• Interview with L~Lotus~

    L~Lotus~ is a five-piece band comprising of three ex. as milk members – 蓮華 (Renka) on vocals, saki and Takayuki on guitars, masato on bass, and YUJI on drums. They officially began their activities on March 6th and have released three digital singles to date: 「worry」 on May 19th, 「snow」 on May 26th, and 「tree」 on June 2nd. The members of L~Lotus~ sat down with us to answer a couple of questions, so give it a read to get to know them better! We’d like to thank JapanFiles... Read→

  • Interview with -LEON-

    -LEON- is a five-piece band from Gunma comprising of Yuji on vocals, Shin and Koya on guitars, Yamato on bass, and Masashi on drums. Mixing Asian cultural influences with visual rock, -LEON- has a heavy, modern sound with a distinct, ethereal flavor. On December 13th, the band released their first three track mini-album, 「REGULUS」 along with a PV for their song, 「Kokou ni Tou Tsuioku no Kagen no Tsuki」. The members of -LEON- took time to answer a few of our questions, so take a read through... Read→

  • Interview with GLACIER

    GLACIER is a five-member group from Okinawa, comprising of Makoto on vocals, Nao on lead guitar, Koujirou on rhythm guitar, Aki on bass, and Yuuki on drums. The band formed in July 2007 and made their major debut a year later on July 23rd. They have released a full album and six singles to date with their seventh single, 「愛の降る街」 (Ai no Furu Machi) which is the third installment of a 7-month digital release project, coming out on June 30th through JapanFiles and on iTunes. The members... Read→

  • Interview with O-PARTS

    O-PARTS is a two-man unit that started in June of 2009, formed by vocalist sho-ka (ex. Vogus Image) and bassist Jun (GaGaaalinG, ex. WAIVE). On August 20th, they released their first maxi-single entitled 「向日葵」 (Himawari) which included four tracks, all of which made it into the top ten of the Oricon Indies ranking. On May 26th, their second maxi-single, 「煌[kou]」 was released and will be available through JapanFiles from June 6th. Both sho-ka and Jun took time out of their busy schedules... Read→

  • Interview with Kaya

    In 2002, Kaya made his vocal debut in the Mana produced two-man unit, Schwarz Stein. In 2004, Schwarz Stein disbanded, and departing from the label the band was signed to, Kaya became a free singer. Using “aesthetics” as his main theme, Kaya conducts his activities with the goals of “the revolution of the aesthetic senses” and the “liberation of sexuality” in mind, and manages his own lyrics, CD jacket designs, make-up and costume designs as well as the organization... Read→

  • Interview with born

    born is a five member band that began together under RENNY AMY, which was active from August 2005, until December 31st, 2006. Shortly after, the same five members created D&L, and eventually changed their name to ‘born’ on April 9th, 2008 with the sponsored event at Takadanobaba AREA called “born presents 「bug scremo vol.01」”. About a week later, they released their first demonstration single, entitled 「Dust pain」, which was followed by the tour, 「Abnormal skin’s」. Since... Read→

  • Interview with Satsuki

    砂月-Satsuki- began his solo career on February 14th, 2009, after spending seven years as the vocalist for RENTRER EN SOI. His first solo release, 「AWAKE」 came out via his online shop on May 9th, and that month he also started his 「AWAKENING TO MOONLIGHT」 tour, which even made a stop in Los Angeles, California. His next release, 「CRYSTAL」 was out on August 21st, which was followed by his 「PEER INTO YOUR CRYSTAL HEART」 tour, where he preformed in both Tokyo and Las Vegas, Nevada. ... Read→

Posted on July 14, 2010 in Overseas, Tour

dir-en-grey%e2%80%99s-north-american-tour

As posted on the band’s MySpace…

(July 14, 2010) – DIR EN GREY announces a co-headlining tour with Apocalyptica that begins in Toronto on August 23 and concludes September 12 in Seattle, Washington. A fan pre-sale will begin here this Friday, July 16, and tickets will go on sale to the general public the following Friday, July 23.

Dir En Grey is considered the biggest Japanese rock band ever, and their intense live shows are the perfect way to experience their global appeal. With seven studio albums and tours on nearly every continent under their belt, the band continues to win over new fans with their extreme, unclassifiable sound and mesmerizing performances.

As Billboard noted around the band’s first US appearances in 2006, “Dir en grey has transcended the language barrier in the United States through its music — which mixes pop elements with metal, incorporating lyrics that vocalist Kyo sings and screams — and its appearance.“

Dir En Grey – vocalist KYO, guitarists KAORU and DIE, bassist TOSHIYA and drummer SHINYA – became extremely popular almost immediately upon forming ten years ago and have steadily garnered international critical acclaim and a devoted fan base worldwide. The Los Angeles Times wrote that frontman “Kyo is a staggering vocalist” and “has stockpiled an extreme range of vocal inflections, from a guttural mutter to a tonsil-ripping scream—no electronic effects needed.”

In January 2010, the band wrapped up two years of touring in support of 2008′s UROBOROS by playing two sold out shows at Tokyo’s legendary Nippon Budokan arena and on June 22 Dir En Grey released a CD & DVD set from these shows, titled UROBOROS -with the proof in the name of living…- AT NIPPON BUDOKAN. While many trends come and go Dir En Grey’s music crosses borders and transcends the language barrier worldwide.

Dir En Grey and Apocalyptica dates:

08/23 – Toronto, ON @ Sound Academy

08/24 – New York, NY @ Nokia Theatre

08/26 – Boston, MA @ Royale

08/27 – Philadelphia, PA @ Electric Factory

08/28 – Baltimore, MD @ Ram’s Head Live

08/30 – Atlanta, GA @ Center Stage

08/31 – St. Louis, MO@ Pageant

09/01 – Chicago, IL @ House of Blues

09/02 – Minneapolis, MN @ First Ave.

09/04 – Denver, CO @ Ogden Theatre

09/05 – Albuquerque, NM @ Sunshine Theatre

09/07 – Las Vegas, NV @ House of Blues

09/08 – Los Angeles, CA @ Wiltern

09/10 – San Francisco, CA @ Regency

09/12 – Seattle, WA @ Showbox SoDo

Source: DIR EN GREY Official MySpace

Posted on May 18, 2010 in Lives, Overseas

dir-en-grey-playing-in-russia

Dir en grey have added to their tour 「THE UNWAVERING FACT OF TOMORROW」 abroad this summer by announcing 2 gigs in Russia. They will be playing in Moscow on the 5th August at the Tochka Club, and at the Glav CLUB in St. Petersburg on the 6th.

For information on tickets, see the band’s Official myspace.

Since their first gig abroad in Germany in 2005, the band have travelled over 18 different countries, however, it will be their first time in Russia. According to contacts of the band, they had a number of offers to perform there before but they could never get round to going due to scheduling.

Great news for long awaited Russian fans! Who will be attending Dir en grey’s first gigs there?

Source: barks.jp, Dir en grey Official myspace

Posted on May 7, 2010 in Lives, Oneman, Overseas

dir-en-grey-performing-in-uk


This may be old news to most up to date fans, but just in case; Dir en grey will be performing in the summer in UK as part of their ‘THE UNWAVERING FACT OF TOMORROW TOUR 2010′. They will be performing in the ‘SONISPHERE 2010′ festival which will run from 30th July ~ 1st August in Knebworth, though there is still no official information on what day and what stage they will be playing on.
The band will also be doing a one man gig in London at the ‘KOKO’ club on the 3rd August. The gig is for 14yrs plus only, and tickets are now on sale at £20.00 each.

For more information on the SONISPHERE festival see their official site, and to buy tickets for their one-man gig see the KOKO venue site.

Who is going to either the festival or the gig?

Source: OHP, Official myspace, barks.jp

Posted on March 26, 2010 in Lives, Release

updates-on-dir-en-grey-uroboros-live-dvd


As I previously mentioned in a post here, Dir en grey will be releasing a new Live DVD, ‘UROBOROS-with the proof in the name of living…-AT NIPPON BUDOKAN’, on 26th May. I can now update on this with the information that there will be two type of releases; First Press edition, which will cost 10,500yen and the Regular edition, which will cost 7,140yen.
The First Press edition consists of 4 discs; 3 DVDs where 2 discs are full footage of the Saturday and Sunday gigs and 1 disc is bonus footage, with the extra CD being of recorded songs from the gigs. The Regular edition set are only of the 2 DVDs of the 2 day gigs.

Sources: barks.jp, OHP

Posted on March 15, 2010 in Lives, Release

dir-en-grey-releasing-uroboros-live-dvd

Dir en grey will be releasing a DVD of their gigs which they did at the Tokyo Nippon Budokan stage on the 9th and 10th January 2010. It is to be released simultaneously in 17 different countries, whilst the British Rock magazine ‘KERRANG’ rated these gigs with 5 K’s (5 out of 5 stars).

It will be entitled 「UROBOROS -with proof in the name of living…- AT NIPPON BUDOKAN」and go on sale on the 26th of May. The details, such as the price and the tracklist, to follow later.

The band has also put out a photo booklet called 「OUROBOROS」, which has been on sale as of February and costs ¥6,000 which you can purchase from their official online shop here.

Source: OHP, barks

I am very sorry for my ignorant mistake and I thank those who pointed it out! I have now edited this entry with the correct information.

Posted on February 23, 2010 in Interview, Magazine, Translation

dir-en-grey-vicious-magazine-interview-99

This is a really old interview I translated a while back, of Dir en grey back in 1999, when they were just about to make their major debut with their 3 singles; ‘ゆらめき’, ‘残-zan-’ and ‘アクロの丘’.
This specific interview was when they had just done some recordings and a photo-shoot in Los Angeles.
Notes I’ve made are in small print in []s. An apology I must make though; I no longer own the original text of the interview, and as my translating skills were not as good back then as they are now, I’ve been unable to edit parts I didn’t really understand. I’ve tried to make as many changes as possible though, but please note that there could be some small mistakes!

It’s quite amusing to see what Dir en grey thought of L.A. back then, and I think we see a previous side to them – hope you enjoy it! :)

“We (Vicious) have been to Los Angeles!! We went and chased Dir en grey!!! We managed to catch them during their recording for their Major Debut Single which is released on 20th January!! Vicious exclusively presents the band’s first photo shoot abroad as well as an interview!!!! We even managed to hear their views on L.A. and their feelings before their debut.”

— Good work on the photo shooting guys! What are your views are on your first photo-shoot abroad?

Kaoru: I think the fact that we managed to see the city was more fun rather than the shooting itself. Seeing as it was the first time we’d been outside since we’d come to Los Angeles. (laughs)

— But the places you went round today for the photoshoot are not really tourist attractions, but places you wouldn’t visit normally, yes?

Toshiya: Behind business buildings. (laughs)

Kyo: To be honest, they’re not really places you’d want to visit (laughs)
Read the rest of this entry »

Posted on January 23, 2010 in Random Fact

random-fact-of-the-day

Birthdays, I always forget band men and their birthdays but since we are almost done with January lets think whose birthday is coming up. In February, did you know 3 out of the 5 members of Dir en grey have birthdays in February?

Pretty cool, they can’t forget each others birthdays right?

Posted on November 13, 2009 in Random Fact

random-fact-of-the-day

Lets talk about Sel’m today! The members actually have an interesting background, Tora used to be known as Cyrien when he used to be the singer of Girugamesh. While MANJ” and Takuma were both roadies for Dir en grey. Tsubaki roadied for Kagerou!

Thank goodness these guys joined together to form Sel’m.

Posted on September 29, 2009 in New release

more-info-on-dir-en-greys-new-single

Back here, we talked about the release of Dir en grey’s new single, 「激しさと、この胸の中で絡み付いた灼熱の闇」 (Hageshisa to, Kono Mune no Naka de Karamitsuita Shakunetsu no Yami).

At that time, not many details were available, but here they are!
It’s comng out in two types, a limited first press edition which costs 1890 yen and contains a PV, as well as a regular edition for 1260 yen which is the CD only.

The tracklist is as follows:
CD
・激しさと、この胸の中で絡み付いた灼熱の闇 (Hageshisa to, Kono Mune no Naka de Karamitsuita Shakunetsu no Yami)
・残 (Zan)
・蝕紅 (Shokubeni) [Shot In One Take]

DVD
・蝕紅 (Shokubeni) [Shot In One Take]
・Recording Footage
・Extras

That’s right — they are ‘reconstructing’ and re-releasing their debut single, 「残-ZAN-」. Apparently, it’s going to be ‘more aggressive’ than the original. They’re also releasing a studio take of 「蝕紅」 (Shokubeni).

Remember, the single is coming out on December 6th, and if you haven’t pre-ordered your copy, do so now!

First Press Edition
Regular Press Edition

Source: BMA, OHP

Posted on September 24, 2009 in Overseas, Tour

dir-en-grey-tour-dates

As I’m sure many of you know, Dir en grey has announced their North American tour dates, with a stop over in South America as well!

Just in case you missed it, the dates, locations and venues are as follows.

November 2nd @ Warehouse Live – Houston, TX
November 3rd @ Trees – Dallas, TX
November 8th @ Chácara do Jockey – Soa Paulo, Brazil
November 11th @ The Blender Theatre at Gramercy – New York, NY
November 13th @ The Blender Theatre at Gramcery – New York, NY
November 14th @ The Blender Theatre at Gramcery -New York, NY
November 16th @ Metro – Chicago, IL
November 18th @ Gothic Theatre – Eaglewood, CO
November 20th @ House of Blues Sunset Strip – West Hollywood, CA
November 22nd @ House of Blues Sunset Strip – West Hollywood, CA
November 23rd @ The Fillmore – San Francisco, CA

For more information on times, prices and where to buy tickets, check out http://www.bratmarketing.com/deg/degtour/.

Source: Dir en grey’s Twitter

Posted on September 24, 2009 in Random Fact

random-fact-of-the-day

Bandmates usually use stage names, not everyone but many bands do. Like Kyo of Dir en grey, his name is actually influenced from his home town Kyoto.

If you could change your name or have a stage name what would you pick?

Posted on September 15, 2009 in New release

dir-en-greys-new-single

Dir en grey will be releasing a new single on the 2nd of December, entitled 「激しさと、この胸の中で絡み付いた灼熱の闇」 (Hageshi Sato, Kono Mune no Naka de Karami Tsuita Shakunetsu no Yami). More details to follow.

Source: OHP

Posted on August 28, 2009 in News

dir-en-grey-band-scores

On September 30th, Dir en grey will be releasing two different band scores!

Originally, they were scheduled to be released at the end of April, however, the release date has been announced for the end of September.

Both 「Withering to death.」 and 「MARROW OF A BONE」 will be coming out, and both will cost 2950 yen.

Source: BMA, Amazon.co.jp

Posted on August 22, 2009 in Cool, Twitter

help-dir-en-grey-on-twitter

Speaking of twitter, Dir en grey is having a big (and from the sounds of it, positive) announcement on August 26th. They ask for in return to have 10,000 followers on twitter~ so far they about 5,200 followers so they ask for you guys to follow and RT their announcement that will be posted soon. You can follow the bands’ English twitter here.

Source: Diru official twitter

Posted on June 23, 2009 in Lives, Overseas

dir-en-grey-setlists-in-eu

Here’s a quick bulletin from Dir en grey’s Myspace! These are setlists from dates of their European tour.

Have you seen DIR EN GREY this summer? If not, you might not have any idea what you’re missing out on…so we decided to show you. The band have been playing vastly different sets at every show…below, please check out the songs played at some recent DEG concerts.

Thank you to everybody who has been coming out to see shows – hope to see more of your faces throughout the next week!

2009/06/20 NOVA ROCK 2009
SE. SA BIR (from the album “UROBOROS”)
M01. OBSCURE (from the album “VULGAR”)
M02. Merciless Cult (from the album “Withering to death.”)
M03. GRIEF (from the album “THE MARROW OF A BONE”)
M04. STUCK MAN (from the album “UROBOROS”)
M05. DOZING GREEN (from the album “UROBOROS”)
M06. VINUSHKA (from the album “UROBOROS”)
M07. THE FINAL (from the album “Withering to death.”)
M08. GAIKA, CHINMOKU GA NEMURU KORO (from the album “UROBOROS”)
M09. REIKETSU NARISEBA (from the album “UROBOROS”)
M10. SAKU (from the album “Withering to death.”)
M11. AGITATED SCREAMS OF MAGGOTS (from the album “THE MARROW OF A BONE”)

2009/06/12 DOWNLOAD FESTIVAL 2009
SE. SA BIR (from the album “UROBOROS”)
M01. OBSCURE (from the album “VULGAR”)
M02. GRIEF (from the album “THE MARROW OF A BONE”)
M03. AGITATED SCREAMS OF MAGGOTS (from the album “THE MARROW OF A BONE”)
M04. DOZING GREEN (from the album “UROBOROS”)
M05. VINUSHKA (from (from the album “UROBOROS”)
M06. REIKETSU NARISEBA (from the album “UROBOROS”)
M07. SAKU (from the album “Withering to death.”)

2009/06/07 ROCK AM RING 2009
SE. SA BIR (from the album “UROBOROS”)
M01. OBSCURE (from the album “VULGAR”)
M02. Merciless Cult (from the album “Withering to death.”)
M03. GAIKA, CHINMOKU GA NEMURU KORO (from the album “UROBOROS”)
M04. STUCK MAN (from the album “UROBOROS”)
M05. GRIEF (from the album “THE MARROW OF A BONE”)
M06. THE FINAL (from the album “Withering to death.”)
M07. DOZING GREEN (from the album “UROBOROS”)
M08. VINUSHKA (from the album “UROBOROS”)
M09. BUGABOO (from the album “UROBOROS”)
M10. REIKETSU NARISEBA (from the album “UROBOROS”)
M11. AGITATED SCREAMS OF MAGGOTS (from the album “THE MARROW OF A BONE”)
M12. REPETITION OF HATRED (from the album “THE MARROW OF A BONE”)

2009/06/05 ROCK IM PARK 2009
SE. SA BIR (from the album “UROBOROS”)
M01. INCONVENIENT IDEAL (from the album “UROBOROS”)
M02. VINUSHKA (from the album “UROBOROS”)
M03. OBSCURE (from the album “VULGAR”)
M04. RED SOIL (from the album “UROBOROS”)
M05. GRIEF (from the album “THE MARROW OF A BONE”)
M06. STUCK MAN (from the album “UROBOROS”)
M07. DOZING GREEN (from the album “UROBOROS”)
M08. TOGURO (from the album “UROBOROS”)
M09. RYOUJOKU NO AME (from the album “THE MARROW OF A BONE”)
M10. BUGABOO (from the album “UROBOROS”)
M11. REIKETSU NARISEBA (from the album “UROBOROS”)
M12. AGITATED SCREAMS OF MAGGOTS (from the album “THE MARROW OF A BONE”)
M13. GAIKA, CHINMOKU GA NEMURU KORO (from the album “UROBOROS”)

Source: Myspace

Posted on June 4, 2009 in Random Fact

random-fact-of-the-day

This is slightly strange, but Kaoru of Dir en grey claims to dislike his hands. Apparently they are too small for his liking. But his favorite thing about his body is his adam’s apple, he thinks its manly.

hands….too small? Try having little bunny paws!! My manly part is my tail, all the ladies like it.
Whats your favorite and least favorite part of body?

Posted on April 25, 2009 in Random Fact

random-fact-of-the-day

Sorry loyal readers for the downtime yesterday. For the first time in a year I missed a random fact, but since the site was down I hope you guys won’t hold it against me!

Today’s fact should be about costumes! San’s birthday was today and his latest costume seems similar to Toshiya’s right?

costumes

Bands get their costumes from all sort of companies and places but the reason why these two are so similar because they were created by ID-Japan. Did you know they have provided stage costumes to Dir en grey, Kagrra, PENICILLIN, and even Gackt. Their sub-label has made clothes for Phantasmagoria, Kaya, Nega and many more! To check out costumes new and old you can go to the main site here. You can keep up with news and information about their styles on their blog.

Source: Nega LJ Comm, ID-Japan

Posted on April 1, 2009 in Overseas

dir-en-grey-overseas

We’ve talked about Dir en grey’s upcoming overseas performances through various posts here on S-T, but here’s the updated list that was posted on their OHP:

June 5th
Rock Im Park
Zeppelinfeld, Nuremberg / Germany
[INFO] http://www.rock-im-park.de

June 7th
Rock Am Ring
Nuerburgring, Eifel / Germany
[INFO] http://www.rock-am-ring.de

June 12th
Download
Donnington Park, Derby / UK
[INFO] http://www.downloadfestival.co.uk

June 20th
Nova Rock
Pannonia Fields II, Burgenland / Austria
[INFO] http://www.novarock.at

June 27th
Metal Town
Firhamnen, Goteburg / Sweden
[INFO] http://www.metaltown.se

Source: OHP

Posted on March 11, 2009 in Lives

dir-en-grey-in-germany

Thanks to both Reiko313 and Kumanosuke for letting us know. Dir en grey has been added to the Rock AM Ring and Rock im Park Festival 2009 in Germany. The dates are set for June 5 – June 7th.

For ticket info, please click here.

source: rock-am-ring

Posted on March 8, 2009 in Lives

dir-en-grey-in-austria

Two days ago, Nova Rock’s twitter announced that Dir en grey was added to the festival’s line up! The festival is set for June 19th – 21st in Austria. You can get tickets on the main Nova Rock site.

lineup

Source: Twitter, Nova Rock

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