by Tylisa Schadams

Created on: August 01, 2009   Last Updated: August 02, 2009

Dir en grey is a metal band that hails from Japan. The band is made up of five members: Kyo (vocals) Kaoru (guitar) Die (guitar) Toshiya (guitar) and Shinya (drummer.) Four of the previous members were in the Visual Kei band La:Sadies and Toshiya joined the other four when the band regrouped in early 1997. The band's line-up has remained constant since 1997 and they have released two EPs and a countless number of singles which have been featured on their seven albums.

Dir en grey has seen many changes in their twelve year history. Their look and music has progressed from Visual Kei to a darker, more metal style. For those unfamiliar with the term "Visual Kei" the term means that bands use bright, eye-catching clothing and hair colors to catch the attention of fans and major labels to sign the bands. Visual Kei music varies from more up-beat melodies to dark, evil sounding metal. Dir en grey sported the Visual Kei look up until the release of their third album, Kisou, in 2002. Some of their more "up-beat" sounding songs like Yokan and Yurameki from their first album, Gauze, have been replaced by darker, faster songs like Obscure and Audience Killer Loop on their fourth album, Vulgar.

One thing that hasn't changed is that band's attitude. The band's lyrics are considered dark, even by metal-head standards. Kyo is the only member who writes the lyrics and has been quoted as saying he'll "never write a song with a happy ending." Kyo's lyrics dabble in taboos like incest, rape, and other sexual deviances to not-so-subtle hints at murder and empty feelings like regret, loss, and depression.

Kyo is also the focus point of the band, especially with their US tours that began in 2006. Kyo has been known to use tactics of self-mutilation on-stage, such as scratching his chest until it bleeds, beating his heart with the mic, and engaging in "fish-hooking" during performances. Kyo seems to perform with more emotion, especially during certain songs like Mushi, Embryo, and Undecided from the third album Kisou and Rasetsukoku and Zakuro from the second album, Macabre. The reason for these more emotional performances may be that the lyrics have a special meaning to Kyo and the other band members.

Kyo is not the only who isn't scared to show emotion during performances. Die can be seen crying during the performance of "Garden" during the Osaka Jo Hall 1999 Live. All of the band members seem to take pride in their performances. This is where things begin to differ from western metal to Japanese metal. The Japanese culture allows for this emotion to show, something in our culture that may be deemed "emo." Dir en grey has been labeled by this brand before because of some of the lyrics, but these lyrics are derived by true loss.

Dir en grey has seen plenty of success in America. Their latest three albums, Wither to Death, The Marrow of a Bone, and Uroboros, were all released in the US and saw plenty of success. This band seems to find success in any type of music and style they pursue. Some of their music also features lyrics in English or remixes of Japanese songs to English lyrics like Dozing Green and Glass Skin from the seventh album, Uroboros. This is a very interesting band to watch as they move into the future, certain to have new concepts and even more stunning performances.

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