, playing to an audience of 12,000 people. In April 2008, their Tour 2008 L'7 Trans Asia via Paris led them to 7 cities across the world, where a total of 320,000 people were in attendance. By 2012, L'Arc-en-Ciel became the first-ever Japanese act to sell out
Madison Square Garden in New York. In 2003, L'Arc-en-Ciel ranked 58 on a list of the top 100 Japanese pop musicians by
HMV. Between the years 1993–2000, L'Arc-en-Ciel released 8 albums and in 1999, becoming the first Japanese musicians to not only release two albums simultaneously, but have both albums reach number 1 and number 2 on the
Oricon charts, respectively. After the success of their eighth studio album,
Real, L'Arc-en-Ciel went on hiatus, during which each of the members pursued solo activities. Three years later, L'Arc-en-Ciel returned in 2003 for a series of seven concerts titled "Shibuya Seven Days" in June and July. In March 2004, their ninth album
Smile was released, and the single "
Ready Steady Go" became the opening theme for the anime
Fullmetal Alchemist. In the summer of 2004, L'Arc-en-Ciel officially debuted in North America, where they performed at the anime convention,
Otakon in Baltimore, Maryland on July 31, 2004, as part of their Smile tour. The performance was their first international performance outside of Asia. To celebrate their 20th Anniversary, L'Arc-en-Ciel held their 20th L'Anniversary concert at
Ajinomoto Stadium in Tokyo, a two-day event held from May 28–29, 2011, with each day dedicated to one-half of their career. All of the proceeds from the concerts were donated to the
Great East Japan earthquake relief efforts. In 2012, L'Arc-en-Ciel released their twelfth studio album,
Butterfly, at the beginning of their first world tour. The tour led the band to Shanghai, Taipei, London, Paris, Singapore, New York, Indonesia, Seoul, Japan, and concluded in Hawaii. On March 23, L'Arc-en-Ciel became the first Japanese act to ever perform at
Madison Square Garden. In 2014, L'Arc-en-Ciel performed at the
National Stadium in Tokyo. A year later in 2015, the band put on yet another two-day event called "L'ArCasino", which was held outdoors at the
Yumeshima Outdoor Special Stage in Osaka, constructed specifically for their use. L'Arc-en-Ciel announced a 23-city tour in 2020.
2000–2003: Going solo Hyde made his debut as a solo artist with the release of his first single, "evergreen" in October 2001. The single was released under Hyde's own record label, Haunted Records, which was a division of Sony's
Ki/oon Records. After releasing two more singles, "Angel's Tale" and "Shallow Sleep," Hyde released his first solo album,
Roentgen, in March 2002. An overseas edition featuring all-English lyrics was released in July of the same year. In April 2003, Hyde starred alongside fellow Japanese rock musician
Gackt in the film
Moon Child, which was co-written by Gackt himself. The duo performed the duet "Orenji no Taiyou", which was used as the movie's theme song. The song was also released on Gackt's fourth full-length album,
Crescent. Hyde followed up
Roentgen with the release of two singles, "Hello" and "Horizon", in June and November 2003, respectively. "Horizon" was used as the ending theme in
Ryuhei Kitamura's film
Sky High. His second solo album,
666, was released in December 2003. That same month, Hyde's song "Shining Over You" was used as the commercial theme for the video game
Baten Kaitos: Eternal Wings and the Lost Ocean. In early 2004, Hyde began off his first-ever solo tour "Hyde 2004 First Tour: 666", which spanned 11 cities and 21 shows across Japan. In fall 2004, Hyde starred in his second film,
Kagen no Tsuki, a live-action film adaption of the
manga created by
Ai Yazawa. In the film, Hyde's song "The Cape of Storms" from his previously released
Roentgen album was used as a plot line, and became the unofficial theme song for the movie.
2005–2006: Faith and going international In the summer of 2005, L'Arc-en-Ciel released their 10th studio album,
Awake. However, Hyde continued his solo activities in conjunction with L'Arc-en-Ciel's work. He composed the music for the song "
Glamorous Sky", which was used in the live-action film adaption of
Nana, the popular
manga by
Ai Yazawa. "Glamorous Sky" was performed by the movie's star
Mika Nakashima, with Yazawa writing the lyrics. In August, Hyde and Nakashima performed "Glamorous Sky" live for the first time on the music program
Music Station, with Hyde on guitar. Hyde's fifth solo single "
Countdown" was released in October 2005 as the first song to be released off his album
Faith. The single was released in both Japanese and English, and featured a hard rock version of Hyde's single "Evergreen". The Japanese version of "Countdown" was used for the Japanese version of
Stealth (film). A cover of "Countdown" was used as the "semi-final" stage song in the Nintendo DS rhythm game,
Moero! Nekketsu Rhythm Damashii Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan 2. Later that month, Hyde hosted "Halloween of the Living Dead", a three-night event held at
Club Citta from October 29–31, marking the first of many Halloween concerts to come. Each night of "Halloween of the Living Dead" featured performances not only by Hyde himself, but by other well-known Japanese musicians as well . Hyde created the special Halloween band, Jack-O-Lantern, specifically for the event, which consisted Hyde himself and the band,
Monoral. Other artists/bands who took part in the three-day Halloween event included
Uverworld,
Olivia Lufkin,
High and Mighty Color, Yasu (
Janne Da Arc /
Acid Black Cherry), and
Mika Nakashima. Jack-O-Lantern played covers of their own respective works, as well as a cover of the original "
Ghostbusters" theme song. Hyde's single "
Season's Call" was released in February 2006 as the second opening theme to the anime
Blood+ and was the second single to be released off his album
Faith.
Faith was released in April 2006, and was the first full-length collaboration between Hyde and
K.A.Z, with all songs arranged by the duo. In 2006, Hyde signed on with
Tofu Records as a solo artist, and in June 2006, an overseas version of
Faith was released which included a bonus DVD featuring music videos for both "Countdown" and "
Season's Call". Following the release of
Faith, Hyde, supported by Tofu Records, launched his debut U.S. tour Hyde Faith Tour 2006 across several cities in California. A DVD was released in November 2006 which included documentary footage of Hyde's mini-U.S. tour.
2007–2017: Vamps In the spring of 2008, Hyde rejoined the guitarist,
K.A.Z (
Oblivion Dust), who had previously worked with him on both
666 and
Faith, and formed the hard rock unit, Vamps. Vamps was signed to Vamprose, which was originally Hyde's own record label, "Haunted Records." Hyde assumed the role of lead vocalist, as well as rhythm guitarist, lyricist, and composer, while K.A.Z took on lead guitar, backing vocalist, and composer. The rock duo released their first single "
Love Addict" in July 2008. The first band's self-titled debut album,
Vamps, was released in June 2009, just one month before their first international tour. Following the release of their first album, Vamps launched a ten-date tour in the United States, beginning July 11, 2009, with performances in New York, Hartford, Columbia, Baltimore, Seattle, Portland, San Francisco, Las Vegas, San Diego, and Los Angeles. Their appearances in Hartford and Columbia were part of the
Vans Warped Tour, making them the only Japanese act in the lineup that year. Their final performance in the United States took place at the
Wiltern Theatre in L.A. and was later released on DVD. Vamps performed on board the battleship
U.S.S. Missouri in Hawaii in early September, the first musical act to do so since
Cher. After the band's live tour in the U.S., they were named in the category "Billboard Japan Ranking International 2009" in recognition of their success overseas. In July 2010,
Vamps released their second album,
Beast. Hyde also debuted as a voice actor in
Bakuman, playing the producer of the musician
Koogy, a character who is voiced by
Showtaro Morikubo. Vamps wrote a Japanese version of their song "Get Up" to be sung by Morikubo's character, which was used in the anime. They then recorded it themselves as the coupling track to their single, "
Memories." , 2013 In 2013, Vamps signed on with
Universal Music Group's
Delicious Deli Records and released their first compilation album, ''
Sex Blood Rock n' Roll. In support of Sex Blood Rock n' Roll'', Vamps teamed up with
Live Nation for their first European tour in years, which also included their first performance at a European rock festival, where they played the
Download Festival 2014, held at Donington Park that year. Vamps held their first-ever music festival, Vampark Festival 2015 in February at
Nippon Budokan and featured acts such as
Nothing More,
Gerard Way (
My Chemical Romance),
Buckcherry,
Sixx:A.M., and
Apocalyptica. By April, they began their 2015 world tour in Jakarta before embarking on Sixx:A.M.’s U.S. “The Modern Vintage” tour as a support act. After the brief tour with Sixx:A.M., Vamps made their North American rock festival debut, performing at festivals such as Fort Rock,
Welcome to Rockville, and
Rock on the Range. They concluded their 2015 spring tour with a headlining show at the
Best Buy Theatre in New York. They returning to the UK as special guests on
Apocalyptica’s UK tour in late November in support of the two bands' collaborative single, "
Sin in Justice". In early 2016, the band headed to the studio in Los Angeles with Grammy-nominated producer,
Howard Benson (
My Chemical Romance,
Three Days Grace), to work on recording music for their fourth full-length album,
Underworld. Vamps also performed on
MTV: Unplugged for the first time with
Apocalyptica and the show would be released on DVD/Blu-ray later on that year. They returned to North America at the end of the year, headlining major cities including New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Toronto, and Mexico City, supported by rock band
Citizen Zero. Vamps released their 12th single, "
Inside of Me" in September 2017, with the title track featuring the musician Chris Motionless of the band
Motionless In White. Vamps' fourth album,
Underworld, was released at the end of April in 2017. On May 27, 2017, Vamps performed at the Blackest of the Black festival, hosted by
Glenn Danzig, marking their 4th U.S. rock festival performance, featuring major American rock musicians
Ministry,
Atreyu,
Suicidal Tendencies, and
Danzig. Vamps then returned to Japan for a summer tour, but returned to the U.S. once more in the fall, marking their final tour before going on hiatus.
2018–present: Return to solo work After Vamps announced their hiatus in the fall of 2017, Hyde resumed work as a solo artist, releasing his eighth single, "Who's Gonna Save Us" in June 2018, his first solo release in 12 years. Two more solo singles, "After Light" and "Fake Divine", were released in June 2018 and October 2018, respectively. In 2018, Hyde collaborated with noted musicians such as
Yoshiki and
Mika Nakashima. Hyde produced Nakashima's single "Kiss of Death", which was released in March 2018, their second collaboration in 13 years. The single was used as the opening theme song for the anime
Darling in the Franxx. Hyde collaborated with Yoshiki on the single "
Red Swan", which was used as the opening theme song for the
third season of the anime
Attack on Titan. In the summer of 2018, Hyde launched his first solo tour in over a decade. Hyde Live 2018 tour commenced on June 29, 2018, in Tokyo and spanned across 7 cities in Japan, with a total of 33 performances. Hyde also invited the American rock band
Starset, whom Vamps previously toured with, to open for him during his 7-day stint at Zepp Tokyo. In order to promote the tour with Starset as a support act, Hyde's vocal tracks were added to Starset's original song, "
Monster". The track was then re-released as "Monster feat. Hyde" in Japan on August 10, 2018, and was released on the Japanese version of Starset's album
Vessels. The tour ended in Fukuoka on October 14, 2018. In early 2019, Hyde collaborated once more with Yoshiki on Hyde's single "Zipang". The title refers to an old way of saying "Japan" and was released in February 2019. The track featured Yoshiki on piano and Hyde on vocals, and its coupling song was a cover of
Duran Duran's "
Ordinary World". In March 2019, Hyde's 11th single, "Mad Qualia" was released as the theme song for the Japanese version of
Capcom's
video game Devil May Cry 5. Hyde's fourth solo album
Anti was released in digital format in May 2019, and later in CD format in June. Hyde teamed up with
Drew Fulk (
Bullet for My Valentine,
Bad Wolves,
Motionless in White) and
Nick Furlong (
Blink-182,
Papa Roach,
5 Seconds of Summer,
Diplo), among other producers, to write 10 songs for the album. The CD version of the album reached number 3 on the
Billboard charts in Japan and marked his second full-length English album as a solo artist. Hyde joined
In This Moment on their 13-date U.S. Tour, beginning May 7, 2019, in Louisville, Kentucky. His tour stops also included an appearance at the Welcome to Rockville Festival in Jacksonville, FL (his set was cancelled due to severe weather), the
Epicenter Festival in Charlotte, NC on May 11, the Japan Night concert in New York City on May 12, and concluded with a sold-out headlining show in Los Angeles on May 26. in
Nishinari-ku, Osaka In conjunction with the physical release of
Anti in June, Hyde embarked on a 26-date domestic tour that commenced in Tokyo on June 22 and ended in Sapporo on September 1, 2019. Following the conclusion of his domestic tour, Hyde was invited to tour as a support act for
Starset on their 35-date U.S. “Divisions” tour. Hyde became a tourism ambassador for his hometown,
Wakayama, in January 2019, and following his appointment, a train service named "Hyde Southern" began operating between
Namba Station and
Wakayamakō Station in
Wakayama Prefecture. The trains, decorated with images of Hyde and local landmarks, ran until October 2020. By the end of 2019, Hyde concluded the fall with his arena tour Hyde Live 2019 Anti Final and ended 2019 by performing at the event Rockin'on presents Countdown Japan 19/20 on December 29. In March 2020, Hyde released the single "Believing in Myself", which was composed for the 2020
Tokyo Marathon. In April 2021, Hyde released the single "On My Own", which was used as the ending for the TV anime
Mars Red. In November 2022, Hyde was announced as a member of the supergroup
The Last Rockstars, along with fellow musicians Yoshiki, Miyavi, and Sugizo. The group released their first single, "The Last Rockstars (Paris Mix)", in December of the same year. In June 2023, Hyde released the song "Taking Them Down" which was featured in the
Fist of the Northstar pachinko machines. A day later, Hyde started his 2023 "HYDE LIVE 2023" nationwide tour, spanning 7 cities, performing 18 dates, concluding his tour in September 2023, partnering up with Rakuten NFT, for the "HYDE LIVE 2023 Presented by Rakuten NFT" in Makuhari Messe Event Hall. On September 6, 2023, Hyde released the song "6or9", three days before the concert presented by Rakuten NFT. In 2023, Hyde collaborated with Yoshiki to perform "Red Swan" in the documentary film
Yoshiki: Under the Sky. In 2024, Hyde collaborated with
My First Story on the singles "Mugen" and "Tokoshie", which were used as the opening and ending theme songs respectively, for the
fourth season's
Hashira Training Arc in the anime
Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba. ==Influences and style==