J-Rock Ramblings

Anyone who knows hyde or has been his fan will notice that there is a certain duality about him. He seems to be the most angelic figure in some portraits or videos, while at other times, he's the most evil and cunning looking thing!

The two solo albums he composed, ROENTGEN and 666, have a very strong duality. ROENTGEN is full of soft, melodic and relaxing songs, even comprised of a song called 'Angel's Tale'. The album is very 'easy listening' and is very poetic. HYDE has mentioned that this album had the purpose of showing just how poetic he could be. Trying to demonstrate that he's romantic and kind at heart when he wants to be? However, 666 is just the opposite. This album contains only hard rock songs that are 'fast beat' and loud. The name 666 has an obvious connection to the devil, even if HYDE does like the sound of 'roku' (said in japanese, the number six is 'roku'). The theme of the songs are also quite different from the ROENTGEN album and are more harsh and much less dreamy in quality. 666 expresses his more wild and dangerous side.

His looks are also another aspect from his two albums. His fashion and promotional videos show completely opposite HYDE's, where in 'Evergreen' he has blond hair and is all dressed in white, with a simple zoom out of a cage as the concept of the PV. If you take 'Hello', HYDE has black hair, and is dressed hard rock/punk style and the video shoots random members of the band as they play and the background changes. This is to express the feelings of the songs, but they also demonstrate two very different sides of HYDE. He is also very able to pull it off, since he looks great in both and shows his creative concepts in both album.

Yet his solo work is not the only area that you can find this duality! Concerts seem to be his first step towards expressing his different sides. Although it is a result of the songs, he does dress drastically different in 'angelic' or 'demonic' get-ups. His concerts after sakura left are the most prominent with that kind of get-up. hyde would sing a few songs at the start like 'Shout at the Devil' and be dressed in very black and oftentimes quite vampirish clothes. Sometimes he would have red contacts or he would have devil wings on. However, later, and usually for the song 'Niji' or 'White Feathers', hyde would usually be dressed in white. He would sometimes also have angel wings. And of course, the song 'Niji' would not be played without white feathers floating down on stage.

Also, it's quite interesting how in the 'Toma vs Laruku' game, hyde can change his costumes to that of the devil winged one or the angel winged one. They are both really cute!

His role in the movie 'Moonchild' does put a lot of prominence on his darker side since he plays a vampire in the movie. But is this much of a surprise? I could swear he looked like a vampire in some concerts, and probably more so in some concerts then in the movie. However, he actually got to play the role of a vampire, which I find suited him well even if his acting was not as strong. This just shows that as a creature of the night, he can be quite convincing. Of course, in his short movie 'Siesta ~ Films of Dreams', he shows a much more angelic hyde, looking for freedom, and even seeking a way to fly, wanting wings of a bird he keeps in a cage. He seems so beautiful but sad at the same time, beautiful yet lonely without the wings he longs for so much.

Also, hyde wears this huge ring that has a pentacle pattern on it. This can represent, with one of the points facing towards the top, the four elements and the spirit in wiccan beliefs, or with one of the points facing the bottom, the devil's pentacle. The duality is quite prominent in this context, yet I doubt if he even knows that much himself. However, he does have different colored ones: an amber one, a red one and a cream colored one. He changes them depending on his outfit, or maybe even his mood.

His third solo project, 'Faith', represents his interpretation of christianity and religion. It may not be angelic or demonic in nature, but it expresses and reveals raw emotion that 'faith' or belief can bring to an individual or group through religion. Thus the religious aspect of the album does represent, in a way, a much deeper representation of hyde's 'angelic' side. It may not be visual, but it is meaningful.

The most obvious indication of his 'angelic' personality is his tattoo. The beautiful winged tattoo on his back across his shoulders is very lovely and seems to portrait all that is beautiful and peaceful about him. Even the message given by the tattooist explains how it is his way of expressing his freedom and his personality, and gives him a chance to fly away. Even if hyde had a hard time to choose between angel wings and devil wings, he went with angel ones, a sign of his true character: a nice caring person looking for something more.

Layout and graphics made by me.
Pictures used are from Reincarnation and The Cape of Storms
Brushes used are from www.photoshopbrushes.com