Same!! I remember when cage and yokan n all that came out and even thinking back to that whole era of JRock and man!!! I was just teenager then. I used to play their stuff really loud with headphones on and lay on the floor of the bedroom to relax lol (ok still do that 🤷♀️ lol)
To answer the questions you asked in the reaction: At the time of this particular performance, it was only 2 years since X Japan disbanded. X Japan were superstars, who were only eclipsed by groups such as B'z or pop idols. But, Toshi (vocalist) married a cult member and eventually the band was forced to disband. And if that wasn't sad enough for their fans... unfortunately, Hide (guitarist) took his own life - which broke the hearts of all the fans. Many becoming resentful and blaming Toshi. Fast forward two years, Yoshiki (the drummer from X Japan) is in the studio with Dir en Grey to produce their first full length album 'Gauze' in 1999. Dir en Grey explode, many seeing them as carrying the torch for the new generation of glam rock/metal (which would eventually become the initial wave of true Visual Kei). However, Dir en Grey didn't want any of this, they didn't want to be restricted to a certain style or genre, they wanted to write and perform music that is intense, sad and macabre. So they parted ways and began their own journey. Each album since has been different - it is the result all of the members experimenting. The immediate change in direction is seen directly after this live performance. The second album 'Macabre' was their first attempt at going their own way and is still considered the favourite for many fans. Also, many people still say they were VK until 'Marrow of a Bone' in 2007 but the band members themselves have denied this misconception.
@@sunrise2986 Yes, there is a possibility that it was autoerotic asphyxiation that killed Hide, but its a lot less likely than suicide considering all the factors at the time - particularly with the breakup of X and the release of his single 'Pink Spider' a week later. Whatever the reason, he is no longer with us. Romanticising about his death is creepy. My comment about "didn't want any of this" was in regards to the Visuel Kei movement. Dir en grey have said in multiple interviews how they feel about visual kei, Die is even quoted as saying "They saw us as idols but we aren’t idols. We are a band, we play music and want to be known for it. So we decided to change our style slowly. " which is exactly my point. They still kept imagery as an important part of their music/performance, but being idols similar to Hide in X wasn't something they wanted. It was the fans that kept the labels up long past their roots in the VK movement. As for Yoshiki. He did produce the singles. All of which became the core of the Gauze album and were released in the same year leading up to the release of the album. Yoshiki was there in the studio as they recorded them, as he is a producer. It is not uncommon for bands to do this in between touring. And you act as if "Akuro no Oka" doesn't scream Yoshiki all over it. It's also worth noting that 'Gauze' was released on a different label to 'Macabre', they actually moved to Free-Will after the assistance from Yoshiki. Yes, Visual Kei was a term for X in the early 90s. But that doesn't mean it became a genre overnight. It wasn't until the mid to late 90s that more and more bands were being put under the same umbrella. And as I said in my original comment, the "true Visual Kei" didn't appear until the late 90s. There was an obvious distinction between bands like X or Buck-Tick and others like Malice Mizer, Dir en grey, Peirrot, Kagerou or even Lynch (later on) that pushed the VK scene into something more modern. Nagoya kei was also around at that time. The answer to the original question in the reaction is still the same. They were part of VK, they wanted to be seen more as musicians rather than pop idols, they slowly changed, some fans kept holding on hope but in the end we have a band that is much more than a trendy group that comes and goes. They are amazing in their current form. No one here is a pseudo academic, we're all fans. I'm just stating things that many fans have known for years...
@@sunrise2986 who's being the psuedo academic now? Yoshiki was still in contact with the band when they moved to Free Will but he wasn't producing or inputting into their sound. The term "idol" was used in a way that implied appearance over musical talent. Thought that was kind of obvious... Malice Mizer came after X and were VK, what's your point? The theory of Hide jerking off while strangling himself has been around for decades - literally go search JP blogs or archived Livejournals from western fans. His song Pink Spider was thought of as possibly a goodbye message - once again, search JP blogs or older social media in English. My "final sentence" isn't as laughable as your pretend pseudo knowledge. There were a lot of fans back in the day who discussed such topics on places like tainted world. Not only that, but many Japanese natives were actively communicating with people on those same sites (Livejournal included). Information was shared when the events actually happened. So you can think whatever you want. You're debating semantics because you watched a single X Japan doco. Good for you. Have fun and remember to enjoy the music.
@@jaym3881 I don't understand why you are getting this defensive but this last comment showed me that 1. You get all your information second hand - most importantly through 'fan' forums where most of the fans don't speak Japanese either. 2. It is more important to you to prove that you are 100% right and I am completely wrong (although, as I stated we actually share a lot of the points we talked about) than to actually engage in any kind of conversation. I mentioned the X documentary as a source because I noticed you are not familar with Japanese, while I am a native speaker. I could have pointed to old magazines, interviews in Japanese TV shows etc but that would not have helped you one bit. Since a clear statement in English exists as part of the doctumentary I chose to refer to that. Now....sorry, but have you lived through 1998??? The Internet was CRAP back then. What has been shared online was very little and most of that was wild theorising or straight up trolling.
@@sunrise2986 I kind of enjoyed reading this but commenting back to western fans is of no use. I've tried myselve once and it ended in pretty much the same situation. You have official statements and documents vs something some wester fan wrote in a forum years ago and everyone should know what is more believable but the truth is: A lot of western fans don't want to KNOW anything about bands. They prefer to speculate and make up their own minds. In the end there is no real harm in that [most of the time ^^'] so I try to stop myself from 'correcting' and rather give the information I have in my own comment. This way everyone who wants to read it can, and everyone who wants to believe whatever they want to believe is free to do just that as well - especially because my knowledge isn't infinite either and I am learning more every day [right now I am trying to work myself through all the Haiiro no Ginka so I stumble over something new every day]. We don't have much real knowledge anyway, right? Dir en grey have lied so often during interviews and gave so many contradictory answers that it hardly seems necessary to fight over other people's believes or even genuine interpretations of those. I did find it intriguing to see how the arguments developed here ^^' I mean you really were pretty much talking about the same thing. Nothing Jay M said in his original comment was completely wrong [granted, he did have some personal interpretations about how the band felt and there were inconsistencies regarding the development of Gauze] and I think you just wanted to add Yoshiki's voice and show how that collaboration came about, right? So you added a bit of extra knowledge and well__like I said above, never do that under a RUclips comment 😅
@@sunrise2986 I did live through 1998 and I know first hand that English fans had access to similar information you did. You said I got second hand information, but are speaking as if English fans haven't been sharing interviews, videos and audio clips since the 90s. Bilingual users have existed on these platforms for over 20 years. And it's not just bilingual English fans either, the Brazilian fan base has contributed to the sharing of information as well. So please don't pretend as if we've been blind until recently, just to get E points on the RUclips comments. I don't need to "win" , as the album's and band members speak for themselves.
What a wonderful gift to see all three react to this one ~ Thank you Liberty!! 💜 The fan-participation part always takes my breath away because like John I wonder what they were thinking and feeling and going through in that moment. You can read a lot into their expressions here, right? It must have been totally surreal but also kind of frightening because they hadn't been major for that long and the new contract certainly came with a lot of pressure. I mean they were betwen 21 and 25 at the time of this live show [Shinya, the drummer being the youngest]. But I also think they had good people around them since they were able to decide for themselves NOT to film their first Budokan show which would have been standart. But the band stated in interviews later that they asked for it not to be filmed because they felt nervous enough playing the venue for the first time as it was. So they filmed the later show at Osaka Jo-Hall [this one] to be released as their first live DVD/VHS. Now here comes the section on Dir en grey's evolution John was asking about: [PS: Hey, I wrote a book - which can be summed up in one sentence. Care to read it? If not just skip to the end 😅.] Some of the comments state a date they 'decided' to change, but to be honest I don't see that. Garden was one of their first releases as Dir en grey [most of the band - excluding Toshiya - played in a band called La:Sadie's together before forming Dir en grey] and their first mini-album MISSA still had this more punk rock driven late 90's Visual Kei sound. But with their first album Gauze they already experimented with a LOT of different sounds. Let's not forget that this is the album that gave us songs like ZAN, Mazohyst of Decadence and Tsumi to Batsu. I am honestly not sure how much of an influence Yoshiki had on them - yes, he produced three of their singles at the time, but it seems that he didn't play any part in creating Gauze beyond the production of these singles [so he certainly didn't have a 'vision for the band']. With Macabre they already went a lot darker and Kisou is incredibly experimental. They always mixed a few really heavy songs into these early albums but they didn't necessarily have that metal sound yet and I think that might have something to do with J-Rock in general [metal often appears to be a foreign genre in Japan. Especially if reading older articles the word is never mentioned. They were classified as J-Rock or Visual Kei] and Shinya's drumming which maintains to be a Rock/Punk style rather then metal. Personally I also see a HUGE connection between the Japanese Punk scene and Visual Kei in general - you can literally trace the clothes, politics and everything else from that scene - but of course, I also looked for it deliberately and if you look for something hard enough you tend to find it somewhere ^^'. All members of Dir en grey listened to punk though. In Vulgar and Withering to Death Kyo slowly developes his growls - remember that he is self-taught and as you can hear here he did not always have the range he has now. He was not a wonder-child but achieved everything through dedication and hard work. And then in 2005 they played their first European show. I would say if there is one point I can single out that 'changed' their music significantly it would be playing overseas. Toshiya, who only played the bass with a pick before, started to use slapping techniches, Kaoru and Die included more metal driven riffs into their songs and finally started to use 7 strings from 2009 onwards and Kyo started to include more and more singing styles and techniques into single songs. The Marrow of a Bone was very heavily influenced by their time in America [touring with Family Values], it was way more heavy then everything they did before and the lyrics are very much satyrical at points - in this aspect they still kept their punk 'roots'. UROBOROS and DUM SPIRO SPERO finally got pretty progressive. During this time they toured themselves nearly to death, which ended in Kyo loosing his voice almost completely and pretty much everyone being sick. They had to cancel a part of their America tour and finally took a break for everyone [especially Kyo] to recover. The next album they produced was Arche which had a completely different sound yet again. For me, it was like they made the decision to take a step back from trying to become internationally famous and concentrate more on their Japanese audience again. The album is ridiculously complicated, combines all singing styles in the world and feels a LOT more 'poppy' and brighter then DUM SPIRO SPERO. Looking at their live shows before and after their pause [it sounds strange to even call it a pause, because they only ceased activities for a couple of months] the entire band looks much more rested. This was also the time Kyo started sukekiyo, Die started Decays, Kaoru became more invested in The Freedom of Expression and related issues, Toshiya started to launch his clothes brand and Shinya created Seraph and did some modeling jobs etc. With their latest album The Insulated World [before Corona] they kind of incorporated everything they had done so far and added new aspects to the mix. Again it's a much more raw and emotionally driven album with some punk feels and mixes poppy sounds with the most depressing lyrics which make the songs really transform in a live setting. So, here we are: Looking forward to chapter 11 ^^ I hope this helped somehow. To sum up: I think there never really was ONE turning point but a natural transition influenced by their experiences, thoughts and believes.
More dir en grey please. Love these react videos. Dir en grey decided to change, most of the bands in japan were changing from visual kei to a more pop/rock style and was more acceptable to others audiences. If you don't know what visual kei is .Visual kei Is a term used to describe the era in the 90s and late 80s japanese rock with progressive/glam rock like sound , wildfires hairstyles, exotic makeup, dir en grey was one of the projects yoshiki from x japan was working with. Up until 2001 dir en grey decided to change their style and leave the vision envisioned by yoshiki. Yoshiki played a big role in what dir en grey is now, pushing them out to the public, producing 3 songs in their first album titled gauze. Ever since gauze they have expiermented in every album each with their own unique style.
Damnnnn you guys went back to the OLD days lol. To answer your question about their evolution...I don't think there really is a pure answer. Something changed I think in 2002, when their look got more punk, their music was more heavier yet experimenting with trip hop and alternative rock, but then going right into some real bangers and heavy metal. The Kisou album really cemented in my opinion, their evolution of musicianship and song writing. Then with their follow up EP Six Ugly and single Child Prey, really showed they were ready to go to the next level of metal and rock.
I think this was this very first big performance and they where overwhelmed about the audience. Toshiya cried and covered his face not to showed and Kyo looks like had wet eyes too. It was a special moment for them and they are an amazing band with amazing fans and an amazing development.
This was the 90's were Dir En GREY still had their Glam Metal \ Gothic rock look which ran from the 80's - Early 2000's. After the GOTH look was Dropped and more of a Emocore look came into the Scene as it was hot in America in Mid 2000's which became one of the main factors that confused pep between the difference of VK and emocore... DEG Debuted in 1997 and by the time they played this Arena they were huge they've always had the BIG fan base and have evolved with changing of music as VK changes with the times. Whatever is hot and going on in the West or European countries visual Kei incorporates into their scene and music. (And also a fun fact these guys were already known inside their previous band La Sadies which started in 1995 and had Kasaki on bass. After that band toshiya came in and Dir En Grey formed.)
But yeah if you guys Dove into more Visual Kei bands you'd understand that's the hair, the Glam \Gothic look and the changing of music blending and mixing of genres into one sound is all a part of Visual Kei. 🇯🇵🤙 Before the intertwined suffocating labels they have formed today back in the 80s visual Kei was known as Dubbed (Visual Shock) by music Magazines with bands incorporating heavy elaborate makeup and over-exaggerated eccentric Hair Styles.
Holy heck GARDEN?? Bringing back the oldies man lol This was such a moving thing for them as a band cause they were playing a huge hall and to get the audience support like that too!
This song and performance is especially special to Dir en Grey fans. It shows how appreciative of their success and fans. It's almost like he's singing to his fans. That's something I've literally ALWAYS loved about DEG the really are thankful for their fans (the good ones at least) I've only hand a handful of encounters with bad fangirls. They are so talented and they deserve all they get and all the love and fame. They made it big and are still together when so many bands before them and like them have died off. The fact that they are so diverse but really brought Visual Kei to the forefront is amazing. Each one of the members is no better than the others they are all brillant and talented and play off each other awesomely. You see this because in La:sadies they didn't have Toshiya and its a different vibe a different sound everything they all fit together. I'm so proud of them. I've been a fan since 2003 or 04 and honestly I'm so happy they are still together.
💙 Toshiya had blue hair for the longest time. Toshiya was the one covering his eyes, he did it because he was embarrassed, because at the moment he was crying. 💜 Kaoru had blue hair at the very beginning then change to lavender/purple hair for the longest time as you saw. ❤️ Die has had red hair for many years, in the latest years he cut it and changed his hair color to more natural. Now more recently, he is letting it grow again. He has very pretty hair. 💛 Kyo, always changes his hair color. Everything suits him, hair colors, piercings, cloths, etc, etc.
There was plenty of screaming in that concert, but this is the typical song to sing along at the end of the concert, one of the soft ones from that era. I'd recommend more lives (or even PV) from those years (Kaede, Missa, Gauze) to get a complete picture of that sound as Garden is only part of the equation. Coincidentally, this was the first Dir en grey song that I fell in love with back in the late 90s/early 2000s so I love that you reacted to it!
Guys, PLEASE react to Konpeki No Soujin by Onmyouza. I'm curious what you'd guys would think. You guys are amazing for giving Dir en grey so much love!
90's are the Golden Age of JRock, there's good bands today, but not as creative as they used to be: Dead End (influenced MOST of the bands, Laruku, Luna Sea, etc) - RIP You Buck Tick (influenced many bands as well) X Japan/Hide ( most influencial JRock Band) L'arc~en~Ciel ( early albums, dont like the new ones with Techno Beats) D'erlanger (one of main Dir En Grey early album influences) Kuroyume/SADS ( Kyo has roadie of the Band, another main influence ) Siam Shade ( technical amazing Band ) Etc.
I think the story that Kyo was a roadie for Kuroyume once is made up ( he had his own bands since he was 17 and they played gigs almost every night so I don't see how he could have had the time, plus the touring schedules for Kuroyume don't match with Kyo's whereabouts at the time. I think that story was influenced by him doing a lot of Kuroyume cover songs back in the day) but I love all these bands! I am so happy to see someone mentioning DEAD END! It was a fantastic time for music.
![DIR EN GREY - 蟲-mushi- [eng sub] LIVE HD | THE WOLF HUNTERZ Jon and Suzi Reaction](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/yJ1uhUfcmDI/mqdefault.jpg)
![DIR EN GREY - 蟲-mushi- [eng sub] LIVE HD | THE WOLF HUNTERZ Jon and Suzi Reaction](/img/tr.png)
This one always gets to me, especially with Toshiya crying. I am so proud of them and their growth as of a band.
Same!! I remember when cage and yokan n all that came out and even thinking back to that whole era of JRock and man!!! I was just teenager then. I used to play their stuff really loud with headphones on and lay on the floor of the bedroom to relax lol (ok still do that 🤷♀️ lol)
@@84rinne_moo *reading this lying on my bed, with the Macabre album blasting through my headphones* hahaha. Timeless!
Kayla Hamilton hahaha 😝🤟
To answer the questions you asked in the reaction: At the time of this particular performance, it was only 2 years since X Japan disbanded. X Japan were superstars, who were only eclipsed by groups such as B'z or pop idols. But, Toshi (vocalist) married a cult member and eventually the band was forced to disband. And if that wasn't sad enough for their fans... unfortunately, Hide (guitarist) took his own life - which broke the hearts of all the fans. Many becoming resentful and blaming Toshi. Fast forward two years, Yoshiki (the drummer from X Japan) is in the studio with Dir en Grey to produce their first full length album 'Gauze' in 1999. Dir en Grey explode, many seeing them as carrying the torch for the new generation of glam rock/metal (which would eventually become the initial wave of true Visual Kei). However, Dir en Grey didn't want any of this, they didn't want to be restricted to a certain style or genre, they wanted to write and perform music that is intense, sad and macabre. So they parted ways and began their own journey. Each album since has been different - it is the result all of the members experimenting. The immediate change in direction is seen directly after this live performance. The second album 'Macabre' was their first attempt at going their own way and is still considered the favourite for many fans. Also, many people still say they were VK until 'Marrow of a Bone' in 2007 but the band members themselves have denied this misconception.
@@sunrise2986 Yes, there is a possibility that it was autoerotic asphyxiation that killed Hide, but its a lot less likely than suicide considering all the factors at the time - particularly with the breakup of X and the release of his single 'Pink Spider' a week later. Whatever the reason, he is no longer with us. Romanticising about his death is creepy.
My comment about "didn't want any of this" was in regards to the Visuel Kei movement. Dir en grey have said in multiple interviews how they feel about visual kei, Die is even quoted as saying "They saw us as idols but we aren’t idols. We are a band, we play music and want to be known for it. So we decided to change our style slowly. " which is exactly my point. They still kept imagery as an important part of their music/performance, but being idols similar to Hide in X wasn't something they wanted. It was the fans that kept the labels up long past their roots in the VK movement.
As for Yoshiki. He did produce the singles. All of which became the core of the Gauze album and were released in the same year leading up to the release of the album. Yoshiki was there in the studio as they recorded them, as he is a producer. It is not uncommon for bands to do this in between touring. And you act as if "Akuro no Oka" doesn't scream Yoshiki all over it. It's also worth noting that 'Gauze' was released on a different label to 'Macabre', they actually moved to Free-Will after the assistance from Yoshiki.
Yes, Visual Kei was a term for X in the early 90s. But that doesn't mean it became a genre overnight. It wasn't until the mid to late 90s that more and more bands were being put under the same umbrella. And as I said in my original comment, the "true Visual Kei" didn't appear until the late 90s. There was an obvious distinction between bands like X or Buck-Tick and others like Malice Mizer, Dir en grey, Peirrot, Kagerou or even Lynch (later on) that pushed the VK scene into something more modern. Nagoya kei was also around at that time.
The answer to the original question in the reaction is still the same. They were part of VK, they wanted to be seen more as musicians rather than pop idols, they slowly changed, some fans kept holding on hope but in the end we have a band that is much more than a trendy group that comes and goes. They are amazing in their current form.
No one here is a pseudo academic, we're all fans. I'm just stating things that many fans have known for years...
@@sunrise2986 who's being the psuedo academic now? Yoshiki was still in contact with the band when they moved to Free Will but he wasn't producing or inputting into their sound. The term "idol" was used in a way that implied appearance over musical talent. Thought that was kind of obvious... Malice Mizer came after X and were VK, what's your point? The theory of Hide jerking off while strangling himself has been around for decades - literally go search JP blogs or archived Livejournals from western fans. His song Pink Spider was thought of as possibly a goodbye message - once again, search JP blogs or older social media in English. My "final sentence" isn't as laughable as your pretend pseudo knowledge. There were a lot of fans back in the day who discussed such topics on places like tainted world. Not only that, but many Japanese natives were actively communicating with people on those same sites (Livejournal included). Information was shared when the events actually happened. So you can think whatever you want. You're debating semantics because you watched a single X Japan doco. Good for you. Have fun and remember to enjoy the music.
@@jaym3881 I don't understand why you are getting this defensive but this last comment showed me that 1. You get all your information second hand - most importantly through 'fan' forums where most of the fans don't speak Japanese either. 2. It is more important to you to prove that you are 100% right and I am completely wrong (although, as I stated we actually share a lot of the points we talked about) than to actually engage in any kind of conversation. I mentioned the X documentary as a source because I noticed you are not familar with Japanese, while I am a native speaker. I could have pointed to old magazines, interviews in Japanese TV shows etc but that would not have helped you one bit. Since a clear statement in English exists as part of the doctumentary I chose to refer to that.
Now....sorry, but have you lived through 1998??? The Internet was CRAP back then. What has been shared online was very little and most of that was wild theorising or straight up trolling.
@@sunrise2986 I kind of enjoyed reading this but commenting back to western fans is of no use. I've tried myselve once and it ended in pretty much the same situation. You have official statements and documents vs something some wester fan wrote in a forum years ago and everyone should know what is more believable but the truth is: A lot of western fans don't want to KNOW anything about bands. They prefer to speculate and make up their own minds.
In the end there is no real harm in that [most of the time ^^'] so I try to stop myself from 'correcting' and rather give the information I have in my own comment. This way everyone who wants to read it can, and everyone who wants to believe whatever they want to believe is free to do just that as well - especially because my knowledge isn't infinite either and I am learning more every day [right now I am trying to work myself through all the Haiiro no Ginka so I stumble over something new every day].
We don't have much real knowledge anyway, right? Dir en grey have lied so often during interviews and gave so many contradictory answers that it hardly seems necessary to fight over other people's believes or even genuine interpretations of those.
I did find it intriguing to see how the arguments developed here ^^' I mean you really were pretty much talking about the same thing. Nothing Jay M said in his original comment was completely wrong [granted, he did have some personal interpretations about how the band felt and there were inconsistencies regarding the development of Gauze] and I think you just wanted to add Yoshiki's voice and show how that collaboration came about, right? So you added a bit of extra knowledge and well__like I said above, never do that under a RUclips comment 😅
@@sunrise2986 I did live through 1998 and I know first hand that English fans had access to similar information you did. You said I got second hand information, but are speaking as if English fans haven't been sharing interviews, videos and audio clips since the 90s. Bilingual users have existed on these platforms for over 20 years. And it's not just bilingual English fans either, the Brazilian fan base has contributed to the sharing of information as well. So please don't pretend as if we've been blind until recently, just to get E points on the RUclips comments. I don't need to "win" , as the album's and band members speak for themselves.
こんなに古い曲をリアクションしてくれるとは
感動しました
What a wonderful gift to see all three react to this one ~ Thank you Liberty!! 💜
The fan-participation part always takes my breath away because like John I wonder what they were thinking and feeling and going through in that moment. You can read a lot into their expressions here, right? It must have been totally surreal but also kind of frightening because they hadn't been major for that long and the new contract certainly came with a lot of pressure. I mean they were betwen 21 and 25 at the time of this live show [Shinya, the drummer being the youngest]. But I also think they had good people around them since they were able to decide for themselves NOT to film their first Budokan show which would have been standart. But the band stated in interviews later that they asked for it not to be filmed because they felt nervous enough playing the venue for the first time as it was.
So they filmed the later show at Osaka Jo-Hall [this one] to be released as their first live DVD/VHS.
Now here comes the section on Dir en grey's evolution John was asking about:
[PS: Hey, I wrote a book - which can be summed up in one sentence. Care to read it? If not just skip to the end 😅.]
Some of the comments state a date they 'decided' to change, but to be honest I don't see that. Garden was one of their first releases as Dir en grey [most of the band - excluding Toshiya - played in a band called La:Sadie's together before forming Dir en grey] and their first mini-album MISSA still had this more punk rock driven late 90's Visual Kei sound. But with their first album Gauze they already experimented with a LOT of different sounds. Let's not forget that this is the album that gave us songs like ZAN, Mazohyst of Decadence and Tsumi to Batsu. I am honestly not sure how much of an influence Yoshiki had on them - yes, he produced three of their singles at the time, but it seems that he didn't play any part in creating Gauze beyond the production of these singles [so he certainly didn't have a 'vision for the band'].
With Macabre they already went a lot darker and Kisou is incredibly experimental. They always mixed a few really heavy songs into these early albums but they didn't necessarily have that metal sound yet and I think that might have something to do with J-Rock in general [metal often appears to be a foreign genre in Japan. Especially if reading older articles the word is never mentioned. They were classified as J-Rock or Visual Kei] and Shinya's drumming which maintains to be a Rock/Punk style rather then metal. Personally I also see a HUGE connection between the Japanese Punk scene and Visual Kei in general - you can literally trace the clothes, politics and everything else from that scene - but of course, I also looked for it deliberately and if you look for something hard enough you tend to find it somewhere ^^'. All members of Dir en grey listened to punk though.
In Vulgar and Withering to Death Kyo slowly developes his growls - remember that he is self-taught and as you can hear here he did not always have the range he has now. He was not a wonder-child but achieved everything through dedication and hard work. And then in 2005 they played their first European show. I would say if there is one point I can single out that 'changed' their music significantly it would be playing overseas. Toshiya, who only played the bass with a pick before, started to use slapping techniches, Kaoru and Die included more metal driven riffs into their songs and finally started to use 7 strings from 2009 onwards and Kyo started to include more and more singing styles and techniques into single songs. The Marrow of a Bone was very heavily influenced by their time in America [touring with Family Values], it was way more heavy then everything they did before and the lyrics are very much satyrical at points - in this aspect they still kept their punk 'roots'. UROBOROS and DUM SPIRO SPERO finally got pretty progressive. During this time they toured themselves nearly to death, which ended in Kyo loosing his voice almost completely and pretty much everyone being sick. They had to cancel a part of their America tour and finally took a break for everyone [especially Kyo] to recover. The next album they produced was Arche which had a completely different sound yet again. For me, it was like they made the decision to take a step back from trying to become internationally famous and concentrate more on their Japanese audience again. The album is ridiculously complicated, combines all singing styles in the world and feels a LOT more 'poppy' and brighter then DUM SPIRO SPERO. Looking at their live shows before and after their pause [it sounds strange to even call it a pause, because they only ceased activities for a couple of months] the entire band looks much more rested. This was also the time Kyo started sukekiyo, Die started Decays, Kaoru became more invested in The Freedom of Expression and related issues, Toshiya started to launch his clothes brand and Shinya created Seraph and did some modeling jobs etc. With their latest album The Insulated World [before Corona] they kind of incorporated everything they had done so far and added new aspects to the mix. Again it's a much more raw and emotionally driven album with some punk feels and mixes poppy sounds with the most depressing lyrics which make the songs really transform in a live setting.
So, here we are: Looking forward to chapter 11 ^^
I hope this helped somehow. To sum up: I think there never really was ONE turning point but a natural transition influenced by their experiences, thoughts and believes.
I'm truly impressed! You nailed it , respect 👏👏
Nice summary man! Diru has had an expansive career. I’m reminiscing of older days with this haha 😆
To what Jon said: Dir en grey was one of the first indie bands to ever play Nippon Budokan, one of the large/best known venues in Japan.
toshiya is my favorites bass player in the world
More dir en grey please. Love these react videos. Dir en grey decided to change, most of the bands in japan were changing from visual kei to a more pop/rock style and was more acceptable to others audiences. If you don't know what visual kei is .Visual kei Is a term used to describe the era in the 90s and late 80s japanese rock with progressive/glam rock like sound , wildfires hairstyles, exotic makeup, dir en grey was one of the projects yoshiki from x japan was working with. Up until 2001 dir en grey decided to change their style and leave the vision envisioned by yoshiki. Yoshiki played a big role in what dir en grey is now, pushing them out to the public, producing 3 songs in their first album titled gauze. Ever since gauze they have expiermented in every album each with their own unique style.
That is the classical sound of Visual Kei 💖
Those were the last years of that sound. In the early 2000's it changed and diversified.
Damnnnn you guys went back to the OLD days lol. To answer your question about their evolution...I don't think there really is a pure answer. Something changed I think in 2002, when their look got more punk, their music was more heavier yet experimenting with trip hop and alternative rock, but then going right into some real bangers and heavy metal. The Kisou album really cemented in my opinion, their evolution of musicianship and song writing. Then with their follow up EP Six Ugly and single Child Prey, really showed they were ready to go to the next level of metal and rock.
This is my absolute favorite DEG song, this entire live was something else and each aspect of it is truly so dir en grey
It's crazy how much did they grow! simply amazing
The first video I saw of them and have been a fan ever since no matter all the style changes.
I think this was this very first big performance and they where overwhelmed about the audience. Toshiya cried and covered his face not to showed and Kyo looks like had wet eyes too. It was a special moment for them and they are an amazing band with amazing fans and an amazing development.
This was the 90's were Dir En GREY still had their Glam Metal \ Gothic rock look which ran from the 80's - Early 2000's. After the GOTH look was Dropped and more of a Emocore look came into the Scene as it was hot in America in Mid 2000's which became one of the main factors that confused pep between the difference of VK and emocore...
DEG Debuted in 1997 and by the time they played this Arena they were huge they've always had the BIG fan base and have evolved with changing of music as VK changes with the times.
Whatever is hot and going on in the West or European countries visual Kei incorporates into their scene and music.
(And also a fun fact these guys were already known inside their previous band La Sadies which started in 1995 and had Kasaki on bass. After that band toshiya came in and Dir En Grey formed.)
But yeah if you guys Dove into more Visual Kei bands you'd understand that's the hair, the Glam \Gothic look and the changing of music blending and mixing of genres into one sound is all a part of Visual Kei. 🇯🇵🤙
Before the intertwined suffocating labels they have formed today back in the 80s visual Kei was known as Dubbed (Visual Shock) by music Magazines with bands incorporating heavy elaborate makeup and over-exaggerated eccentric Hair Styles.
This is one of my favorites songs from all the times!!!
Holy heck GARDEN?? Bringing back the oldies man lol This was such a moving thing for them as a band cause they were playing a huge hall and to get the audience support like that too!
This song and performance is especially special to Dir en Grey fans. It shows how appreciative of their success and fans. It's almost like he's singing to his fans. That's something I've literally ALWAYS loved about DEG the really are thankful for their fans (the good ones at least) I've only hand a handful of encounters with bad fangirls. They are so talented and they deserve all they get and all the love and fame. They made it big and are still together when so many bands before them and like them have died off. The fact that they are so diverse but really brought Visual Kei to the forefront is amazing. Each one of the members is no better than the others they are all brillant and talented and play off each other awesomely. You see this because in La:sadies they didn't have Toshiya and its a different vibe a different sound everything they all fit together. I'm so proud of them. I've been a fan since 2003 or 04 and honestly I'm so happy they are still together.
they were an Indie band until 97 and were called La: Sadie's. then the bassist left and they chance the name to Dir en grey 💁🏼♂️
💙 Toshiya had blue hair for the longest time. Toshiya was the one covering his eyes, he did it because he was embarrassed, because at the moment he was crying.
💜 Kaoru had blue hair at the very beginning then change to lavender/purple hair for the longest time as you saw.
❤️ Die has had red hair for many years, in the latest years he cut it and changed his hair color to more natural. Now more recently, he is letting it grow again. He has very pretty hair.
💛 Kyo, always changes his hair color. Everything suits him, hair colors, piercings, cloths, etc, etc.
Die would let his hair longer when it's not summer, he cut it for summer, because it's hot. He said this lol
Yaaaas another oldie, and GARDEN at that! Love it!
There was plenty of screaming in that concert, but this is the typical song to sing along at the end of the concert, one of the soft ones from that era. I'd recommend more lives (or even PV) from those years (Kaede, Missa, Gauze) to get a complete picture of that sound as Garden is only part of the equation. Coincidentally, this was the first Dir en grey song that I fell in love with back in the late 90s/early 2000s so I love that you reacted to it!
Toshiya Crying
Omg these old times ❤️
And yes please make a video with these make up 😂
when Kyo still wrote of love and hope. :(
Aaaaah so cool! I just saw that some days ago and thought you needed to see this!!! XD cool!
Guys, PLEASE react to Konpeki No Soujin by Onmyouza. I'm curious what you'd guys would think. You guys are amazing for giving Dir en grey so much love!
Not that, its short, pls do Rasetsu
Thanks for share Dir en grey, They are the best Japanese band! Maybe You should try another Japanese band “Pay money to my pain-weight of my pride.”
Please react to Mushi and Ain’t afraid to die.
I always cry when I see Toshya crying 😭 ❤️
I think they should check Umbrella
yes just speak of the hair
Ah yes, Die's hide cosplay era.
Please react to Yurameki (PV)
Try Dir en grey Raison d'ètre please !!
This reacting video is so cool i love it !!
90's are the Golden Age of JRock, there's good bands today, but not as creative as they used to be:
Dead End (influenced MOST of the bands, Laruku, Luna Sea, etc) - RIP You
Buck Tick (influenced many bands as well)
X Japan/Hide ( most influencial JRock Band)
L'arc~en~Ciel ( early albums, dont like the new ones with Techno Beats)
D'erlanger (one of main Dir En Grey early album influences)
Kuroyume/SADS ( Kyo has roadie of the Band, another main influence )
Siam Shade ( technical amazing Band )
Etc.
Ah! Forgot about Guniw Tools! What a under rated amazing Band! Jake is a genius musician.
I think the story that Kyo was a roadie for Kuroyume once is made up ( he had his own bands since he was 17 and they played gigs almost every night so I don't see how he could have had the time, plus the touring schedules for Kuroyume don't match with Kyo's whereabouts at the time. I think that story was influenced by him doing a lot of Kuroyume cover songs back in the day) but I love all these bands! I am so happy to see someone mentioning DEAD END! It was a fantastic time for music.
@@sunrise2986 He didn't tour with them. He just worked for them a few times at a venue called Neyagaya Vintage Bar in 1993.
1997 only visual Key😤😤😤😤🤍🖤