X JAPAN's HEATH Passes Away

X JAPAN bassist HEATH has passed away at the age of 55.

According to a report published on NEWS Post Seven, a website affiliated with major publisher Shogakukan, HEATH's sudden passing was due to an unspecified form of cancer that had only recently been diagnosed.

HEATH began his music career as a teenager in the mid-1980s, performing in bands such as PARANOIA. He joined X JAPAN in 1992, replacing TAIJI, and featured on the albums Art of Life and DAHLIA as well as the many singles released since their 2007 reunion.

Away from X JAPAN, HEATH pursued an intermittent solo project in the late-1990s and mid-2000s, ultimately releasing two albums in 1998 and 2006.

Between these bursts of activity, he also participated in supergroups such as Dope HEADz (with X JAPAN guitarist PATA) and Lynx (with DER ZIBET frontman ISSAY).

On August 20th this year, he appeared as a special guest at YOSHIKI's dinner show EVENING / BREAKFAST with YOSHIKI 2023 in TOKYO JAPAN.

JaME would like to extend our condolences to HEATH's family, friends, and colleagues.