Luna Sea formed at the end of the 1980s, when American and British glam metal were gradually losing popularity to alternative rock and grunge at the beginning of the 1990s. However, Japan's original rock groups were late following the Western trend, and as such Luna Sea formed when bands of the visual kei movement, Japan's answer to glam, were finally being recognized and achieving mainstream success. In the early 1990s, while still an indie band, the group's musical style was punk rock with gothic and even some hardcore punk tendencies. According to Alexey Eremenko of Allmusic, Luna Sea's sound is "firmly based in '80s hard rock, with a versatile progressive approach to songwriting, and its softer side, displayed later on in the group's career, proved equally strong." The members' individual music backgrounds also influenced the band's style; as children, Sugizo and Shinya mastered the violin and the traditional taiko drums respectively. They also preferred different genres of music, as Ryuichi and Shinya had a tendency for pop, while Inoran, J and Sugizo loved heavier rock. Sugizo liked England's indie music culture, while J preferred the American rock scene. As for native Japanese bands, Dead End had particular influence on the group in the beginning, with Ryuichi being vocally and visually inspired by their frontman Morrie. Luna Sea and X Japan, despite their different musical styles, have had a close professional and personal relationship since the early 1990s.