Dir En Grey (stylized as DIR EN GREY and previously as Dir en grey) is a Japanese heavy metal band formed in February 1997 and currently signed to Firewall Div., a sub-division of

Free-Will is an independent Japanese independent record label, record label founded in 1986 by Color (band), Color vocalist Hiroshi "Dynamite Tommy" Tomioka, with branches predominantly in Japan and the United States, as well as previously in Europe. Th ...

. With a consistent lineup of guitarists vocalist Kyo, Kaoru and Die, bassist Toshiya, and drummer Shinya, they have released eleven full-length albums. Numerous stylistic changes have made the genre of their music difficult to determine, though it is generally considered to be a form of metal. Originally a

visual kei , abbreviated , is a category of Japanese musicians that have a strong focus on extravagant stage costumes that originated in Japan during the early 1980s. Koji Dejima of '' Bounce'' wrote that visual kei is not a specific sound, but rather it " ...

band, the members later opted for more subtle attire, but have continued to maintain a dramatic image on stage.

History

1997–1999: Early career

Dir En Grey was preceded by the

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in Pennsylvania, United States * Independentes (English: Independents), a Portuguese artist ...

rock band La:Sadie's, which was formed by vocalist Kyo and bassist

Kisaki , known exclusively by his stage name , is a Japanese musician, record producer and businessman, whose career in the visual kei scene spans more than 30 years. He is best known for having been the bassist of several bands, including La:Sadie's ...

in November 1995. They were joined by guitarists Die and Shio, as well as drummer Shinya and made their live debut on January 14, 1996. Shio seceded after three shows and Kaoru joined them in April 1996. After a very successful independent career and over 80 shows in one year of activity, La:Sadie's disbanded on January 15, 1997. The reasons for the disbandment are unknown, but later statements made by the individual members hint at disagreements between bassist Kisaki and the other members in regards to their status as an independent band. Kisaki said he was asked to leave the band and that he failed to take care of the other members, "I thought doing lots of good live shows would please the members, but I was wrong. By not giving them time to rest and deciding on recording schedules in between, I must have put a lot of stress and burden on them." After parting ways with Kisaki, members Kaoru, Kyo, Die and Shinya recruited bassist Toshiya and regrouped as a new band. After playing one show as a Kuroyume cover-band called "Deathmask" at the live house Nagano J on January 24, they officially formed Dir En Grey on February 2, 1997. The band name is a combination of German "dir", French "en" and English "grey" and was thought to mean ;''Apres Guerre'' #19 (March 1997) the Japanese translation was used as the name of their fanclub's magazine. They wanted to convey a musical image that was neither black nor white, so they picked grey. In an early interview, vocalist Kyo explained that he knew the name before the band was formed. During the WOWOW Special in 2020, Kaoru elaborates that they took the name from another band that was famous around that time. This band was Lareine, who had released a song called "Dir en gray" in 1995. The song starts with the line ', with the Latin part being a correct translation of the Japanese part. Both mean "to you in grey". In a later interview, Kaoru explained that "at the time we chose the band name, it had some meaning but right now it doesn't express the band anymore, so it has come to not mean anything specific. We chose the band name because it sounded right, and it also reflects an image that probably doesn't exist elsewhere." They released their first EP, '' Missa'', a few months later and attracted mainstream attention in 1998, by entering the top ten on the

Oricon , established in 1999, is the holding company at the head of a Japanese corporate group that supplies statistics Statistics (from German language, German: ', "description of a State (polity), state, a country") is the discipline that ...

music charts with the still independently produced songs "Jealous" and "-I'll-". Five subsequent singles, arranged and produced by

X Japan is a Japanese Rock music, rock band from Chiba Prefecture, Chiba, formed in 1982 by drummer and pianist Yoshiki (musician), Yoshiki and lead vocalist Toshi (musician), Toshi. Starting as a predominantly power metal, power/speed metal band with ...

co-founder Yoshiki Hayashi, were published during the first half of 1999. The band's first full-length record, ''

Gauze Gauze is a thin, translucent Textile, fabric with a wikt:loose, loose open Weaving, weave. In technical terms, "gauze" is a weave structure in which the weft yarns are arranged in pairs and are crossed before and after each Warp (weaving), w ...

'', followed. One of the shows in support for the album (filmed at the

Osaka-jo Hall is a Japanese castle in Chūō-ku, Osaka, Chūō-ku, Osaka, Japan. The castle is one of Japan's most famous landmarks and played a major role in the unification of Japan during the sixteenth century of the Azuchi–Momoyama period. Layout Th ...

) would later become the first of several live concerts to be released on

VHS VHS (Video Home System) is a discontinued standard for consumer-level analog video recording on tape cassettes, introduced in 1976 by JVC. It was the dominant home video format throughout the tape media period of the 1980s and 1990s. Ma ...

and

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for digital video disc or digital versatile disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any ki ...

2000–2004: From ''Macabre'' to ''Vulgar''

In 2000, vocalist Kyo was hospitalized with hearing trouble and several dates of the tour in support of Dir En Grey's then-upcoming album, ''

Macabre In works of art, the adjective macabre ( or ; ) means "having the quality of having a grim or ghastly atmosphere". The macabre works to emphasize the details and symbols of death. The term also refers to works particularly gruesome in natu ...

'', had to be postponed. Tour 00 >> 01 Macabre eventually took off later the same year and was concluded at

Nippon Budokan The , often shortened to simply Budokan, is an indoor arena in Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan. It was originally built for the inaugural Olympic judo competition in the 1964 Summer Olympics. The Budokan was a popular venue for Japanese professional wres ...

shortly after the release of the single " Ain't Afraid to Die" in April 2001. In the following year, along with the release of a third full-length album, '' Kisō'', Dir En Grey gave their first performances abroad, touring China, Taiwan, and South Korea. Back in Japan, the last dates of the lengthy Rettou Gekishin Angya tour were already in support for the band's second EP, '' Six Ugly''. In the same year, they released the single "Child Prey", which was featured as the second opening theme of the ''

Baki the Grappler is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Keisuke Itagaki. It was originally serialized in the ''shōnen'' manga magazine '' Weekly Shōnen Champion'' from 1991 to 1999 and collected into 42 ''tankōbon'' volumes by Akit ...

'' anime series, and also the beginning of their fourth album called ''Vulgar''. In summer 2003, Dir En Grey performed at Akasaka Blitz for five evenings in a single week, with each show (except the first) themed after a certain album, the last featuring songs from the then yet to be released ''Vulgar''. A DVD set, titled ''Blitz 5 Days'', was later released exclusively for members of the band's official fan club, titled "A Knot". '' Vulgar'' was released in September 2003 and tours in support for the record would last well into 2004.

2005–2006: Early non-Asian touring

In 2005, Dir En Grey performed in Europe for the first time. Their concerts in

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

and

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

(as part of the It Withers and Withers tour) sold out without promotion save for newsletters by import record stores and internet-based word of mouth. Deg kyo

The band also performed at two major festivals,

Rock am Ring The (German language, German for "Rock at the Ring") and ("Rock in the Park") festivals are two simultaneous rock music festivals held annually in Germany. While ''Rock am Ring'' takes place at the Nürburgring race track, ''Rock im Park'' tak ...

and Rock im Park. Becoming more involved with the international music scene, French band

Eths Eths (variably stylized as eths and ETHS) was a French metal band from Marseille, formed in 1996. History Eths formed in 1996 under the name What's the Fuck, with a lineup consisting of vocalist-guitarist Stéphane Bihl and guitarist Grégo ...

opened for them at the Paris concert and Dir En Grey invited American musician Wednesday 13 and his band to play at a show in Japan. Dir En Grey also appeared at the Japanese leg of that year's Taste of Chaos tour. 2005 saw the group's first official European releases as well, beginning with ''

Withering to Death ''Withering to Death'' (stylized as ''Withering to death.'') is the fifth studio album by Japanese heavy metal band Dir En Grey. Initially published in Japan on March 9, 2005, it was the band's first album to be officially released in Europe, N ...

''. The band's music had previously been available through means of

import An importer is the receiving country in an export from the sending country. Importation and exportation are the defining financial transactions of international trade. Import is part of the International Trade which involves buying and receivin ...

and Internet

file-sharing File sharing is the practice of distributing or providing access to digital media, such as computer programs, multimedia (audio, images and video), documents or electronic books. Common methods of storage, transmission and dispersion include re ...

only for European fans. The album achieved Dir En Grey's first non-Asian chart position, reaching No. 31 in the Finnish album charts. The subsequent single, "Clever Sleazoid", later climbed to No. 15 on the singles charts in the same country. Several Dir En Grey songs were also featured in the

soundtrack A soundtrack is a recorded audio signal accompanying and synchronised to the images of a book, drama, motion picture, radio program, television show, television program, or video game; colloquially, a commercially released soundtrack album of m ...

of the 2005 film '' Death Trance''. In early 2006 touring expanded to the United States. The band performed in

Austin, Texas Austin ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Texas. It is the county seat and most populous city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and W ...

, at the

South by Southwest South by Southwest (SXSW) is an annual conglomeration of parallel film, interactive media, and music festivals and Convention (meeting), conferences organized jointly that take place in mid-March in Austin, Texas. It began in 1987 and has conti ...

festival,

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

at the Avalon Club and

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

, at the Wiltern Theatre, followed by the North American release of ''Withering to Death.'' Again, all shows sold out within days. After more concerts and festival appearances in Germany during the summer, singer Kyo was again hospitalized due to inflamed vocal cords. While two concert dates in Japan had to be postponed, Dir En Grey was still able to join

Korn Korn (stylized as KoЯn) is an American nu metal band from Bakersfield, California, originally formed in 1993 by James Shaffer, James "Munky" Shaffer, Reginald Arvizu, Reginald "Fieldy" Arvizu and David Silveria, who were members of the band ...

's Family Values Tour 2006. In October, the band was back in Japan to perform at the Loudpark Festival, along with bands such as

Megadeth Megadeth is an American thrash metal band formed in Los Angeles in 1983 by vocalist and guitarist Dave Mustaine. Known for their technically complex guitar work and musicianship, Megadeth is one of the "big four" of American thrash metal—alo ...

Slayer Slayer is an American thrash metal band from Huntington Park, California, formed in 1981 by guitarists Jeff Hanneman and Kerry King, drummer Dave Lombardo and bassist/vocalist Tom Araya. Slayer's fast and aggressive musical style made them ...

and

Children of Bodom Children of Bodom was a Finnish melodic death metal band from Espoo. Formed in 1993 as Inearthed, the final line-up of the group upon their split in 2019 consisted of frontman Alexi Laiho, drummer Jaska Raatikainen, bassist Henkka Seppälä, ...

. Their 22nd single " Agitated Screams of Maggots" was released on 15 November during the Japanese leg of the Inward Scream tour. On 30 December, the

music video A music video is a video that integrates a song or an album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device intended to ...

for -Saku- was voted the No. 1 video of the year on the

MTV2 MTV2 (formerly M2) is an American pay television Cable television, channel owned by the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global, through PMN’s MTV Entertainment Group Subdivision. The channel launched initially as an all-music ...

show ''

Headbangers Ball ''Headbangers Ball'' is a music television program that consists of heavy metal music videos airing on MTV and its global affiliates. The show began on MTV on April 18, 1987, playing heavy metal music videos from both well-known and more obsc ...

''.

2007–2009: ''The Marrow of a Bone'' and ''Uroboros''

In February, Dir En Grey went on its first North American headlining tour, visiting sixteen cities"Dir En Grey' cross the USA". (January 2007) ''Newtype USA''. Vol. 6 No. 1 p. 19. as its sixth full-length album '' The Marrow of a Bone'' was released on February 7 in Japan and in the United States and Europe in the following months. It saw a change in

capitalization Capitalization ( North American spelling; also British spelling in Oxford) or capitalisation (Commonwealth English; all other meanings) is writing a word with its first letter as a capital letter (uppercase letter) and the remaining letters in ...

of the band name, from a sentence case capitalization ("Dir en grey") to an all caps variant ("DIR EN GREY"). From May to July, the group opened for the

Deftones Deftones is an American alternative metal band formed in Sacramento, California in 1988. They were formed by frontman Chino Moreno, lead guitarist Stephen Carpenter and drummer Abe Cunningham, with bassist Chi Cheng and keyboardist and tu ...

on their United States tour and afterwards did another European tour, which included their debut shows in Denmark, Finland, Poland, Sweden, and the United Kingdom, as well as several festival performances across the continent, including Ankkarock,

M'era Luna Festival The M'era Luna is a gothic festival that encompasses a number of different styles such as metal, future pop, aggrotech, synthpop, gothic rock, dark wave, and EBM. It is held annually on the second weekend of every August, in Hildesheim, ...

and

Wacken Open Air Wacken Open Air (, abbreviated as W:O:A) is a Heavy metal music, heavy metal music festival, held annually since 1990 on the first weekend of August in the village of Wacken, Schleswig-Holstein, Wacken in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. Almost all ...

. The group went on another international tour in September named after their most recent single " Dozing Green", beginning in Japan and continuing in Europe, including their first performance in the Netherlands and Switzerland. In late November, Dir En Grey opened two shows for

Linkin Park Linkin Park is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Agoura Hills, California, in 1996. The band's current lineup consists of vocalist/rhythm guitarist/keyboardist Mike Shinoda, lead guitarist Brad Delson, DJ/turntablist Joe Hahn, bass ...

Saitama Super Arena is a multi-purpose indoor arena located in Chūō-ku, Saitama, Chūō-ku, Saitama (city), Saitama, Saitama Prefecture, Japan. It opened preliminarily on May 5, 2000, and then was officially opened on September 1 of the same year. Its maximum capa ...

and in December performed another Japan tour with 10 Years as a supporting act. Commemorating Dir En Grey's tenth anniversary as a band, two greatest hits compilations, titled ''Decade 1998–2002'' and ''Decade 2003–2007'' respectively, were released on December 19. At the beginning of 2008, Dir En Grey announced plans to begin recording a new studio album. Their first touring of the year in May was another Japan tour with a conclusion of three shows at Shinkiba Studio Coast, titled Death over Blindness. Between touring, Dir En Grey performed at one night of the two-night hide memorial summit on May 4, alongside

Luna Sea Luna Sea (stylized as LUNA SEA) is a Japanese Rock music, rock band formed in Kanagawa Prefecture in 1986. Due to the use of makeup and costumes early in their career and their widespread popularity, they are considered one of the most successf ...

, and others. A second Japanese tour, titled Tour 08 The Rose Trims Again began on September 10, the same day as the release of their single " Glass Skin". On August 1, Dir En Grey announced the release of their seventh studio album, '' Uroboros'', which was released on November 11, 2008, in the United States. The band also toured the United States and Canada in support of the album, with dates scheduled for November and December (overlapping the release of ''Uroboros'') with opening act The Human Abstract. Touring that fall included a series of four shows titled Bajra, two being fan-club exclusive, and a single show on December 29 under the moniker Uroboros -Breathing- at the famous

where Dir En Grey had not performed since December 18, 1999 (as seen on ''1999.12.18 Osakajo Hall''). Beginning in 2009, Dir En Grey made their first thorough tour of the United Kingdom and Ireland with ''

Kerrang! ''Kerrang!'' is a British music webzine and quarterly magazine that primarily covers rock, punk and heavy metal music. Since 2017, the magazine has been published by Wasted Talent Ltd (the same company that owns electronic music publication ...

s "Relentless Tour '09" alongside

Mindless Self Indulgence Mindless Self Indulgence (often referred to as MSI) is an American electropunk band formed in New York City in 1997. Their music has a mixed style which includes punk rock, alternative rock, electronica, techno, industrial, hip hop, and b ...

Bring Me the Horizon Bring Me the Horizon are a British Rock music, rock band, formed in Sheffield, England in 2004. The group currently consists of lead vocalist Oli Sykes, drummer Matt Nicholls, guitarist Lee Malia and bassist Matt Kean (musician), Matt Kean. T ...

, Black Tide and In Case of Fire. In February, the band announced the public release of the live DVD, ''Tour 08 The Rose Trims Again'', as well as switching European record labels to the newly founded

Okami Records is an independent European rock music record label. History It was formed in 2004 in music, 2004 by Matthias Müssig, Christoph Ortner-Bach and Deville Schober. The label, actively distributes physical records in Germany, France, the United Kin ...

, a sister label of their former European representation,

Gan-Shin is an independent European rock music record label. History It was formed in 2004 in music, 2004 by Matthias Müssig, Christoph Ortner-Bach and Deville Schober. The label, actively distributes physical records in Germany, France, the United Kin ...

. During spring of 2009, the band began to fully promote ''Uroboros'' with a series of nationwide tours under the title Tour 09 Feast of V Senses. The tour was interrupted briefly while in

Sapporo is a Cities designated by government ordinance of Japan, designated city in Hokkaido, Japan. Located in the southwest of Hokkaido, it lies within the alluvial fan of the Toyohira River, a tributary of the Ishikari River. Sapporo is the capital ...

and

Sendai is the capital Cities of Japan, city of Miyagi Prefecture and the largest city in the Tōhoku region. , the city had a population of 1,098,335 in 539,698 households, making it the List of cities in Japan, twelfth most populated city in Japan. ...

, with an announcement on the band's official website, explaining that Kyo had been diagnosed with

edema Edema (American English), also spelled oedema (British English), and also known as fluid retention, swelling, dropsy and hydropsy, is the build-up of fluid in the body's tissue (biology), tissue. Most commonly, the legs or arms are affected. S ...

of the larynx, and would require the postponement of three shows, which were rescheduled for early May. Dir en grey 2009

Dir En Grey continued their Feast of V Senses tour in Europe, with a mixture of festival performances, headlining shows, and one co-headlining show with

Killswitch Engage Killswitch Engage is an American metalcore band from Westfield, Massachusetts, formed in 1999. The band's current lineup consists of vocalist Jesse Leach, guitarists Joel Stroetzel and Adam Dutkiewicz, bassist Mike D'Antonio, and drummer Justin ...

. The festival performances included their third appearances at Rock am Ring and Rock im Park, as well as their initial concerts at

Download Festival Download Festival is a rock festival created by Andy Copping, held annually at the Donington Park motorsport circuit in Leicestershire, England (since 2003); in Paris, France (since 2016); at Parramatta Park, Sydney (since 2019); Flemington ...

, Nova Rock, and Metaltown. Among the headlining shows, Dir En Grey were also making debut concerts in Italy and the Czech Republic. After several shows of their late-summer tour, All Visible Things, Dir En Grey announced their next single for December, "

Hageshisa to, Kono Mune no Naka de Karamitsuita Shakunetsu no Yami is the 25th single by Japanese band Dir En Grey, released on December 2, 2009, in Japan in a regular and limited edition, the limited copy featuring a bonus DVD. It also appears remastered as the twelfth track on ''Dum Spiro Spero''. The single ...

", as well as a North American and South American tour also under the title All Visible Things. Their new single was released on December 2, 2009, and reached number 2 on the Oricon Weekly Chart: the highest position to date for the band. Their 2009 tour season ended with a three-live tour titled Dorje. They finally ended their long ''Uroboros'' centered tour by doing two back to back performances at the

, titled Uroboros: with the proof in the name of living..., where tickets sold out in 15 minutes.

2010–2013: ''Dum Spiro Spero'' and ''The Unraveling''

It was announced on April 7, 2010, that the band would be returning to the United Kingdom in August on the lineup for the

Sonisphere Festival The Sonisphere Festival was a touring rock music festival which took place across Europe between the months of June and August. The festival was owned by John Jackson and Kilimanjaro Live. It was jointly promoted by K2 and Kilimanjaro Live. It h ...

in Knebworth, playing on a bill headlined by

Iron Maiden Iron Maiden are an English Heavy metal music, heavy metal band formed in Leyton, East London, in 1975 by bassist and primary songwriter Steve Harris (musician), Steve Harris. Although fluid in the early years of the band, the line-up for most ...

and

Rammstein Rammstein (, "ramming stone") is a German band formed in Berlin in 1994. The band's lineup—consisting of lead vocalist Till Lindemann, lead guitarist Richard Kruspe, rhythm guitarist Paul Landers, bassist Oliver Riedel, drummer Christoph ...

. According to the festival website, this was to be their only UK festival performance during the year. Regarding the announcement, Kaoru (on the Sonisphere UK website) is quoted as saying: ''"''I'd never have thought that we would play a festival of this caliber! It is like a dream come true to be playing with such great bands at Sonisphere. Although we're not back in the UK for a tour, we wanted to play this festival to give something back to the fans who were disappointed last year from our cancelled finale in London." It was announced on April 28, 2010, that Dir En Grey would be playing an exclusive club date at London's Koko venue on August 3 as part of The Unwavering Fact of Tomorrow Tour 2010. Dir En Grey announced later on that they also would do their debut performances in Russia by adding one show in Moscow at Tochka Club on August 5 and one show in St Petersburg at Glav Club on August 6. Dir En Grey also toured North America on a co-headlining tour with the Finnish band

Apocalyptica Apocalyptica is a Finnish symphonic metal band from Helsinki, formed in 1993. The band is currently composed of three classically trained cellists Eicca Toppinen, Paavo Lötjönen, and Perttu Kivilaakso. Originally a Classical music, classical- ...

with a special guest of Kyo interpreting the song "Bring Them to Light", one of the tracks of the cello-metalers latest record. In September 2010 the band confirmed in an interview with ''Kerrang!'' magazine that they were in the process of writing new material for the follow-up to ''Uroboros''. In addition to "Hageshisa to, Kono Mune no Naka de Karamitsuita Shakunetsu no Yami" appearing on the soundtrack of the American movie ''

Saw 3D ''Saw 3D'' (also released as ''Saw: The Final Chapter'') is a 2010 American 3D film, 3D horror film directed by Kevin Greutert and written by Patrick Melton and Marcus Dunstan. A sequel to ''Saw VI'' (2009) and the seventh installment in the Sa ...

'', they also participated on December 1, 2010's ''Romantist - The Stalin, Michiro Endo Tribute Album'' by covering " Warushawa no Gensō" in celebration of the 60th birthday of The Stalin's frontman Michiro Endo. The album also featured bands such as

Buck-Tick Buck-Tick (stylized as BUCK-TICK) is a Japanese rock band formed in Fujioka, Gunma in 1983. The classic lineup of lead vocalist Atsushi Sakurai, lead guitarist Hisashi Imai, rhythm guitarist Hidehiko Hoshino, bassist Yutaka Higuchi and drum ...

Group Tamashii is a Japanese comedy rock band. It was started by actors in a theatrical company called "Otona Keikaku" (Project Adult) in 1995. Its original members were Hakai ( Sadao Abe), Boudou ( Kankuro Kudo), and Baito Kun (Seminosuke Murasugi). When it ...

, Merry, Jun Togawa, and Wagdug Futuristic Unity. The single " Lotus" was released on January 26, 2011, along with a new fan-club only tour named The Decomposition of the Moon, scheduled to run from May 14 to 26. The band released "

Different Sense "Different Sense" (stylized as "DIFFERENT SENSE") is the 27th single by Japanese heavy metal band Dir En Grey, released on June 22, 2011, in Japan in a regular and limited edition, the limited copy featuring a bonus DVD. It is the third single tak ...

" on June 22. On August 1, 2011, Dir En Grey released an open letter on their official

Facebook Facebook is a social media and social networking service owned by the American technology conglomerate Meta Platforms, Meta. Created in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with four other Harvard College students and roommates, Eduardo Saverin, Andre ...

that accused the Japanese government of lying to its people and hiding the true danger of the

radiation In physics, radiation is the emission or transmission of energy in the form of waves or particles through space or a material medium. This includes: * ''electromagnetic radiation'' consisting of photons, such as radio waves, microwaves, infr ...

levels after the

nuclear accidents A nuclear and radiation accident is defined by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) as "an event that has led to significant consequences to people, the environment or the facility." Examples include lethal effects to individuals, la ...

caused by the

2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami On 11 March 2011, at 14:46:24 Japan Standard Time, JST (05:46:24 UTC), a 9.0–9.1 Submarine earthquake, undersea megathrust earthquake occurred in the Pacific Ocean, east of the Oshika Peninsula of the Tōhoku region. It lasted approx ...

. In October, the band launched a campaign called Scream for the Truth, complete with a website and a billboard hanging in

Times Square Times Square is a major commercial intersection, tourist destination, entertainment hub, and Neighborhoods in New York City, neighborhood in the Midtown Manhattan section of New York City. It is formed by the junction of Broadway (Manhattan), ...

in New York City, in hopes of stopping the alleged misinformation and getting correct numbers. Their eighth studio album, ''

Dum Spiro Spero ''Dum spiro spero'', which translates to "While I breathe, I hope", is a Latin phrase of indeterminate origin. It is the motto of various places and organisations, including the U.S. state of South Carolina. Derivation The sense of ''dum spir ...

'', was released on August 3. Material from this album was showcased on the band's South and North American tour Age Quod Agis in November and December 2011. In February 2012, following a doctor's visit, vocalist Kyo was diagnosed with vocal nodule

dysphonia A hoarse voice, also known as dysphonia or hoarseness, is when the voice involuntarily sounds breathy, raspy, or strained, or is softer in volume or lower in pitch. A hoarse voice can be associated with a feeling of unease or scratchiness in the ...

, leading to Dir En Grey pulling out of the North American The Still Reckless Tour consisting of

Asking Alexandria Asking Alexandria are an English Rock music, rock band formed in Dubai, Dubai, United Arab Emirates and now based in York, York, North Yorkshire, consisting of guitarist Cameron Liddell, drummer James Cassells, vocalist Danny Worsnop, and bas ...

Trivium The trivium is the lower division of the seven liberal arts and comprises grammar, logic, and rhetoric. The trivium is implicit in ("On the Marriage of Philology and Mercury") by Martianus Capella, but the term was not used until the Carolin ...

, Motionless in White, and

I See Stars I See Stars are an American electronicore band from Warren, Michigan formed in 2006. The band currently consists of lead vocalist Devin Oliver, guitarist Brent Allen, keyboardist and co-vocalist Andrew Oliver, and bass guitarist Jeff Valentine. ...

. Although Kyo had been hospitalized before in 2006 and 2009 for vocal inflammation, he had not required surgery until this time. Kyo later stated that his condition was treated with medication. On August 11, 2012, Dir En Grey won the Extreme Metal Olympics organized by ''

Loudwire ''Loudwire'' is an American online media magazine that covers news of hard rock and heavy metal artists. It is owned by media and entertainment business Townsquare Media. Since its launch in August 2011, ''Loudwire'' has secured exclusive i ...

'', beating

Death Death is the end of life; the irreversible cessation of all biological functions that sustain a living organism. Death eventually and inevitably occurs in all organisms. The remains of a former organism normally begin to decompose sh ...

in the final. The band released the single " Rinkaku" on December 19 after their one-year and a half hiatus since their previous single release. Also, a tour titled In Situ began on December 25 in Tokyo. On April 3, 2013, they released their third EP, titled '' The Unraveling'', with one new song and six re-recordings. Just a couple of days later on April 5, the band started their supporting tour Tabula Rasa for the new EP. In June 2013, the band participated in a short European tour. In September 2013, the band started their Ghoul tour, which ran from September 18 until October 23 in Japan and continued on November 3 in North America. The band also announced two back-to-back shows at the Nippon Budokan for March 2014 titled "Dum Spiro Spero" along with a new single, "Sustain the Untruth", which was released in January 2014.

2014–2021: ''Arche'' and ''The Insulated World''

During the month of August in 2014, the band celebrated the 15th anniversary of their debut album, ''Gauze''. During this time, they embarked on a Japanese tour titled ''Tour14 Psychonnect: Mode of "Gauze"?'', similarly named after the tour they held back in 1999 in support of the album. On August 5, 2014, it was announced that Dir En Grey's ninth album, ''

Arche In philosophy and science, a first principle is a basic proposition or assumption that cannot be deduced from any other proposition or assumption. First principles in philosophy are from first cause attitudes and taught by Aristotelians, and nuan ...

,'' would be released on December 10, 2014. After its release, the album was accompanied by the 2014–2015 tour ''By the Grace of God''. The tour was followed by another one called ''The Unstoppable Life'', in April and May 2015. On 27 June 2015, Dir En Grey performed at

's Lunatic Fest at

Makuhari Messe is a convention center in Chiba (city), Chiba City, Chiba Prefecture, Japan, located just outside of Tokyo. Designed by Fumihiko Maki, it is accessible by Transportation in Greater Tokyo#Railway and subway, Tokyo's commuter rail system. ''Makuha ...

. On 5–6 February 2016, Dir En Grey performed their album ''Arche'' at

with a June 2016 release date of Blu-ray & DVD. The band released a single, "Utafumi", in July 2016. They also embarked on various tours based around previous albums called ''Tour16-17 From Depression To ________ ode of Vulgar', ''Tour16-17 From Depression To ________ ode of Dum Spiro Spero', and ''Tour16-17 From Depression to ________ ode of 鬼葬' from June to November 2016. In 2017, the band did further tours themed around previous albums They also covered " Easy Make, Easy Mark" by

D'erlanger D'erlanger (stylized as D'ERLANGER) is a Japanese rock band from Kyoto Prefecture, formed in 1983 by guitarist Cipher and bassist Seela. While they originally played speed and power metal, after recruiting drummer Tetsu and vocalist Kyo they s ...

for the ''D'erlanger Tribute Album ~Stairway to Heaven~''. Their compilation album, ''Vestige of Scratches'', was released on January 2, 2018. Dir En Grey's twenty-ninth single "Ningen wo Kaburu" was released on April 25, 2018. One of its B-sides is a remake of "Ash", a song with origins as far back as 1997. On June 29, 2018, Dir En Grey announced that their tenth studio album '' The Insulated World'' was to be released on September 26, 2018. The band also announced a European tour to start in October 2018, under the title "Wearing Human Skin". They followed this tour with a North American tour in December 2019 and another European tour in January and February 2020. Their 30th single, "The World of Mercy", released on September 18, 2019. They provided a cover of " National Media Boys" for the January 29, 2020

tribute album ''Parade III ~Respective Tracks of Buck-Tick~'' Their 31st single, "Ochita Koto no Aru Sora" was released digitally on August 3, 2020. On April 28, 2021, they released their 32nd single, "Oboro".

2022–present: ''Phalaris''

Their 11th studio album, '' Phalaris'', was released on June 15, 2022. For the 25th anniversary of their singles Akuro no Oka, Yurameki, and -Zan-, the single 19990120 was released on January 17, 2024. On April 24, 2024, the band released their thirty-fourth single "The Devil In Me".

Musical style and influences

Dir En Grey has been categorized in many genres such as

extreme metal Extreme metal is a loosely defined umbrella term for a number of related heavy metal music subgenres that have developed since the early 1980s. It has been defined as a "cluster of metal subgenres characterized by sonic, verbal, and visual tran ...

alternative Alternative or alternate may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * Alternative (Kamen Rider), Alternative (''Kamen Rider''), a character in the Japanese TV series ''Kamen Rider Ryuki'' * Alternative comics, or independent comics are an altern ...

experimental An experiment is a procedure carried out to support or refute a hypothesis, or determine the efficacy or likelihood of something previously untried. Experiments provide insight into cause-and-effect by demonstrating what outcome occurs whe ...

avant-garde In the arts and literature, the term ''avant-garde'' ( meaning or ) identifies an experimental genre or work of art, and the artist who created it, which usually is aesthetically innovative, whilst initially being ideologically unacceptable ...

and various others. Dir En Grey's format has been subject to change throughout their career, initially being a rather experimental form of

alternative rock Alternative rock (also known as alternative music, alt-rock or simply alternative) is a category of rock music that evolved from the independent music underground of the 1970s. Alternative rock acts achieved mainstream success in the 1990s w ...

. Some tracks of their debut album ''

'' also demonstrated a distinct pop appeal, which was largely dropped in favor of a more progressive sound on the following albums, ''

'' and '' Kisou''. While up to that point some songs had already been more fast-paced, raw and aggressive than others, the band's music took a decisive turn with the release of the EP Six Ugly, from then on sporting more

metal A metal () is a material that, when polished or fractured, shows a lustrous appearance, and conducts electrical resistivity and conductivity, electricity and thermal conductivity, heat relatively well. These properties are all associated wit ...

influences in general. Dir En Grey's style gravitated towards

riff A riff is a short, repeated motif or figure in the melody or accompaniment of a musical composition. Riffs are most often found in rock music, punk, heavy metal music, Latin, funk, and jazz, although classical music is also sometimes based ...

s and song structures more along the lines of contemporary North American fusion genres, such as

nu metal Nu metal (sometimes stylized as nü-metal, with a metal umlaut) is a subgenre of that combines elements of heavy metal music with elements of other music genres such as hip hop music, hip hop, funk, industrial music, industrial, and grunge. Nu ...

and

metalcore Metalcore is a broadly defined fusion genre combining elements of extreme metal and hardcore punk, originating in the 1990s United States and becoming popular in the 2000s. Metalcore typically has aggressive verses and melodic choruses, combined ...

, until 2007's '' The Marrow of a Bone''. In a review of their sixth full-length album, '' The Marrow of a Bone'',

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

's Thom Jurek comments on their evolution and diversity, saying: Since the release of their album '' Uroboros'' in 2008, Dir En Grey have been repeatedly described as

progressive metal Progressive metal (often shortened to prog metal) is a broad fusion music genre melding heavy metal music, heavy metal and progressive rock, combining the loud "aggression" and amplified electric guitar, guitar-driven sound of the former with t ...

. Uroboros and their 2011 album ''

'' represent a particular musical departure from previous albums, with critics noting that their sound on these albums bears almost nothing in common to their earliest work. With Uroboros, and particularly on ''Dum Spiro Spero'', the band have moved away from their alternative rock roots towards a heavier metal sound. These albums feature complex song structures and guitarwork, longer track lengths, and a broader variety of particularly western influences, such as

death metal Death metal is an extreme metal, extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. It typically employs heavily distorted and low-tuned guitars, played with techniques such as palm muting and tremolo picking; deep death growl, growling vocals; aggressive ...

deathcore Deathcore is an extreme metal subgenre that combines death metal with metalcore. The genre consists of death metal guitar riffs, blast beats, and metalcore Breakdown (music)#Heavy metal and punk rock, breakdowns. While there are some precursors ...

and

groove metal Groove metal, sometimes also called neo-thrash or post-thrash, is a subgenre of heavy metal music that began in the early 1990s. The genre is primarily derived from thrash metal, but played in slower tempos, and making use of rhythmic guitar pa ...

. Kyo's singing is considered a pivotal aspect of the band, and he has gained recognition for his distinctive vocal work and for his large range and versatility, being able to "howl, croon, emote cleanly, scream, shriek,

growl Growling is a low, guttural vocalization produced by predatory animals; producing ''growls''. Growling or growl may also refer to: Sounds * Death growl, the dominant singing style in death metal music * Stomach rumble, Stomach growl, or borborygm ...

, bellow, and make nearly inhuman sounds." Jurek has compared him favorably to experimental and avant-garde vocalists

Mike Patton Michael Allan Patton (born January 27, 1968) is an American singer, songwriter, producer, and voice actor, best known as the lead vocalist of the rock bands Faith No More and Mr. Bungle. He has also fronted and/or played with Tomahawk, The ...

and Diamanda Galas. ''

'' wrote "Sporting incredibly low death metal

guttural Guttural Phone (phonetics), speech sounds are those with a primary place of articulation near the back of the oral cavity, where it is difficult to distinguish a sound's place of articulation and its phonation. In popular usage it is an imprecise t ...

s, Kyo can also turn a complete 180 as one of metal's highest shriekers." Dane Prokofiev of ''

PopMatters ''PopMatters'' is an international online magazine of cultural criticism that covers aspects of popular culture. ''PopMatters'' publishes reviews, interviews, and essays on cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, ...

'' said that his "natural ease at and inclination towards striking such a stark contrast between the two opposite ends of the human vocal spectrum can be obtained as only a kind of pre-birth winning lottery ticket—you know, that much coveted prize we call "talent"." Commentators have noted how Dir En Grey have gained a significant international fanbase with vocals in Japanese. Kaoru said "when I was growing up, I listened to American bands. They were all singing in English and I had no idea what they were saying. But I still remember the excitement that I experienced. I know as a listener that our fans can connect to our music in the same way — even with the language barrier." When asked why they almost always use Japanese instead of English, which would give them more broad international appeal, he said that "We consider our music

o be O, or o, is the fifteenth letter and the fourth vowel letter of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''o'' (pronounced ), ...

a piece of art. ..The language is part of that artwork." The guitarist explained that Kyo, who writes all of the lyrics, prefers "the sensitivities that Japanese language offers. There are expressions and nuances that can only be conveyed in Japanese; he values that." However, he noted that likewise there are some expressions that are only able to be shown in English, so they also plan to use English when they feel the need. The lyrics deal with subjects such as society and mass media, as well as sexual obsessions and love, usually with negative implications. The vocabulary varies from subtle to explicit (though the use of

profanity Profanity, also known as swearing, cursing, or cussing, is the usage of notionally word taboo, offensive words for a variety of purposes, including to demonstrate disrespect or negativity, to relieve pain, to express a strong emotion (such a ...

has greatly decreased as the band matured, last featuring on ''Uroboros''), and several songs rely heavily on

double entendre A double entendre (plural double entendres) is a figure of speech or a particular way of wording that is devised to have a double meaning, one of which is typically obvious, and the other often conveys a message that would be too socially unacc ...

s and other wordplay, often involving the multiple meanings of a

kanji are logographic Chinese characters, adapted from Chinese family of scripts, Chinese script, used in the writing of Japanese language, Japanese. They were made a major part of the Japanese writing system during the time of Old Japanese and are ...

character. Although they got their start as a

band, the members of Dir En Grey seem to be irked being associated with the term in some later interviews. Speaking of the change in their appearance, Kaoru said "Eventually, we felt that dressing like we used to onstage put up a wall between us and the audience, so we stopped wearing the kind of makeup we did before." However, he said they still occasionally wear makeup, just not as much. Toshiya explained "To be honest, when we first started and we were wearing a lot of makeup on stage and stuff, there were a lot of bands doing that at the time in Japan, and people thought it was cool. But not anymore, ha ha." Die said "They saw us as idols but we aren't idols. We are a band, we play music and want to be known for it. So we decided to change our style slowly." Kyo stated that for Dir En Grey it was always about the music and when wearing lots of makeup became popular, "we didn't want to be associated with a lot of the poor quality bands in that scene." Dir En Grey have created some controversy in Japan as some of their music videos have been banned from television for "abrasive visuals including baby-eating, murder, ndgore." Similarly, stations refused to play the video for 2008's "Vinushka" which included stock footage of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

and newspaper headlines following the

atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki On 6 and 9 August 1945, the United States detonated two atomic bombs over the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, respectively, during World War II. The aerial bombings killed between 150,000 and 246,000 people, most of whom were civili ...

. Kyo cited

Bauhaus The Staatliches Bauhaus (), commonly known as the , was a German art school operational from 1919 to 1933 that combined Decorative arts, crafts and the fine arts.Oxford Dictionary of Art and Artists (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 4th edn., ...

's '' Press the Eject and Give Me the Tape'' and

David Sylvian David Sylvian (born David Alan Batt; 23 February 1958) is an English musician, singer and songwriter who came to prominence in the late 1970s as frontman and principal songwriter of the band Japan (band), Japan. During his time in Japan, Sylvia ...

's '' Secrets of the Beehive'' as his favorite albums. Kaoru listed X's '' Blue Blood'',

Pantera Pantera () is an American Heavy metal music, heavy metal band formed in Arlington, Texas in 1981 by the Abbott brothers (guitarist Dimebag Darrell and drummer Vinnie Paul), and currently composed of vocalist Phil Anselmo, bassist Rex Brown, an ...

's '' Vulgar Display of Power'',

Nine Inch Nails Nine Inch Nails, commonly abbreviated as NIN (stylized as NIИ), is an American industrial rock band formed in Cleveland, Ohio in 1988. Its members are the singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and producer Trent Reznor and his frequent col ...

' '' The Downward Spiral'',

The Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...

' ''

1962–1966 ''1962–1966'', also known as the Red Album, is a compilation album of songs by the English rock band the Beatles, spanning the years indicated in the title. Released with its counterpart ''1967–1970'' (the "Blue Album") in 1973, the double ...

'' and ''

1967–1970 ''1967–1970'', also known as the Blue Album, is a compilation album of songs by the English rock band the Beatles, spanning the years indicated in the title. A double LP, it was released with ''1962–1966'' (the "Red Album") in April 1973. ...

'' in his favorite albums list. Die's inspirations included

's '' La Vie En Rose'' and Ziggy's ''Kool Kizz''. Toshiya hailed

Alice in Chains Alice in Chains (often abbreviated as AiC) is an American rock band formed in Seattle in 1987. Since 2006, the band's lineup has comprised vocalist/guitarists Jerry Cantrell and William DuVall, bassist Mike Inez, and drummer Sean Kinney. Voca ...

' ''

Dirt Dirt is any matter considered unclean, especially when in contact with a person's clothes, skin, or possessions. In such cases, they are said to become dirty. Common types of dirt include: * Debris: scattered pieces of waste or remains * Du ...

'' and

Radiohead Radiohead are an English rock band formed in Abingdon-on-Thames, Abingdon, Oxfordshire, in 1985. The band members are Thom Yorke (vocals, guitar, piano, keyboards); brothers Jonny Greenwood (guitar, keyboards, other instruments) and Colin Gre ...

's ''

OK Computer ''OK Computer'' is the third studio album by the English rock band Radiohead, released on 21 May 1997. With their producer, Nigel Godrich, Radiohead recorded most of ''OK Computer'' in their rehearsal space in Oxfordshire and the historic m ...

''. Shinya cited Aion's ''Absolute'' and

Gargoyle In architecture, and specifically Gothic architecture, a gargoyle () is a carved or formed Grotesque (architecture), grotesque with a spout designed to convey water from a roof and away from the side of a building, thereby preventing it from ...

's ''Furebumi'' as his influences.

Members

File:Dir En Grey @ Maquinária Festival 03.jpg, Kyo File:Kaoru (Dir en grey).jpg, Kaoru File:Dir En Grey @ Maquinária Festival 09.jpg, Die File:Toshiya 2009.jpg, Toshiya File:Shinya at House of Blues Sunset Strip on Dec 23, 2011.jpg, Shinya Current members * – vocals, lyrics (1997–present) * – guitars, programming (1997–present) * Die – guitars (1997–present) * Toshiya – bass (1997–present) * Shinya – drums (1997–present)

Timeline

Discography

Studio albums * ''

'' (1999) * ''

'' (2000) * '' Kisō'' (2002) * '' Vulgar'' (2003) * ''

'' (2005) * '' The Marrow of a Bone'' (2007) * '' Uroboros'' (2008) * ''

'' (2011) * ''

'' (2014) * '' The Insulated World'' (2018) * '' Phalaris'' (2022)

References

External links

* * {{Authority control Gan-Shin artists Sony Music Entertainment Japan artists Visual kei musical groups Japanese avant-garde metal musical groups Japanese alternative metal musical groups Japanese death metal musical groups Japanese progressive metal musical groups Japanese musical quintets Musical groups established in 1997 Musical groups from Osaka 1997 establishments in Japan