Himeno-Pretear
Banned
Hideto Matsumoto , better known by his mononymous stage name hide. was a popular japanese musician. He was primarily known for his work as lead guitarist of the heavy metal band X Japan from 1987 to 1997. He was also a successful solo artist and co-founder of the united states based band Zilch.
Hideto Matsumoto died on May 2, 1998. After a night out drinking, he was found hanged with a towel tied to a doorknob in his Tokyo apartment. Authorities officially deemed Matsumoto's death a suicide, and this verdict was reported in the media. Within one week, three fans had died in Copycat suicides, and of the 50,000 people who attended his funeral nearly 60 were hospitalized and about 200 received medical treatment in first aid tents. Later that month, the single "pink spider" was released, entering the charts at number one. The song would also receive that year's MTV video music award in the category "Japan Viewers Choice".
Sales were also strong for the follow up single "ever free", while those of a single released previous to his death "Rocket dive" would also see a substantial increase. American Journalist Nilel Strauss commented on the trend saying that: "In just a few weeks, pop culture in Japan had gone from mourning hide's death to consuming it." Popular interpretation of the lyrics to hide's "Pink Spider", which he had performed on the day prior to his death, fueled speculation of a premeditated suicide, because of clear autobiographical elements, and the song's theme of escape from the vicissitudes of life.
Meanwhile, several of hide's friends and colleagues stated that they believed the auto-strangulation to have been an accident, among them X Japan co-founder Yoshiki hayashi and former X Japan bassist Taiji Sawada. This notion is supported by the fact that no suicide note was left and Sawada theorizes in his autobiography, that at the night of his death, hide may have been practising a technique to relieve upper back and neck pains which guitarists can suffer from continuous use of a shoulder strap. The technique involved was practised by the X Japan members during their touring days and required the use of a towel and a door knob or handle. According to Sawada, Matsumoto may have fallen asleep in his intoxicated state, becoming caught and strangling himself.
Wether i believe it was accidental or not is irrelevant but the fact we should all mourn the loss of a legend on this day is paramount.
long live hideto matsumoto the spider is still crawling in our hearts and minds