Dope HEADz

PATA, HEATH and I.N.A had previously been working on a hide tribute album together and decided to form a band in April 2000 - two years after hide's death and three years after X JAPAN's separation.

To create a complete band out of this line-up, they had to find a singer first, so they launched a campaign on TV. The goal was to find a young and unprofessional vocalist who would add a new flavour to the already well-known trio. They got a lot of demo material and after the selection was shown in the weekly TV show "SPARK", they finally decided to take Jo:YA.

Dope HEADz spent one month preparing for their first live that was held together with Transtic Nerve and Takui in the Café le Psyence.

Their first maxi single was entitled GLOW and came out in February 2001. It reached 35 on the Oricon Charts, as did TRUE LIES, released about two months later. Afterwards, they held a small tour from April to May and their official fan club Dope ADDICTION opened its doors.

They didn't take long before making their next move: PRIMITIVE IMPULSE, their first album, came out in June 2001 and reached rank 20 of the Oricon Charts. Starting in August, they went on the virtu@l awakening Tour "PRIMITIVE IMPULSE", but in the end Jo:YA decided to leave the band in autumn.

He was replaced by Shame (ex. Ravecraft) in February of the following year and their first concert with this new line-up was held exclusively for their fan club in the Café le Psyence on March 30th. Dope HEADz's second album, PLANET OF THE Dope, was released in July, but after several concerts the band decided to take a break in spring 2003.

Currently, Dope HEADz is still on a break. Currently all the members are working on new bands, projects and solo-projects.