Hyde

Hyde, occasionally credited simply in lowercase on his independent releases, achieved major success fronting the visual kei powerhouse L'Arc-en-Ciel, yet his parallel solo trajectory proved equally prosperous. His compositional skills generated strong sales while opening doors to film scoring, and his stage presence fostered both an acting career and a series of distinctive concerts that he has performed and curated alike. Although reportedly born in 1969, he guards personal details closely and entered L'Arc-en-Ciel in 1991 after leaving Jerusalem's Rod. When the group paused activities in 2002, he launched his own recordings. Following years of intense rock output, he explored a gentler approach on the acoustic single Evergreen, which reached number one, its two successor releases, and the debut solo album Roentgen that same year. These projects drew him into cinema: he made his screen debut alongside fellow J-rock artist Gackt in the 2003 film Moon Child, while Gackt issued the related track "Orenji no Taiyou," which included a duet vocal from Hyde.

Moving away from overt emotional themes for a period, he pursued a harder, punk-inflected direction across the next pair of singles—one being the chart-topping Hello—and the 2003 album 666, whose title is voiced "rock rock rock" in Japanese. L'Arc-en-Ciel soon resumed, placing Hyde's solo efforts on pause until the band’s next break in late 2005. During that interval he took a role in the motion picture Last Quarter, arranged for 666 to receive a German release in September 2005, and composed "Glamorous Sky" for Mika Nakashima to perform in the live-action adaptation of the Nana manga. In October 2005 he signaled his return to individual projects by organizing a large-scale Halloween concert featuring appearances by Monoral, Olivia Lufkin, Mika Nakashima, High and Mighty Color, and UVERworld.

February 2006 brought the single Season's Call, penned by Oblivion Dust guitarist K.A.Z., who also joined Hyde on tour, and featured in the anime Blood+. Two months later his third major-label album, Faith, arrived in stores. The socially conscious record adopted a heavy-rock approach and was promoted through an extensive domestic tour plus four initial concerts in the United States. L'Arc-en-Ciel reemerged in 2007 with the single Seventh Heaven and a new studio album, yet 2008 found Hyde embarking on another venture, the duo Vamps formed with K.A.Z.; they issued the single Love Addict and backed it with an extensive slate of autumn live dates.