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Dir en grey Diru
| Profile Views: | 29088 |
| Account Type: | Open, Music - Fan Group |
| Location: | Osaka Japan |
| Creator: | Gippal |
| Moderators: | None |
| Date Created: | Jan 15, 2008 |
Description
UNDER CONSTRUCTION!
Sadly to say Diru isnt VK anymore =*( this info ranges from 1996- i think early 2006 not sure i fergot.
Dir en grey is my favorite band and i wanna see how many others out there like Diru
so if you like Diru join my group!
Let me know wat u think of my group like wat i should improve on, add, or fix ty! ^^
~Gippal
Full name: 新倉 薫 (Niikura Kaoru)
Nicknames: Leader-sama, Kao, Kaokao
In the band, he is a guitarist
Date of birth: 02.17,1974. (Hyougo)
Astrological sign: Aquarius
Zodiac sign: Tiger
Blood type: A
Height: 170cm
Weight: 52 kg
Clothes' size: L
Shoe size: 39,5 (5 1/2)
Favourite cigarette brand: Mild Seven Light
Favourite sport: soccer baseball
Favourite music: HIDE, X-Japan, Shiina Ringo
His former bands: CHARM ® La:Sadie's
Personality: bad, difficult nature
He sees himself as a person with complicated nature
Likes: Gundam
Dislikes: prawn
According to him, the most important thing is fans
Favourite food: curry, potatoe salad, hamburger, chocolate, sushi, double cheesburger, chinese food, ramen,
okonomiyaki,
gyudon curry, gyudon kimechi
Food he detests: prawn
He likes to get: clothes, accessories, Gundam things
Favourite colour: purple, black
Fun facts: He is near-sighted, sometimes he wears glasses. When he was younger, he played soccer. He likes he's adam's apple on his body, he thinks it is very masculine. He doesn't like his hands, because they are rather small, and it is difficult to play on the guitar with small hands. He likes sleeping in bed instead of doing it on a futon. He needs completedarkness to sleep. He follows every new fashion. His favourite parfums is Egoist Platinum and CK One; his favourite piece of clothing is jeans; his favourite season is autumn.
When Kaoru was young, he got bored with his original black hair and he began to slowly brightening it to brown. When his parents noticed the change and asked him about it, he told them that the chemicals in the swimming pool were causing it, which is funny, because Kaoru can't swim.
He has Japanese Zombie Heroez
tattooed on his right arm; and recently, he got tattoos all over his left arm.
Kaoru is the oldest of the group - and as one, he appears to be the most mature - and he is the stoic leader-sama; all of the other members look up to Kaoru in a way. He is the main composer for most of their songs, and an excellent one at that; because every diru song is different, so he must have an amazing imagination to come up with so many different musical variations. His guitar skills are positively astounding too, he holds his audience captive through his playing.
He rarely smiles - though when he does, it's a definitely heart-warming sight. However, he was the one member of the group who scared all the others when they first met. You can imagine, even the Waru was scared of him! Also he is quite serious and very deliberate. But as adult-like as Kaoru appears - he has a sweet, childish side that he shows sometime: he is a big fan of anime and manga (especially Gundam), and loves to tease Shinya with Die, or simply to joke around.
On concerts, Kaoru remains relatively still, but sometimes he just runs around the stage and pumps the crowd up. He is also famous for headbanging along to the music. He is a very big fan of Hide, he even joined to one of his fanclubs, sent him a letter and got an autograph! Altough he dislikes to admit it, he is very good at drawing.
He likes sports like soccer very much, not like sport-hater Shinya.
Kaoru doesn't wear much make-up - compared to the rest of the group, that is - he only accents his eyes and lips. He has no need to bring out his cheekbones, because they are pretty enough as they are! His hair is ever changing: it tends to go through various shades of purple and pink, even honey brown, and is currently black and blonde.
He wears a lot of black that rarely shows much of his skin. His clothes look comlex (and sometimes bizarre, like the parasite hat O_O), and he states if any of his fans can cosplay his clothes he will be very amazed!
Full name: 安滕 大助 (Andou/Kondo Daisuke)
Nicknames: Die, Dai, Dai-suki
In the band, he is a guitarist
Date of birth: 12.20,1974. (Mie)
Astrological sign: Sagittarius
Zodiac sign: Tiger
Blood type: B
Height: 178cm / 5'10"
Weight: 61 kg
Clothes' size: L
Shoe size: 41 (8)
Favourite cigarette brand: Salm Light
Favourite sport: soccer, baseball
Favourite music: Sakai Noriko, Hide
His former bands: ka･za･ri ® La:Sadie's
Personality: sincere and honest ... and impudent, because he likes to tease people
He sees himself as a hard-working, sincere, honest person
Likes: cheese, sake, tease Shinya
Dislikes: raw things, rain
According to him, the most important thing is life
Favourite food: tofu, potatoes, bacon, cheese omlett, milk, cheese, spaghetti, roasted meat, okonomiyaki,
pastries etc...
Food that he detests: seafood, thorny animals, raw foods
He likes to get: cigarettes
He likes not to get: raw things, candy
Fun facts: He has 4 sisters. His breast is especially ticklish. He is near-sighted, he wears contactlenses. He is the most serene and easy-going member.
Die was disgusted of some Chinese food served on their tour once, he was not impressed with the chicken-head soup. He was not able to look at it! Kyo and Toshiya on the other hand, thought it cool and Toshiya was playing with a head!
There was a fire in Die's apartment once. He tried to smother it with a fire extinguisher, but he just succeeded spraying the foam all around his feet and then he ran outside. He said: "That was so uncool!".
Altough Die is the second guitarist in the group, he is no less talented than our leader-sama, Kaoru. By the way, he is pretty amazing guitarist, the way he and Kaoru play together makes really gorgeous music. For some of their songs - especially in older ones like "Ash" and "Zan" - Die even sings backup vocals; he has a lovely, definite but soft voice. During concerts, Die is just like any other guitarist: he struts accross the stage to pump the crowd up, or just stands beside Kyo while he is singing. His idol is Takigawa Ichiro, the guitarist of Craze.
He is the most talkative member of the band, also extremely playful, and quite a joker, too: he likes to tease the others especially Shinya, together with Kaoru. On the video taken in Osaka-Jou Hall, Toshiya pushed Shinya to the ground, and pounced on top of him, while Die covered them with feathers. So, he can make the others laugh almost any time.
Die's real name is Daisuke, and the nickname for it is Dai. Some say that he changed the spelling of it to that of the English word "die", aiming to a more serious aspect. So Die is to be pronounced as "dai", not "di-eh".
He is very proud of his mane which he had grown since high-school. It is almost dyed in red, often use to defy the laws of gravity - sticking upwards in all directions - making for a punkish hairstyle. But nowadays he wears his hair short and dark chestnut-coloured, also he uses less hair-styler. Die confesses: if someone state that he looks awful, he takes it as a compliment ^_^.
After some of his fans complained that he was too fat - Die supposedly had eating and weight problems, because he took their ramblings to his heart, and became heavily underweighted.
When Dir en grey was still dressing up in Visual Kei style, Die was quite extreme when it came to his looks and fashion; though his makeup was not always as daub-like as Kyo's. He was almost always leather-clad with lots of silver accessories - he always looked like a tough J-Rocker.
Even though his music and scary outfits give off a hardcore attitude, Die is an extremely sweet and caring person. He has a kid hidden in himself, the way he seems to always be up to something.
Full name: 京 (Kyo) 西村享 (Nishimura Tooru)
Nicknames: Kyo, Waru, Warumono
In the band, he is a vocalist
Date of birth: 02.16,1976. (Kyoto)
Astrological sign: Aquarius
Zodiac sign: Dragon
Blood type: B
Height: 160cm
Weight: 43 kg
Clothes' size: S/M
Shoe size: 38 (5)
Favourite sport: terrorising the others!
Favourite music: X-Japan, Shiina Ringo, Buck-Tick
His former bands: 月蝕 (Gesshoku) ® Visun 殆磨 ® Masquerade ® 廃人黒薔薇族 (Haijin Kurobarazoku) ® La:Sadie's
Personality: hot-tempered, moody, funny
He sees himself as a warumono
Likes: videogames, sleeping, anime
Dislikes: people
According to him, the most important thing is fans
Favourite food: scorpion, sausage, muffin, pens <(^×^)>
Food he detests: liver, carrots
He likes to get: games (LDSoft, GameSoft), old, traditional clothes
He likes not to get: candy
He colletcts: Doraemon, Warumono figurines
Fun facts: Kyo can play guitar and bass to some extent. He tried many different instruments before he decided he would be a singer instead.
Kyo hasn't got much luck with his eyebrow piercings. When he first had one, it got infected and was very tender, so he decided to leave it alone and have another piercing on the other side, but the same thing happened to that one too!
Don't call this guy cute, EVER. Even though he is *so* adorable, he considers himself to be evil looking and scary. Many of his fans state that the scarier image he tries to put on, the more kawaii (cute) he seems to be (I love his evil little grin!).
The nickname of Kyo is Warumono, meaning "bad person" in Japanese, but at the same time it is his favourite manga.
When he was a little kid, he decided he will not learn any kanji, so in lieu of his original name he chose to use the "Kyo" kanji from his birthplace's name, Kyoto, which he speaks of quite fondly. Another explanation to his name is that he hated his original name and simply chose to use Kyo instead; the fact that he never used it - not even in his former bands - seems to comfirm this version.
Kyo began his music career as a roadie for the band Kuroyume. He joined his first band, Gesshoku, at the age of 17 and he changed his name to Yoma - this band was together in Kyoto for only half a year. In his next band, Visun he went by the name, Hotoma. From there he joined the MASQUERADE. This was followed by Haijin Kurobarazoku where Kyo was joined by Shinya (drums) and KISAKI (bass). By this time, Kyo had changed to his current name. After that, La:Sadies was formed where Kyo, Shinya and Kisaki were joined by Die and Kaoru (guitars) later.
He knows how to fall asleep absolutely anywhere: he was even sleeping in a middle of an interview! He is also known to enjoy lying during interviews, meaning one can never be sure that what he said has even a little verity in it.
He has 2 pets, Puchi and Buchi, the kangaroo rats.
It is said that he didn't get into the music business until he was 15, when he found out that it is something he really liked. He is a great fan of the band Kuroyume, and he looks up to the vocalist Kiyoharu. He has many piercings and tatoos
He has such an eccentric and powerful voice that he can do amazing number of things with: singing, screaming, choking, laughing; he really knows how to sound like he's vomiting or like he's having an orgasm in almost the same breath. It's almost as if he's doing some sound effects to his songs. For example, if you listen to Taiyou no Ao and then Zan, you think two completely different things about him. Also he has a maniac giggle - that can be found in some of his songs -, that you can't help but smile at... yeah, too cute!
He's not only amazing as a vocalist, but as a songwriter as well. He wants to describe pain, so his lyrics never have a happy ending; all his songs are either really twisted or mournful and sad.
During lives, Kyo takes the advantages of being the vocalist to its fullest: he practically throws himself around the stage, he is not only a singer, but a performer. He may be small, but he is a twisted bundle of energy. He is incredible to watch, for you can almost feel the pain in his vocals by just looking at him.
His hearing to his left ear is very bad, because in 2000 he had an "Acute Acoustic Trauma" (I don't really know what it is, but sounds bad to me), and because of that, many lives were postponed to next year.
In the band only Kyo likes to use daub-like, thick make-up. His hair changes color constantly: raging from black to red, to bleached blonde; he just spikes it up or combs it down, or just puts it under a hat or a bandana. Nowadays he keeps it at shoulder-lenght and dyes it black. In their Visual Kei days, the clothes he designed were often based on a traditional japanese kimono, interwined with modern materials like pleather and corsets.
Full name: 原 敏政 (Hara Toshimasa)
Nicknames: Toshiya, Tochi (Totchi)
In the band, he is a bassist
Date of birth: 03.31,1977. (Nagano)
Astrological sign: Aries
Zodiac sign: Snake
Blood type: B
Height: 179cm
Weight: 58 kg
Clothes' size: S/M
Shoe size: 41 (7)
Favourite cigarette brand: VIRGINIA SUMS LIGHT 6mg
Favourite sport: Baseball
His former bands: Pierrotのローディ ® D+L ® GOSICK
Personality: spoiled, impatient, selfish, egoist
Likes: fishing, resting at home
Dislikes: bad things ^_^'
According to him, the most important thing is parents, Dir en grey, the fans
Favourite food: lots of things, vegetable juices
Food he detests: parsley, broccoli
He likes to get: clothes, shoes, accessories, figurines (he is a very devoted collector), cigarettes
He likes not to get: perishable things and sweets
Favourite colour: mostly blue, red
Favourite designers: Vivienne Westwood, Masaki Matsushima, Milkboy
Fun facts: He learned fashion design. His nose is the ticklest part of him. He wears contactlenses. On his free days he forgets his laziness.
Toshiya has a red bedroom. He wanted it so, because red generates energy and excitement and he needs these when he finally gets home after a hard day's work.
Embryo was the very first song when he played on his bass using his fingers instead of a pick. Even now he alternates between the pick and his fingers.
Toshiya's apartment got soaked once: on the first floor he noticed the wet carpet, but no matter how he tried to dry it up, it got wet again. He called his landlord but it was late: all the wooden furniture in his house got wet and moldy!
Toshiya is the only member who was not a part of La:Sadies before Dir en grey; he came from Deathmask. When he first met with Dir en grey, he couldn't decide what to think of them. He had heard some rumours about them, particularly about the blonde singer, Kyo. But he was impressed when he heard Kaoru scold a man who had claimed that they wouldn't make it as a real band. Kaoru told him in a proud tone that they surely would be famous. And it turned out that Kaoru was right after all. Toshiya often states jokingly that he was "kidnapped" by Dir en grey, but he seems pretty happy to be their "victim".
Before he picked up the bass as his instrument, he had tried many before, like drums and guitar. However, he chose the bass because it had less strings and he thought it would be easier to play on it, but soon he had to find out that wasn't true. He spent lot of time practicing and thus he became one of the most talented bassist as a result. You just have to check out his bass solo in Cage, it's absolutely wonderful: his play is continous and the melody flows perfectly. Or you just have to listen to "Itoshisa wa fuhai ni tsuki" (which is on their new album); this song seems to have been made to show off Toshiya's bass.
Toshiya - as Kaoru - is very good at drawing, he often makes comics of his band mates, also he is a big fan of anime and manga. Actually, a lot of his influences in his costumes came from reading them. He loves watching horror movies.
He didn't have many boys in his neighbourhood to hang out with, so he just played with the girls instead. This had its drawback with his class mates later, for they became very jealous of him.
On the video taken in the Osaka-Jou Hall, Toshiya pushed Shinya to the ground, and pounced on top of him, while Die covered them with feathers.
Toshiya loves his fans, he often acts flirtatious on stage with the others (us, fangirls love this!). He is also famous for his water gun: he likes to spray the audience with it!
He is open with his emotions, not afraid to show his beaming smile, or drop a tear (too sweet...); probably it has to do something with his dominant boyish personality.
Totchi is beautifully slim and maybe he is the most beautiful in a feminine way, and he wore quite revealing outfits showing off his perfect figure; he wore lots of pvc and fishnet, lace and leather. His outfits were very intricate, and he looked (still looks), great in all of them. However, nowadays he seems to have handed this accentuated feminine style over to Shinya. Despite his attire, he is the vibrant and childish one, full of energy and boyish charm; he always seems to be ready to have some fun. On videos, he is *constantly* laughing and messing around.
His face is naturally beautiful, so it hardly needs any makeup, but if he wears it, he makes himself more stinking in doing so. Like Kyo, he sometimes go to extremes, accentuating his lovely lips and pretty eyes. He keeps his hair cut fairly short, dyed with varieties of darker colours, like blue and black, but he dyes it a deep dark brown shade lately.
Full name: 寺地 心夜 (Terachi Shinya)
Nicknames: Shinya, Shin-chan
In the band, he is a drummer
Date of birth: 02.24,1978. (Osaka)
Astrological sign: Pisces
Zodiac sign: Horse
Blood type: B
Height: 170cm
Weight: 42 kg
Clothes' size: M
Shoe size: 38
Favourite cigarette brand: he doesn't smoke!
Favourite sport: he hates sports
Favourite music:Ayumi Hamasaki, Morning Musume, the music of Yoshiki
His former bands: 人工天使 (Jinkou Tenshi) ® Siva ® Ruby ® 廃人黒薔薇族 (Haijin Kurobarazoku) ® La:Sadie's
Personality: He claims himelf "cool", then kami no ke o sawaru (he touches his hair)
He sees himself as a girl
Likes: music
Dislikes: stinky cigarettes
According to him, the most important thing the fans everywhere
Favourite food: jelly, raw salad and cabbage, beef, spaghetti
Food that he detests: arisugiru (perishables), almost all foods
He likes to get: clothes, CDs
He likes not to get: plush toys
Fun facts: His whole body is ticklish. He is near sighted, he wears contactlenses. He likes to drink all kinds of alcohol. When he travels, he carries with himself the "Shinya sama travelling set". He admires Yoshiki. He learns Kung-fu since 2nd grade. In his school he liked the music class, and hated English. He likes spring and autumn, because neither are hot nor cold.
Even though Shinya not really talks about his love life, he said once that he wouldn't consider himself to be truly "grown up" until he will be a dad.
The first and the last time he actually smoked was when he and his friends blew the smoke into bubbles. He thought it looked cool and he wanted to try.
When Shinya started to perform on lives, he had no idea how to do the stage make up, so his mother helped him with that!
Shinya is the "baby" of Dir en grey, him being the youngest and most serious member. Allegedly he is the most stubborn in the band, so the others allow him to do almost everything he wants. I find it amazing to hear him playing on the drums, such a powerful sound coming from a seemingly small person. He is the only one in the band who doesn't smoke, and likes to keep a healthy diet; he also likes to solve riddles.
It is quite hard to get to know anything about him, as he doesn't give straight answers in interviews. He is constantly quiet, and never volunteers any information about himself. In fact, it was 6 months before the others found out what his phone number was! Also it is a rare occasion to see him flashing his pretty smile.
His ideal is Yoshiki, the drummer of X Japan, who became the manager of Dir en grey. He also rarely speaks about his childhood nor love-life: his every answer was "normal is good" to interview questions in the latter topic.
He loves his fans, on lives he often throws his drumsticks or waterbottles into the crowd. Shinya loves pop-music, especially girl pop. This is rather ironic, since he is in a J-Rock group ^_^.
Shinya is an animal-lover; he has 2 dogs: Miyu the chihuahua and Puppy the papillon (the latter lives with his parents); he spoils them badly. Miyu is always with him, sometimes even on photoshoots, for they have some pictures together. As he confessed in the "21 questions for the 21st century" interview, the 3 most important things in his life are Miyu, then Puppy (the 3rd one is Dir en grey ^_^').
He is definitely the most feminine in the band - altough Toshiya is almost as female-looking as him sometimes. Allegedly, Die had a crush on him because he actually thought Shinya was a girl O_O. Poor Die. He gets picked on the most, probably because he is the youngest.
Shinya is very tall and thin (only 42 kg!); usually he wears only a light dusting of makeup, a very feminine style, emphasizing his big pouty lips and beautiful eyes. He alwas has a beautiful hairstyle, and he constantly tries out something new. Like: after they finished recording the Yokan video, he had his long and curly hair cut; Die and Kaoru joined to the "ceremony". His haircolor usually is a shade of blonde or honey brown; and is currently bleached blonde. He makes a habit of dressing in a female fashion: like skirts and dresses with thigh-high boots.
THE BAND
"Formed in 1997, with the sole purpose to spread the feeling of hurt and sorrow caused by weakness, shallowness and egoism of humanity. Since then, their grotesque ways, their warped affection, and their crazy live shows took the independent record scene by a storm, putting them on the very top.
In 1999, their fame caught the attention of then CEO of East West Japan. Thus signing them to a major record label. They debuted releasing 3 singles at once, very rare for a newcomer. Of course, all 3 songs hit the top 10 on the charts. After that, all their releases would hit the top 10 on the charts proving that more and more people were sympathizing with their lyrics.
In 2002, their fame hit all of Asia. During their Asia Tour they traveled to Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Shanghai. And in Shanghai, public safety officers had to be called in to calm the excited fans.
When they first formed, their expressions of pain came from struggling and writhe, hiding inside the feelings of hurt and suffering. But as time passed, their pain became a cry also a message.
Now, Dir en grey has changed its target from Japan to the World. From their unstable beginning, the band itself has gone through many changes and revolutions. It is clear that their music is their tool to send out a message, and they have only just begun. "
The Japanese band Dir en grey was formed on Feb.02.1997. in Osaka. Formerly Kyo (singer), Kaoru, Die (guitars) and Shinya (drums) was in the indies band La:Sadie's, with Kisaki on the bass. When La:Sadie's was on a tour in Nagano, they met Toshiya, and became close friends. Later, when Kyo, Kaoru, Die and Shinya had a clash with Kisaki, and La:Sadie's broke up (Jan.05.1997.); they decided to play together again, but they were without a bassist. Then they remembered that they have a good friend and bassist in Nagano, so they went to kidnap him - as Toshiya likes to say - from his former band, D+L. Thus, Dir en grey formed.
For a long time, many of their songs were sponsored by Yoshiki (X Japan - drummer) - for example, Cage and Yokan - and he produced their singles even after the album Gauze. Nowadays they became independent, they write their own music and lyrics.
There are a few explanations concerning the meaning of "Dir en grey". Most likely, the name originated from the german world "dir" (you, yours), the french "en", and the english "grey"; meaning "grey coin". Their newsletter is called "Haiiro no Ginka", which basically means "grey coin" in Japanese.
As Kaoru stated in Steven's Untitled Rock Show (Fuse TV), the name was chosen because 'it sounded right', and includes words from several languages, so no specific meaning would be attached to it other than the band's name itself.
As aarontheartiste pointed out, the Japanese pronounciation of Dir en grey ([diruangurii]) resembles of [doriangurii], Dorian Gray, which came from the book 'The Picture of Dorian Gray' by Oscar Wilde. This book is considered one of the last works of classic gothic horror fiction with a strong Faustian theme.
When they began to make their music, they were strongly influenced by Visual Kei, Due to unmistakable American and European influences, J-Rock fell into step with artists like David Bowie, Marilyn Manson, Iggy Pop, and Rammstein. Bands like Malice Mazer, Pierrot, and Dir en grey are known for their stage shows which are inspired by David Bowie's style, with gender-bending costumes and theatrical stage-shows. Another strong influence on Visual Kei is the older forms of entertainment in Japan. The traditional Bunraku, Noh and Kabuki have their place in this music style as well.
Visual Kei is a term usually related to Japanese rock music, referring to bands whose primary point of interest for their fans is their costume and appearance. Inside Japan, their fans are almost exclusively teenage girls and as such they could be considered a uniquely Japanese version of a boy band. A notable difference between Visual Kei and boy bands is that boy bands are usually prefabricated by an external music producer and start with a strong marketing campaign, while there are a lot of indie, Visual Kei bands that won't get promoted unless they first gain popularity and sign with a major label (except for Lucifer). Another notable difference is that most boy bands do not compose their own songs, while Visual Kei bands usually do.
Members of Visual Kei bands often wear striking makeup (on photoshoots), style their hair in dramatic shapes with meticulously done colour dyes, and wear elaborate costumes. Although the costumes can sometimes appear feminine, the great majority of bands have an entirely male lineup.
Western observers sometimes confuse Visual Kei bands with Goth bands because of the occasionally similar makeup and clothing, but most Japanese goths do not consider Visual Kei to be gothic, and there is very little cultural crossover between Japanese Visual Kei fans and Japanese goths. their clothes and make-up were feminine. But as their music and style developed, this effect wore on.
The most interesting matter in them is their multiple talents: every member of the band helps making their music, this can be the cause of the difference in their songs.
Kyo writes their complex, dark, explicit and diverse lyrics not many dare to follow suit. And don't forget nowadays there are many who don't even write *their own* lyrics. All the songs have different messages, but they are equals in one content: the pain and the suffering.
Their music is dark, they often convey abuse, death and the lament of lost love in their lyrics. In fact, there are no Dir en grey song that describe any form of happiness, but... there are many happy music in the world aren't there? Kyo's lyrics are always dark, they never have a happy ending. There are many different kinds of instruments in their music, so they are never trivial.
Dir en grey always changes: the album Macabre is not like Missa, and Kisou is far off from Six Ugly. The best thing about them is their works are always unique, they never repeat anything.
Most fans (fangirls ^_^) realize the effect of the disbanded X Japan on the members of Dir en grey. For example, Kaoru greatly adores Hide (Hideto Matsumoto), the guitarist, and Shinya is great fan of Yoshiki (Yoshiki Hayashi), the drummer.
Grappler Baki anime: Dir en grey performed an opening theme (Child Prey) for (Grappler Baki) [Sept.2005].
"Fans can thank FUNimation for their chance to see Dir en grey live - the company has been working to sponsor such a tour since the band's song "Child Prey" was used as the opening theme for FUNimation's Baki the Grappler anime. Baki animation will also be featured during the concert dates. (...) With the first dates of the band's first American tour, Dir en grey and FUNimation are making sure that fans all over America will have a chance to see them play. (...)" [Original source got deleted] .
Why does Dir en grey do the opening song for the series?
Freewill, Dir en grey's music label, produces Baki the Grappler. A lot of labels utilize anime to promote their bands. Since Freewill produced Baki, Dir en grey was the natural choice. And the Song ROCKS!
Their song, The Final is on the Taste Of Chaos compilation album, which features 40 tracks on 2 discs. The promotion tour is called Taste Of Chaos Tour Japan 2005, started from November.
In March 2005 they've finally released their long-awaited album, Withering to Death, which caused a wide variety of reactions from their fans old and new alike. The album later became known as the band's first album to be officially released in both Europe and North America. These 2 albums were modified versions, made especially for release outside of Japan: containing translations in French, German and English, and a DVD bonus PV (depending on country release - either "The Final", "Saku" or "Kudou").
In May 2005, they performed in Europe for the first time. As a part of their "It Withers and Withers" tour, their lives in Berlin and Paris sold out without any promotion (it was mentioned only in a few newsletters by import record stores and the rumours spread fast through the internet). They've performed at Germany's most famous rock festivals, Rock im Park and Rock am Ring; and also successfully sold out 3.500 tickets to Columbiahalle in May.
In March 2006 Dir en grey moved to tour in the United States. First they've performed in REDRUM ANNEX (Austin, Texas). They continued a few days later in New York City and Los Angeles. All these shows sold out within days. A year after their first appearence in Germany, they've come back to play in Columbiahalle again.
Sadly, because of Kyo's laryngitis he was again hospitalized again in July, and the band had to postpone a concerts in Japan. He sent a cellphone message to his fans when he was in the hospital: 'You were worried about me, right? I'm almost healed. Thank you.' Fortunately he got better and a few weeks later in early August the band were able to join Korn, Deftones and other bands during the Family Values Tour 2006 across the US. Not long after, they've released the (Ryoujoku no Ame) single (their first release in over 9 months).
Before the release of the single Agitated Screams of Maggots, the band performed at Loudpark Festival (Saitama Super Arena, Japan) in October, along with Slayer, Megadeth, Napalm Death, Backyard Babies and Within Temptation. The PV for their song "Saku" was named the number 1 video of 2006 by MTV2's Headbanger's Ball.
They made their much-anticipated return to America as part of their 07-INWARD SCREAM tour. The 17 shows took place over the course of February. Their shows introduced two new bands, Bleed the Dream and Fair to Midland. After Dir en grey's sixth album The Marrow of a Bone was released in February 7, they went touring in Japan in March and April; to the US with Deftones in June and early July; and to Europe in August including Wacken Open Air- (Germany), Ankkarock- (Finland), M'era Luna- (Germany) and Metal Hammer (Poland) festivals.
Sadly to say Diru isnt VK anymore =*( this info ranges from 1996- i think early 2006 not sure i fergot.
Dir en grey is my favorite band and i wanna see how many others out there like Diru
so if you like Diru join my group!
Let me know wat u think of my group like wat i should improve on, add, or fix ty! ^^
~Gippal
Full name: 新倉 薫 (Niikura Kaoru)
Nicknames: Leader-sama, Kao, Kaokao
In the band, he is a guitarist
Date of birth: 02.17,1974. (Hyougo)
Astrological sign: Aquarius
Zodiac sign: Tiger
Blood type: A
Height: 170cm
Weight: 52 kg
Clothes' size: L
Shoe size: 39,5 (5 1/2)
Favourite cigarette brand: Mild Seven Light
Favourite sport: soccer baseball
Favourite music: HIDE, X-Japan, Shiina Ringo
His former bands: CHARM ® La:Sadie's
Personality: bad, difficult nature
He sees himself as a person with complicated nature
Likes: Gundam
Dislikes: prawn
According to him, the most important thing is fans
Favourite food: curry, potatoe salad, hamburger, chocolate, sushi, double cheesburger, chinese food, ramen,
okonomiyaki,
gyudon curry, gyudon kimechi
Food he detests: prawn
He likes to get: clothes, accessories, Gundam things
Favourite colour: purple, black
Fun facts: He is near-sighted, sometimes he wears glasses. When he was younger, he played soccer. He likes he's adam's apple on his body, he thinks it is very masculine. He doesn't like his hands, because they are rather small, and it is difficult to play on the guitar with small hands. He likes sleeping in bed instead of doing it on a futon. He needs completedarkness to sleep. He follows every new fashion. His favourite parfums is Egoist Platinum and CK One; his favourite piece of clothing is jeans; his favourite season is autumn.
When Kaoru was young, he got bored with his original black hair and he began to slowly brightening it to brown. When his parents noticed the change and asked him about it, he told them that the chemicals in the swimming pool were causing it, which is funny, because Kaoru can't swim.
He has Japanese Zombie Heroez
tattooed on his right arm; and recently, he got tattoos all over his left arm.
Kaoru is the oldest of the group - and as one, he appears to be the most mature - and he is the stoic leader-sama; all of the other members look up to Kaoru in a way. He is the main composer for most of their songs, and an excellent one at that; because every diru song is different, so he must have an amazing imagination to come up with so many different musical variations. His guitar skills are positively astounding too, he holds his audience captive through his playing.
He rarely smiles - though when he does, it's a definitely heart-warming sight. However, he was the one member of the group who scared all the others when they first met. You can imagine, even the Waru was scared of him! Also he is quite serious and very deliberate. But as adult-like as Kaoru appears - he has a sweet, childish side that he shows sometime: he is a big fan of anime and manga (especially Gundam), and loves to tease Shinya with Die, or simply to joke around.
On concerts, Kaoru remains relatively still, but sometimes he just runs around the stage and pumps the crowd up. He is also famous for headbanging along to the music. He is a very big fan of Hide, he even joined to one of his fanclubs, sent him a letter and got an autograph! Altough he dislikes to admit it, he is very good at drawing.
He likes sports like soccer very much, not like sport-hater Shinya.
Kaoru doesn't wear much make-up - compared to the rest of the group, that is - he only accents his eyes and lips. He has no need to bring out his cheekbones, because they are pretty enough as they are! His hair is ever changing: it tends to go through various shades of purple and pink, even honey brown, and is currently black and blonde.
He wears a lot of black that rarely shows much of his skin. His clothes look comlex (and sometimes bizarre, like the parasite hat O_O), and he states if any of his fans can cosplay his clothes he will be very amazed!
Full name: 安滕 大助 (Andou/Kondo Daisuke)
Nicknames: Die, Dai, Dai-suki
In the band, he is a guitarist
Date of birth: 12.20,1974. (Mie)
Astrological sign: Sagittarius
Zodiac sign: Tiger
Blood type: B
Height: 178cm / 5'10"
Weight: 61 kg
Clothes' size: L
Shoe size: 41 (8)
Favourite cigarette brand: Salm Light
Favourite sport: soccer, baseball
Favourite music: Sakai Noriko, Hide
His former bands: ka･za･ri ® La:Sadie's
Personality: sincere and honest ... and impudent, because he likes to tease people
He sees himself as a hard-working, sincere, honest person
Likes: cheese, sake, tease Shinya
Dislikes: raw things, rain
According to him, the most important thing is life
Favourite food: tofu, potatoes, bacon, cheese omlett, milk, cheese, spaghetti, roasted meat, okonomiyaki,
pastries etc...
Food that he detests: seafood, thorny animals, raw foods
He likes to get: cigarettes
He likes not to get: raw things, candy
Fun facts: He has 4 sisters. His breast is especially ticklish. He is near-sighted, he wears contactlenses. He is the most serene and easy-going member.
Die was disgusted of some Chinese food served on their tour once, he was not impressed with the chicken-head soup. He was not able to look at it! Kyo and Toshiya on the other hand, thought it cool and Toshiya was playing with a head!
There was a fire in Die's apartment once. He tried to smother it with a fire extinguisher, but he just succeeded spraying the foam all around his feet and then he ran outside. He said: "That was so uncool!".
Altough Die is the second guitarist in the group, he is no less talented than our leader-sama, Kaoru. By the way, he is pretty amazing guitarist, the way he and Kaoru play together makes really gorgeous music. For some of their songs - especially in older ones like "Ash" and "Zan" - Die even sings backup vocals; he has a lovely, definite but soft voice. During concerts, Die is just like any other guitarist: he struts accross the stage to pump the crowd up, or just stands beside Kyo while he is singing. His idol is Takigawa Ichiro, the guitarist of Craze.
He is the most talkative member of the band, also extremely playful, and quite a joker, too: he likes to tease the others especially Shinya, together with Kaoru. On the video taken in Osaka-Jou Hall, Toshiya pushed Shinya to the ground, and pounced on top of him, while Die covered them with feathers. So, he can make the others laugh almost any time.
Die's real name is Daisuke, and the nickname for it is Dai. Some say that he changed the spelling of it to that of the English word "die", aiming to a more serious aspect. So Die is to be pronounced as "dai", not "di-eh".
He is very proud of his mane which he had grown since high-school. It is almost dyed in red, often use to defy the laws of gravity - sticking upwards in all directions - making for a punkish hairstyle. But nowadays he wears his hair short and dark chestnut-coloured, also he uses less hair-styler. Die confesses: if someone state that he looks awful, he takes it as a compliment ^_^.
After some of his fans complained that he was too fat - Die supposedly had eating and weight problems, because he took their ramblings to his heart, and became heavily underweighted.
When Dir en grey was still dressing up in Visual Kei style, Die was quite extreme when it came to his looks and fashion; though his makeup was not always as daub-like as Kyo's. He was almost always leather-clad with lots of silver accessories - he always looked like a tough J-Rocker.
Even though his music and scary outfits give off a hardcore attitude, Die is an extremely sweet and caring person. He has a kid hidden in himself, the way he seems to always be up to something.
Full name: 京 (Kyo) 西村享 (Nishimura Tooru)
Nicknames: Kyo, Waru, Warumono
In the band, he is a vocalist
Date of birth: 02.16,1976. (Kyoto)
Astrological sign: Aquarius
Zodiac sign: Dragon
Blood type: B
Height: 160cm
Weight: 43 kg
Clothes' size: S/M
Shoe size: 38 (5)
Favourite sport: terrorising the others!
Favourite music: X-Japan, Shiina Ringo, Buck-Tick
His former bands: 月蝕 (Gesshoku) ® Visun 殆磨 ® Masquerade ® 廃人黒薔薇族 (Haijin Kurobarazoku) ® La:Sadie's
Personality: hot-tempered, moody, funny
He sees himself as a warumono
Likes: videogames, sleeping, anime
Dislikes: people
According to him, the most important thing is fans
Favourite food: scorpion, sausage, muffin, pens <(^×^)>
Food he detests: liver, carrots
He likes to get: games (LDSoft, GameSoft), old, traditional clothes
He likes not to get: candy
He colletcts: Doraemon, Warumono figurines
Fun facts: Kyo can play guitar and bass to some extent. He tried many different instruments before he decided he would be a singer instead.
Kyo hasn't got much luck with his eyebrow piercings. When he first had one, it got infected and was very tender, so he decided to leave it alone and have another piercing on the other side, but the same thing happened to that one too!
Don't call this guy cute, EVER. Even though he is *so* adorable, he considers himself to be evil looking and scary. Many of his fans state that the scarier image he tries to put on, the more kawaii (cute) he seems to be (I love his evil little grin!).
The nickname of Kyo is Warumono, meaning "bad person" in Japanese, but at the same time it is his favourite manga.
When he was a little kid, he decided he will not learn any kanji, so in lieu of his original name he chose to use the "Kyo" kanji from his birthplace's name, Kyoto, which he speaks of quite fondly. Another explanation to his name is that he hated his original name and simply chose to use Kyo instead; the fact that he never used it - not even in his former bands - seems to comfirm this version.
Kyo began his music career as a roadie for the band Kuroyume. He joined his first band, Gesshoku, at the age of 17 and he changed his name to Yoma - this band was together in Kyoto for only half a year. In his next band, Visun he went by the name, Hotoma. From there he joined the MASQUERADE. This was followed by Haijin Kurobarazoku where Kyo was joined by Shinya (drums) and KISAKI (bass). By this time, Kyo had changed to his current name. After that, La:Sadies was formed where Kyo, Shinya and Kisaki were joined by Die and Kaoru (guitars) later.
He knows how to fall asleep absolutely anywhere: he was even sleeping in a middle of an interview! He is also known to enjoy lying during interviews, meaning one can never be sure that what he said has even a little verity in it.
He has 2 pets, Puchi and Buchi, the kangaroo rats.
It is said that he didn't get into the music business until he was 15, when he found out that it is something he really liked. He is a great fan of the band Kuroyume, and he looks up to the vocalist Kiyoharu. He has many piercings and tatoos
He has such an eccentric and powerful voice that he can do amazing number of things with: singing, screaming, choking, laughing; he really knows how to sound like he's vomiting or like he's having an orgasm in almost the same breath. It's almost as if he's doing some sound effects to his songs. For example, if you listen to Taiyou no Ao and then Zan, you think two completely different things about him. Also he has a maniac giggle - that can be found in some of his songs -, that you can't help but smile at... yeah, too cute!
He's not only amazing as a vocalist, but as a songwriter as well. He wants to describe pain, so his lyrics never have a happy ending; all his songs are either really twisted or mournful and sad.
During lives, Kyo takes the advantages of being the vocalist to its fullest: he practically throws himself around the stage, he is not only a singer, but a performer. He may be small, but he is a twisted bundle of energy. He is incredible to watch, for you can almost feel the pain in his vocals by just looking at him.
His hearing to his left ear is very bad, because in 2000 he had an "Acute Acoustic Trauma" (I don't really know what it is, but sounds bad to me), and because of that, many lives were postponed to next year.
In the band only Kyo likes to use daub-like, thick make-up. His hair changes color constantly: raging from black to red, to bleached blonde; he just spikes it up or combs it down, or just puts it under a hat or a bandana. Nowadays he keeps it at shoulder-lenght and dyes it black. In their Visual Kei days, the clothes he designed were often based on a traditional japanese kimono, interwined with modern materials like pleather and corsets.
Full name: 原 敏政 (Hara Toshimasa)
Nicknames: Toshiya, Tochi (Totchi)
In the band, he is a bassist
Date of birth: 03.31,1977. (Nagano)
Astrological sign: Aries
Zodiac sign: Snake
Blood type: B
Height: 179cm
Weight: 58 kg
Clothes' size: S/M
Shoe size: 41 (7)
Favourite cigarette brand: VIRGINIA SUMS LIGHT 6mg
Favourite sport: Baseball
His former bands: Pierrotのローディ ® D+L ® GOSICK
Personality: spoiled, impatient, selfish, egoist
Likes: fishing, resting at home
Dislikes: bad things ^_^'
According to him, the most important thing is parents, Dir en grey, the fans
Favourite food: lots of things, vegetable juices
Food he detests: parsley, broccoli
He likes to get: clothes, shoes, accessories, figurines (he is a very devoted collector), cigarettes
He likes not to get: perishable things and sweets
Favourite colour: mostly blue, red
Favourite designers: Vivienne Westwood, Masaki Matsushima, Milkboy
Fun facts: He learned fashion design. His nose is the ticklest part of him. He wears contactlenses. On his free days he forgets his laziness.
Toshiya has a red bedroom. He wanted it so, because red generates energy and excitement and he needs these when he finally gets home after a hard day's work.
Embryo was the very first song when he played on his bass using his fingers instead of a pick. Even now he alternates between the pick and his fingers.
Toshiya's apartment got soaked once: on the first floor he noticed the wet carpet, but no matter how he tried to dry it up, it got wet again. He called his landlord but it was late: all the wooden furniture in his house got wet and moldy!
Toshiya is the only member who was not a part of La:Sadies before Dir en grey; he came from Deathmask. When he first met with Dir en grey, he couldn't decide what to think of them. He had heard some rumours about them, particularly about the blonde singer, Kyo. But he was impressed when he heard Kaoru scold a man who had claimed that they wouldn't make it as a real band. Kaoru told him in a proud tone that they surely would be famous. And it turned out that Kaoru was right after all. Toshiya often states jokingly that he was "kidnapped" by Dir en grey, but he seems pretty happy to be their "victim".
Before he picked up the bass as his instrument, he had tried many before, like drums and guitar. However, he chose the bass because it had less strings and he thought it would be easier to play on it, but soon he had to find out that wasn't true. He spent lot of time practicing and thus he became one of the most talented bassist as a result. You just have to check out his bass solo in Cage, it's absolutely wonderful: his play is continous and the melody flows perfectly. Or you just have to listen to "Itoshisa wa fuhai ni tsuki" (which is on their new album); this song seems to have been made to show off Toshiya's bass.
Toshiya - as Kaoru - is very good at drawing, he often makes comics of his band mates, also he is a big fan of anime and manga. Actually, a lot of his influences in his costumes came from reading them. He loves watching horror movies.
He didn't have many boys in his neighbourhood to hang out with, so he just played with the girls instead. This had its drawback with his class mates later, for they became very jealous of him.
On the video taken in the Osaka-Jou Hall, Toshiya pushed Shinya to the ground, and pounced on top of him, while Die covered them with feathers.
Toshiya loves his fans, he often acts flirtatious on stage with the others (us, fangirls love this!). He is also famous for his water gun: he likes to spray the audience with it!
He is open with his emotions, not afraid to show his beaming smile, or drop a tear (too sweet...); probably it has to do something with his dominant boyish personality.
Totchi is beautifully slim and maybe he is the most beautiful in a feminine way, and he wore quite revealing outfits showing off his perfect figure; he wore lots of pvc and fishnet, lace and leather. His outfits were very intricate, and he looked (still looks), great in all of them. However, nowadays he seems to have handed this accentuated feminine style over to Shinya. Despite his attire, he is the vibrant and childish one, full of energy and boyish charm; he always seems to be ready to have some fun. On videos, he is *constantly* laughing and messing around.
His face is naturally beautiful, so it hardly needs any makeup, but if he wears it, he makes himself more stinking in doing so. Like Kyo, he sometimes go to extremes, accentuating his lovely lips and pretty eyes. He keeps his hair cut fairly short, dyed with varieties of darker colours, like blue and black, but he dyes it a deep dark brown shade lately.
Full name: 寺地 心夜 (Terachi Shinya)
Nicknames: Shinya, Shin-chan
In the band, he is a drummer
Date of birth: 02.24,1978. (Osaka)
Astrological sign: Pisces
Zodiac sign: Horse
Blood type: B
Height: 170cm
Weight: 42 kg
Clothes' size: M
Shoe size: 38
Favourite cigarette brand: he doesn't smoke!
Favourite sport: he hates sports
Favourite music:Ayumi Hamasaki, Morning Musume, the music of Yoshiki
His former bands: 人工天使 (Jinkou Tenshi) ® Siva ® Ruby ® 廃人黒薔薇族 (Haijin Kurobarazoku) ® La:Sadie's
Personality: He claims himelf "cool", then kami no ke o sawaru (he touches his hair)
He sees himself as a girl
Likes: music
Dislikes: stinky cigarettes
According to him, the most important thing the fans everywhere
Favourite food: jelly, raw salad and cabbage, beef, spaghetti
Food that he detests: arisugiru (perishables), almost all foods
He likes to get: clothes, CDs
He likes not to get: plush toys
Fun facts: His whole body is ticklish. He is near sighted, he wears contactlenses. He likes to drink all kinds of alcohol. When he travels, he carries with himself the "Shinya sama travelling set". He admires Yoshiki. He learns Kung-fu since 2nd grade. In his school he liked the music class, and hated English. He likes spring and autumn, because neither are hot nor cold.
Even though Shinya not really talks about his love life, he said once that he wouldn't consider himself to be truly "grown up" until he will be a dad.
The first and the last time he actually smoked was when he and his friends blew the smoke into bubbles. He thought it looked cool and he wanted to try.
When Shinya started to perform on lives, he had no idea how to do the stage make up, so his mother helped him with that!
Shinya is the "baby" of Dir en grey, him being the youngest and most serious member. Allegedly he is the most stubborn in the band, so the others allow him to do almost everything he wants. I find it amazing to hear him playing on the drums, such a powerful sound coming from a seemingly small person. He is the only one in the band who doesn't smoke, and likes to keep a healthy diet; he also likes to solve riddles.
It is quite hard to get to know anything about him, as he doesn't give straight answers in interviews. He is constantly quiet, and never volunteers any information about himself. In fact, it was 6 months before the others found out what his phone number was! Also it is a rare occasion to see him flashing his pretty smile.
His ideal is Yoshiki, the drummer of X Japan, who became the manager of Dir en grey. He also rarely speaks about his childhood nor love-life: his every answer was "normal is good" to interview questions in the latter topic.
He loves his fans, on lives he often throws his drumsticks or waterbottles into the crowd. Shinya loves pop-music, especially girl pop. This is rather ironic, since he is in a J-Rock group ^_^.
Shinya is an animal-lover; he has 2 dogs: Miyu the chihuahua and Puppy the papillon (the latter lives with his parents); he spoils them badly. Miyu is always with him, sometimes even on photoshoots, for they have some pictures together. As he confessed in the "21 questions for the 21st century" interview, the 3 most important things in his life are Miyu, then Puppy (the 3rd one is Dir en grey ^_^').
He is definitely the most feminine in the band - altough Toshiya is almost as female-looking as him sometimes. Allegedly, Die had a crush on him because he actually thought Shinya was a girl O_O. Poor Die. He gets picked on the most, probably because he is the youngest.
Shinya is very tall and thin (only 42 kg!); usually he wears only a light dusting of makeup, a very feminine style, emphasizing his big pouty lips and beautiful eyes. He alwas has a beautiful hairstyle, and he constantly tries out something new. Like: after they finished recording the Yokan video, he had his long and curly hair cut; Die and Kaoru joined to the "ceremony". His haircolor usually is a shade of blonde or honey brown; and is currently bleached blonde. He makes a habit of dressing in a female fashion: like skirts and dresses with thigh-high boots.
THE BAND
"Formed in 1997, with the sole purpose to spread the feeling of hurt and sorrow caused by weakness, shallowness and egoism of humanity. Since then, their grotesque ways, their warped affection, and their crazy live shows took the independent record scene by a storm, putting them on the very top.
In 1999, their fame caught the attention of then CEO of East West Japan. Thus signing them to a major record label. They debuted releasing 3 singles at once, very rare for a newcomer. Of course, all 3 songs hit the top 10 on the charts. After that, all their releases would hit the top 10 on the charts proving that more and more people were sympathizing with their lyrics.
In 2002, their fame hit all of Asia. During their Asia Tour they traveled to Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Shanghai. And in Shanghai, public safety officers had to be called in to calm the excited fans.
When they first formed, their expressions of pain came from struggling and writhe, hiding inside the feelings of hurt and suffering. But as time passed, their pain became a cry also a message.
Now, Dir en grey has changed its target from Japan to the World. From their unstable beginning, the band itself has gone through many changes and revolutions. It is clear that their music is their tool to send out a message, and they have only just begun. "
The Japanese band Dir en grey was formed on Feb.02.1997. in Osaka. Formerly Kyo (singer), Kaoru, Die (guitars) and Shinya (drums) was in the indies band La:Sadie's, with Kisaki on the bass. When La:Sadie's was on a tour in Nagano, they met Toshiya, and became close friends. Later, when Kyo, Kaoru, Die and Shinya had a clash with Kisaki, and La:Sadie's broke up (Jan.05.1997.); they decided to play together again, but they were without a bassist. Then they remembered that they have a good friend and bassist in Nagano, so they went to kidnap him - as Toshiya likes to say - from his former band, D+L. Thus, Dir en grey formed.
For a long time, many of their songs were sponsored by Yoshiki (X Japan - drummer) - for example, Cage and Yokan - and he produced their singles even after the album Gauze. Nowadays they became independent, they write their own music and lyrics.
There are a few explanations concerning the meaning of "Dir en grey". Most likely, the name originated from the german world "dir" (you, yours), the french "en", and the english "grey"; meaning "grey coin". Their newsletter is called "Haiiro no Ginka", which basically means "grey coin" in Japanese.
As Kaoru stated in Steven's Untitled Rock Show (Fuse TV), the name was chosen because 'it sounded right', and includes words from several languages, so no specific meaning would be attached to it other than the band's name itself.
As aarontheartiste pointed out, the Japanese pronounciation of Dir en grey ([diruangurii]) resembles of [doriangurii], Dorian Gray, which came from the book 'The Picture of Dorian Gray' by Oscar Wilde. This book is considered one of the last works of classic gothic horror fiction with a strong Faustian theme.
When they began to make their music, they were strongly influenced by Visual Kei, Due to unmistakable American and European influences, J-Rock fell into step with artists like David Bowie, Marilyn Manson, Iggy Pop, and Rammstein. Bands like Malice Mazer, Pierrot, and Dir en grey are known for their stage shows which are inspired by David Bowie's style, with gender-bending costumes and theatrical stage-shows. Another strong influence on Visual Kei is the older forms of entertainment in Japan. The traditional Bunraku, Noh and Kabuki have their place in this music style as well.
Visual Kei is a term usually related to Japanese rock music, referring to bands whose primary point of interest for their fans is their costume and appearance. Inside Japan, their fans are almost exclusively teenage girls and as such they could be considered a uniquely Japanese version of a boy band. A notable difference between Visual Kei and boy bands is that boy bands are usually prefabricated by an external music producer and start with a strong marketing campaign, while there are a lot of indie, Visual Kei bands that won't get promoted unless they first gain popularity and sign with a major label (except for Lucifer). Another notable difference is that most boy bands do not compose their own songs, while Visual Kei bands usually do.
Members of Visual Kei bands often wear striking makeup (on photoshoots), style their hair in dramatic shapes with meticulously done colour dyes, and wear elaborate costumes. Although the costumes can sometimes appear feminine, the great majority of bands have an entirely male lineup.
Western observers sometimes confuse Visual Kei bands with Goth bands because of the occasionally similar makeup and clothing, but most Japanese goths do not consider Visual Kei to be gothic, and there is very little cultural crossover between Japanese Visual Kei fans and Japanese goths. their clothes and make-up were feminine. But as their music and style developed, this effect wore on.
The most interesting matter in them is their multiple talents: every member of the band helps making their music, this can be the cause of the difference in their songs.
Kyo writes their complex, dark, explicit and diverse lyrics not many dare to follow suit. And don't forget nowadays there are many who don't even write *their own* lyrics. All the songs have different messages, but they are equals in one content: the pain and the suffering.
Their music is dark, they often convey abuse, death and the lament of lost love in their lyrics. In fact, there are no Dir en grey song that describe any form of happiness, but... there are many happy music in the world aren't there? Kyo's lyrics are always dark, they never have a happy ending. There are many different kinds of instruments in their music, so they are never trivial.
Dir en grey always changes: the album Macabre is not like Missa, and Kisou is far off from Six Ugly. The best thing about them is their works are always unique, they never repeat anything.
Most fans (fangirls ^_^) realize the effect of the disbanded X Japan on the members of Dir en grey. For example, Kaoru greatly adores Hide (Hideto Matsumoto), the guitarist, and Shinya is great fan of Yoshiki (Yoshiki Hayashi), the drummer.
Grappler Baki anime: Dir en grey performed an opening theme (Child Prey) for (Grappler Baki) [Sept.2005].
"Fans can thank FUNimation for their chance to see Dir en grey live - the company has been working to sponsor such a tour since the band's song "Child Prey" was used as the opening theme for FUNimation's Baki the Grappler anime. Baki animation will also be featured during the concert dates. (...) With the first dates of the band's first American tour, Dir en grey and FUNimation are making sure that fans all over America will have a chance to see them play. (...)" [Original source got deleted] .
Why does Dir en grey do the opening song for the series?
Freewill, Dir en grey's music label, produces Baki the Grappler. A lot of labels utilize anime to promote their bands. Since Freewill produced Baki, Dir en grey was the natural choice. And the Song ROCKS!
Their song, The Final is on the Taste Of Chaos compilation album, which features 40 tracks on 2 discs. The promotion tour is called Taste Of Chaos Tour Japan 2005, started from November.
In March 2005 they've finally released their long-awaited album, Withering to Death, which caused a wide variety of reactions from their fans old and new alike. The album later became known as the band's first album to be officially released in both Europe and North America. These 2 albums were modified versions, made especially for release outside of Japan: containing translations in French, German and English, and a DVD bonus PV (depending on country release - either "The Final", "Saku" or "Kudou").
In May 2005, they performed in Europe for the first time. As a part of their "It Withers and Withers" tour, their lives in Berlin and Paris sold out without any promotion (it was mentioned only in a few newsletters by import record stores and the rumours spread fast through the internet). They've performed at Germany's most famous rock festivals, Rock im Park and Rock am Ring; and also successfully sold out 3.500 tickets to Columbiahalle in May.
In March 2006 Dir en grey moved to tour in the United States. First they've performed in REDRUM ANNEX (Austin, Texas). They continued a few days later in New York City and Los Angeles. All these shows sold out within days. A year after their first appearence in Germany, they've come back to play in Columbiahalle again.
Sadly, because of Kyo's laryngitis he was again hospitalized again in July, and the band had to postpone a concerts in Japan. He sent a cellphone message to his fans when he was in the hospital: 'You were worried about me, right? I'm almost healed. Thank you.' Fortunately he got better and a few weeks later in early August the band were able to join Korn, Deftones and other bands during the Family Values Tour 2006 across the US. Not long after, they've released the (Ryoujoku no Ame) single (their first release in over 9 months).
Before the release of the single Agitated Screams of Maggots, the band performed at Loudpark Festival (Saitama Super Arena, Japan) in October, along with Slayer, Megadeth, Napalm Death, Backyard Babies and Within Temptation. The PV for their song "Saku" was named the number 1 video of 2006 by MTV2's Headbanger's Ball.
They made their much-anticipated return to America as part of their 07-INWARD SCREAM tour. The 17 shows took place over the course of February. Their shows introduced two new bands, Bleed the Dream and Fair to Midland. After Dir en grey's sixth album The Marrow of a Bone was released in February 7, they went touring in Japan in March and April; to the US with Deftones in June and early July; and to Europe in August including Wacken Open Air- (Germany), Ankkarock- (Finland), M'era Luna- (Germany) and Metal Hammer (Poland) festivals.
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Don't know...is this group still active? xD^^
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