Sights and sounds

The band toured the country in 2002. They performed in 10 cities, including Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Chongqing. At first, they struggled to get gigs but quickly built a name.

Li Yu, a 28-year-old fan who caught their first Beijing gig, remembers being shocked to see such an original visual rock outfit then.

"Their striking appearances, fused with their rock music and stage presence, hit me hard," he says.

"I loved their originality, and musical and fashion tastes. Their live show is full of dramatic elements. The costumes, stage settings, makeup and dancing make it more like a theatrical performance than a rock concert."

The band has released three albums and one DVD.

There have been lineup changes over the past decade. Today, Wang is the vocalist and Hong is the drummer. Li Yue is the guitarist, Liu Lei is the keyboardist and Hu Yu is the bassist.

Wang is now studying in Canada and hopes to return with new ideas about visual rock to enhance the band's shows.

Silver Ash is planning a tour to celebrate their 10-year anniversary.

"There were people who questioned our behavior," Hong says.

"They said it was unacceptable for men to wear cosmetics. But we created and maintained our own style."

Visual rock became popular among mainland Chinese fans, especially when the best-selling Japanese band of the 1990s, X Japan, came to Beijing and Shanghai last May. The genre is also popular in Hong Kong and Taiwan, where its bands' concerts and music videos are broadcast on TV.

"These shows drummed up visual rock fans' memories and passions," Hong says.

Silver Ash paved the way for other Chinese visual rock bands, like Glazed Rose.

The brainchild of four likeminded Shanghai rockers, Glazed Rose was formed in 2004. The group's signature, high-pitched, Gothic style has won them a large following, especially among university students.

They also design their own costumes, ranging from worn jeans to gorgeous gowns.

"Few people understood the aesthetics at first, but now more people are paying attention," Xue, the band's lead guitarist, says.

The 20-year-old explains that gigs at universities helped visual rock's revival.

"Playing more shows gives us more chances to let audiences encounter the genre and create fan bases," he says.

Another decade-old visual rock group, Autumn Insect, will leave Beijing to tour the country this month.

More foreign exposure has created a growing base for China's visual rock in recent years, says Jiang Wei, founder of live music promoter organization Guitar China.

"Live concerts are their best means of promotion, because of the powerful aesthetics of extreme body language, elaborate makeup and wild costumes," Jiang says.

The Internet has boosted the genre, too, with more fans watching the bands' videos and schedules on websites like MySpace and Facebook.

But Hong points out the costumes and makeup are only visual frills, while the real thrills come from the music - the core of who they are.

"It is really encouraging to see that people are more open-minded and listen to our music, rather than simply judging us by our appearances," he says.

"It is the spirit of rock 'n' roll that drives us, after all."