"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."
- Taken from Dir en grey's official site..
First off, this section of the page is going to be written in the basic facts form due
to the fact that I'm currently suffering a cold that has stuck with me for almost a week now and I just don't feel up for
writing it up any other way. A change may come in the future, though.
-1996 - KISAKI, Kyo, Kaoru, Die and Shinya form the band La:Sadie's. KISAKI on Bass, Kyo on
Vocals, Kaoru on Lead Guitar, Die on Second Guitar and Shinya on drums. During a Live in Nagano the band met Toshiya and became
close friends with him.
-1997 - Kyo, Kaoru, Die and Shinya had a clash with KISAKI, who left the band to pursue a solo
career, playing in such bands as Syndrome and Mirage. Currently he plays with Phantasmagoria. Kaoru took over leadership of
the band and they decided to keep playing, but they needed a bassist. Then they remembered Toshiya in Nagano who could play
Bass quite well and went to "kidnap" him from his current band D+L. Thus Dir en grey rose from the ashes of La:Sadie's.
-Dir en grey [ or ディルアングレイ as it is
written in Japanese ]'s name. Dir derives from the German word 'You' ( or 'Yours' depending on who you ask ). En derives from
the French word for 'In'. And Grey derives from the English word for, uh..'Grey', of course. You( Yours ) In Grey. Or Grey
Coin- so the band claims.
-Yoshiki ( ex-X-Japan / Solo ) took interest in the band sometime around 1998-99 and helped
to produce a great deal of their singles and their first major album GAUZE. But as they started to become more well-known
they parted ways with Yoshiki to write their own music and lyrics.
-When Dir en grey started out they could be considered Visual Kei, a genre of music which focuses
strongly on appearance and sometimes theatrical performance. The music can range from Rock to Metal to Goth. But as their
music developed, they slowly dropped this look.
-In 2000 Kyo fell ill and had to be hospitalized due to an Acute Acoustic Trauma,
which left him partially deaf in one ear even to this day. Due to this illness they had to cancel an extensive sold-out tour
for their upcoming album MACABRE. But once he recovered, the band made up for the cancelled tour in early 2001, ending
the tour at the Nihon Budokan during the same time they released their single ain't afraid to die.
-With the release of their third full-length album in 2003, came the tour Rettou Gekishin Angya,
which was the first international performance for the band covering places such as China and South Korea. In Shanghai the
tour was almost cancelled due to the overreaction of fans, but the band pushed on and played the concert as scheduled
-This tour came to a strong in at Yokohoma Arena in 2003, coming to be known as Rettou
Gekishin Angya FINAL 2003 5 Ugly KINGDOM, which featured their second mini album sixUGLY and their second single for their
next upcoming album.
-Several months after the show at the Yokohoma Arena, Dir en grey performed their five day
long show BLITZ5DAYS at Akasaka Blitz. Songs from the GAUZE age were featured over the days of this show, along with the introduction
of their fourth major album VULGAR and on the final day of BLITZ5DAYS, lucky fans were able to experience some of the songs
of VULGAR before its release in September of 2003.
-The year of 2005 marked a big turn for Dir en grey with their first Non-Asian shows. It Withers
and Withers, which rose from the release of their fifth major album Withering to death took them from Japan to Europe, playing
in European countries such as Belgium, France and Germany. Two of these shows were Rock im Park and Rock am Ring. They also
played a solo Live in Germany.
-Dir en grey had not played with other bands since being signed to their first major label,
but this changed when they began their European shows, featuring such bands as Eths ( a french band that played during their
French show ) and long-time associates Wednesday 13 ( american death-metal band formed by Joseph Poole that played during
a Japanese show ).
-Dir en grey was also featured on the Taste of Chaos Tour in Japan alongside bands such as
The Used, Story of the Year, Killswitch Engage and Funeral for a Friend.
-Also in 2005 Dir en grey's Withering to death album reached #31 on the Official Finnish Album
Chart, and in 2006 latest single Clever Sleazoid reached #15 on the same chart. The international labels Gan-Shin ( Germany
) and Free-Will America / Warcon ( American of course ) picked them up.
-2006 at SXSW06 in Texas Dir en grey played their first Ameircan tour. Their second concert
of the tour was performed at the Avalon Club in New York where they played a new, unidentified as of yet song with Still Life
Decay and their third and final concert of this tour was played at Wiltern Theater in Los Angeles, California with Opiate
for the Masses. Yoshiki was reported to be in attendance for this concert.
Dir en grey's popularity continues to grow around the world with their American release of
Withering to death, which can be found at such locations as Hot Topic ( which also sells other merchandise such as JRock tee-shirts
and the Cure magazine ) and other record stores. They will also be featured on a world-wide tour along with KoRn, Deftones,
Stone Sour and Flyleaf on the Main Stage of The Family Values Tour '06.
Early in 2007 they will be headlining their first American tour along with supports bands Fair to Midland
and Bleed the Dream. The tour will go all across America to 16 of the major cities, working from the East Coast
to the West. The tour will run through Febuary and will coincide with the release of their 6th full-length album, Marrow of a
Bone.
