Hiroshi Morie (Japanese: 森江 博, Hepburn: Morie Hiroshi; January 22, 1968 – October 29, 2023), known exclusively by his stage name Heath, was a Japanese musician and singer-songwriter. He was best known as bass guitarist of the rock band X Japan from 1992 to 1997, and again from 2007 until his death in 2023. In 2018, readers and professional musicians voted Heath the seventh best bassist in the history of hard rock and heavy metal in We Rock magazine's "Metal General Election".
After performing in bands such as Paranoia and Media Youth, Heath joined X Japan in August 1992, replacing Taiji who had left earlier in the year. They released two number one studio albums, Art of Life (1993) and Dahlia (1996), before disbanding in 1997. Heath then focused on his solo career, which he started in 1995, before forming Dope HEADz with X Japan guitarist Pata and former Spread Beaver programmer I.N.A. in 2000. The group ceased activity after its second album in 2002, and Heath resumed his solo career three years later. He reunited with X Japan in 2007 and continued to perform and record with them sporadically for the next 16 years, until his death from colon cancer in October 2023.
Hiroshi Morie was born on January 22, 1968, in Amagasaki, Hyogo, Japan. His family's home had many musical instruments, and he said they were keen on karaoke long before it became popular. Because his brother, who was four years older, played guitar, Heath picked up the bass. However, he could also play the guitar and drums. In fourth grade, his mother took him and his brother to see Van Halen, and this sparked Heath's interest in rock music. He was influenced by Western acts such as Van Halen, Mötley Crüe, Deep Purple, Rainbow and Kiss, as well as domestic acts such as 44Magnum and Dead End. Heath started playing in bands himself during junior high school. When one of these groups decided each member should have a stage name, Hiroshi chose Heath, which was derived from his nickname "Hi-chan" (ひーちゃん). He always knew he wanted to be a professional musician, and never thought of having a traditional job.
1986–1997: Early bands and X Japan
Heath's first known band was the heavy metal group Paranoia, which he joined in 1986. Vocalist Nov, who later went on to join Aion, explained that when the band was looking for a new bassist, he randomly approached Heath at a live house and asked him to join, without knowing that he was actually a bass player. At the time, Heath had just formed a band called Vanguard with future Justy-Nasty vocalist Kenichi "Rod" Fujisaki, but they disbanded before playing a single show. Paranoia released the album Come From Behind in 1987, which includes the Heath-penned "Honest Promise", before splitting up the following year. In 1988, Heath formed Beet-Sweet with future Eins:Vier members Luna and Yoshitsugu. At his own suggestion, Heath was vocalist of the band. When they broke up after only six months, he formed Chaos Mode with future Eins:Vier vocalist Hirofumi, but left the group shortly thereafter.
After moving to Tokyo in 1990, Heath joined the band Sweet Death. At his suggestion, they changed their name to Media Youth. When they temporarily stopped performing due to the departure of their vocalist, Heath joined Majestic Isabelle in 1991. They notably performed at Extasy Summit '91, an event put on by X drummer Yoshiki's Extasy Records. Heath had previously been introduced to X guitarist Hide through a common friend, and attended their Nippon Budokan concert in May 1990. When Majestic Isabelle went on hiatus in 1991, Heath resumed playing with Media Youth. However, he did not stay with them long, because in May 1992, Hide invited him to join X after a rehearsal with the band. Heath explained that Hide had asked him to record with X as they were lacking a bassist following the departure of Taiji that January and gave him a demo tape of about five songs to learn. After playing with the band in a studio, he received a phone call almost immediately after getting home from Hide, who told him that everyone liked him and to consider officially joining. Once he did, Heath was immediately sent to Los Angeles to re-record the bass parts of his predecessor.
On August 24, 1992, at a press conference in New York City at Rockefeller Center, it was announced that Heath had joined X. At the same time, the band announced the changing of their name from "X" to "X Japan". Heath's first public performance since joining the band was at the October 29, 1992 Extasy Summit, where he was part of a session with many musicians from the various acts that performed at the event, while the year's end saw his first television appearance; the prestigious Kōhaku Uta Gassen event on New Year's Eve 1992. In August 1993, X Japan released Art of Life, which topped the Oricon Albums Chart. However, the members took a break to start solo projects and the band only performed two concerts that year. Titled X Japan Returns, these took place at the Tokyo Dome on December 30 and 31, and were Heath's first proper concerts with the band.
Dahlia, which would become X Japan's last album, was released in November 1996, and once again, it reached the number one spot. It includes Heath's only songwriting credit in the band, the instrumental "Wriggle", which he co-composed with Pata. On September 22, 1997, it was announced that X Japan would disband. They performed their farewell show, aptly titled The Last Live, at the Tokyo Dome on December 31, 1997.
1995–2006: Solo career and Dope HEADz
In 1995, Heath began a solo career. He released a self-titled box set, containing a five-track CD and a home video, on February 22. His October 1996 single "Meikyuu no Lovers" was used as the ending theme of the Detective Conan anime and reached number 10 on the Oricon Singles Chart. It was followed by "Traitor" in February 1997. The single "Crack Yourself" was released in April 1998, and was followed by his first full-length studio album, Gang Age Cubist. Released in June 1998, the album contains two discs, a "Band Disc" and a "Remix Disc". Heath does not play bass on the former, instead, session musician Ju-ken was hired for that position.
For the 1999 Hide tribute album, Tribute Spirits, Heath teamed up with X Japan guitarist Pata, former Spread Beaver percussionist and programmer I.N.A. and used unreleased vocal recordings of Hide to cover X's song "Celebration". This was the catalyst for Dope HEADz, the band the three formed the following year. I.N.A. later suggested that Heath had wanted to form a band with him because they both liked 1990s industrial music, such as Nine Inch Nails. The two initially became close when Heath first joined X as I.N.A., who worked as a programmer for X, was partnered up with him when they were recording Art of Life in America, and got even closer after Hide died in 1998. When he was suggested as the guitarist, Pata decided to give it a try, but said he would quit if he did not like it. Vocalist Jo:Ya auditioned twice before earning the role of frontman in September 2000. Dope HEADz made their live debut at a New Year's Eve countdown event at Cafe Le Psyence in Yokosuka on December 31, 2000. In 2001, they released two singles, "Glow" in February and "True Lies" in April, followed by their first studio album, Primitive Impulse, in June. The drums for tracks recorded in Los Angeles were provided by Joey Castillo, while the drums for songs recorded in Japan were provided by Ryuichi "Ryu" Nishida, who also toured with the band. The singles both peaked at number 35 on the singles chart, while the album reached number 20 on its chart. However, Jo:Ya left the band after a September 9, 2001, concert at Zepp Tokyo. Dope HEADz recruited Ravecraft vocalist Shame as their new frontman and released the album Planet of Dope in July 2002. Whereas Heath and I.N.A.'s songwriting had dominated the band's first album, Heath did not contribute any material to the second. In March 2003, Dope HEADz announced they were entering a hiatus.