Dir en grey did an interveiw in kerrang This week Although kyo let kaoru do all the talking lol
THE OUTSIDERS
from controversy and moral outrage to sell-out shows and a rabid fan-base..
DIR EN GREY-Japans answer to mcr are about to take the uk by storm
Di en grey frontman Kyo, guitarists kaoru and die, Bassist toshiya and drummer shinya- are one of japans biggest bands, regulary taking their claustrophobically intense rock to venues bigger than londons wembley arena.
And somehow, with no radio play, media interest or real profile, they've already become and underground phenomenon in europe, too. In august they'll play two headline shows in london's islington academy their first EVER shows in the uk. And with no publicity whatsoever, the first gig sold out in minutes.
"We were all very shocked by the fact that it sold out, because we've never been there and we had no idea that there were fans there," says kaoru, through an interpreter. "So it was almost unbelievable news for us, but we were very happy that it happend and there were people there who want to listen to our music."
It's typically modest response from a band who onstage, turn into beasts. Later on tonight kyo will howl,claw and at one point rip bloody chunks out of his own face. Offstage, though, he's shy to the point of almost silence. Dig a little deeper, though, and their startling success starts to make sense.
WHEN THEY started 10 years ago, the osaka quintet emerged from japan's highly-stylised 'Visual Kei' scene- where flamboyant clothes and make-up are as central as the music.
"The scene has changed so much that i don't really know what visual kei is right now," admits kaoru
"When we were growng up, the bands who were called visual kei played very hard music. But as the time passed and we see the visual kei scene right now, it's different, They're CUTE, and pretty colourful."
Even with the language barrier, it's easy to spot the word 'CUTE', spat out with the same disdain hardened punks reserve sor 'Sell-out'. but for all their rejections of the scene, it's the band's continued attention to visual detail that has gained them such an adoring fan-base.
On youtube, Their song 'Saku' video has been veiwed well over 650,000 times, while their clip of 'obscure' comes plastered with warnings. It caused outrage among the japanese press on it's release, and on watching it, there's little surprise why as it features on orgy of desturbing images- from kyo spewing vomit to a girl plucking babies out of a treeand taking phychotic bites from their heads.
" 'obscure' was actually one of the videos we didn't put much thought into!" laughs kaoru. " It's just kind of happened, there was no concept. The main reason why we made that video was we wanted to create something that would have an impact on the veiwers."
HE MAY leave the talking to the guitarist- the talkative pete wentz to his reserved patrick stump -but it's the enigmatic kyo who leads the band into the uncomfortable shadows they lurk in. You don't have to speak japanese to understand the anguish he's singing about -It's all there, plain to hear in each mournful lament and every blood-curdling scream.
"All the anger comes from my everyday life," kyo whispers. " It's not about what every word means, and it doesn't even matter what the whole song is about. I jus write about whatever's on my mind, but i don't have a particular message that i want to convey. The person whi is watching the concert or listerning to the music will have to interpret what everything - the words, music and performance combined- what it symbolises."
"Even japanese fans might not understand what i wtite," Kyo adds. "i want everyone in the whole world to feel the music on the same level, so it doesnt matter if you don't understand japanese. it's being able to understand the music as a whole."
clearly he's a man with his fair share of demons, and they come flooding out onstage, where he sometimes claws his chest until it's dripping with blood
" Sometimes that happens, but it,s not something that is too big a deal," shrugs kaoru of his bandmate's antics. " But there was one time when the blood would not stop!"
Despite the fact that they can quite easily sell out the worls famous budokan arena in tokyo (Which hold over 14,000 people) or the yokohama arena (17,000), they say they're 'not liked' by many people in their native country. But don't be mistaken, they're 'not liked' in the same way that MCR and marilyn manson are not liked by the vast majority of america; They're massive partly because of that wilful outsider status.
" In japan, it's not that we're not known, but not many people actually like us," insists Kaoru. " Our fans consist mainly of really hardcore fans. The japanese mainstream music scene consists mainly of pop artists. So it's very difficult for Dir En Grey to actually go out in the mainstream in japan. Of course we want as many people as possible to listen to the music, but we're not going to go out of our way to just be accepted by the mas public."
On tour with the deftones, Dir En Grey have carved out a loyal American following. In japan, They're rock royalty. And now they're heading our way to take london by storm with their two sold-out shows. They may not be going out of their way to fit in and be accepted by the world at large, but the ride this band are on seems to be out of control, hurtling towards international success at a dizzying speed. Get ready.
I dont get why some people just cant give them a chance Like my mate She hates them just because there japanese >:{ Most people have probly already read this but oh well enjoy lmao i just felt like doing this now im gonna think how to put the concert in to words lol