Luna Sea

Related Acts - members:

Tourbillon (Inoran, Ryuichi)
Fake? (Inoran)
X Japan, Juno Reactor, S.K.I.N. (Sugizo)
Ryuichi Kawamura (solo)
Potbelly, support for various artists including Gackt, Miyavi and Toshi (Toshimitsu Deyama) (Shinya)

Luna Sea is one of the bands that made Visual Kei popular in Japan. Originally called Lunacy, the band was founded in 1986 by schoolmates Inoran (guitar) and J (bass). In 1989, Ryuichi joined as vocalist, bringing Sugizo as a lead guitarist and Shinya joined as their drummer. They have stayed in this lineup ever since.

Shortly before they released their first album, they changed their name to Luna Sea, justifying a lot of pv's and stage decorations featuring either sea and water or moon later on. Their tendency to release important information on a full moon day and name their concerts after moon phases might also have something to do with that. In 1992, they were discovered by hide of X Japan and signed to Yoshiki's label Extasy Records. They were very successful in the 90's, though they abandoned their wilder hairstyles and looks for a tamer version (aka the boy band look) pretty soon.

Focusing mostly on rock, the band has accomplished a variety of sounds over their careers, each showcasing the progressive songwriting talents of the band members. Their early career is characterized by a very 80's sound, mixing elements of grunge, metal, punk, and a hint of neo-classical into their playing. The band is known among fans for having a "mysterious" sound.

In 2000, they announced an indefinite hiatus, as each of the members pursued their own solo careers, several of them finding great success. In August of 2010, this hiatus was ended, and the band announced that they were both going on tour again and writing new songs.

Discography:

Luna Sea albums:

Luna Sea (1991)
Image (1992)
Eden (1993)
Mother (1994)
Style (1996)
Shine (1998)
Lunacy (2000)
The One -Crash to Create- (2012)

Luna Sea singles:

Believe (1993)
In My Dream (With Shiver) (1993)
Rosier (1994)
True Blue (1994)
Mother (1995)
Desire (1995)
End of Sorrow (1996)
In Silence (1996)
Storm (1998)
Shine (1998)
I for You (1998)
Gravity (2000)
Tonight (2000)
Love Song (2000)
The One -Crash to Create- (2012)

Luna Sea provides examples of the following tropes:

Eighties Hair - in their early Visual Kei days, downplayed by Ryuichi and Inoran in their 20th anniversary concert lunacy.
Anime Hair - Shinya 1996 (silver-y), Sugizo around 1998 (pink and black, as tribute to hide), downplayed by Shinya in lunacy.
B-Side - There are even two albums of B-Side Singles: Singles, Disc II (1997) and Another Side of Singles (2002), and their fan club is called after one: Slave, B-Side of In My Dream (With Shiver)
Epic Rocking - Rain, Genesis Of Mind, Till The Day I Die and The One -Crash to Create-.
Fan Service - Inoran, Ryuichi and Sugizo, mostly.
Foreign Language Title - Arguably, since all their titles are in English (except one: Kono Sekai No Hatede), yet there is very few English in the actual songs.
Great Balls of Fire - Take a Shinya solo, any Shinya solo.
Greatest Hits Album - Period The Best Selection
Hell-Bent for Leather - Everyone at various points, with Shinya as the notable exception. He prefers the fur to the hide.
Long Runner Lineup - They lasted from 1989 to 2000, then reunited in 2010.
Metal Scream - Prominent in their early albums, as Ryuuichi would start a song clean, and slowly get grittier until shouting at the chorus, for an intense build of suspense.
Performance Video - Dejavu, Rosier, In Silence, Desire, End of Sorrow, Storm, Shine, Tonight.
Putting on the Reich - Sugizo in photographs and tv performance.
Putting the Band Back Together - Literally, in 2007 for a christmas concert, in 2008 for the hide memorial summit and for real in 2010 after ten years of inactivity.
Self-Titled Album - Two of them. Luna Sea, their first, and Lunacy, their last. The band's original name was Lunacy, before they got signed.