Dir En Grey at Irving Plaza

Kyo of Dir En Grey

Since its inception in Japan in 1997, Dir En Grey has changed musical styles often, making its genre difficult to define, but the music is more closely associated with heavy metal and perhaps progressive rock than anything else. Originally a visual kei band, the band has opted for less dramatic attire in recent years. The name "Dir En Grey" is composed of words from several languages, so that people would not be able to attach a specific meaning to it other than the band's name itself. Since its inception, Dir En Grey has consisted of Kyo on lead vocals, Kaoru and Die on guitars and backing vocals, Toshiya on bass and backing vocals, and Shinya on drums. The band has recorded nine full-length albums, including 2013’s forthcoming Scream for the Truth.

At Irving Plaza tonight, Dir En Grey looked and sounded spooky. For several of the initial songs, Kyo sang through a dark shawl. After a few songs, he began to slowly reveal ghoulish makeup. Kyo’s face, neck and chest appeared to be painted (hopefully not tattooed) white with black skeletal markings. Throughout the show, he wrapped and unwrapped his head in the shawl as he sang, and on one song turned his back to the audience and sang to a camera that projected his zombie face onto the large screen behind the drummer. Kyo’s movements appeared to be interpretive expressions of the songs. He alternately whispered and screamed words and sounds hauntingly as the band alternated between ethereal and head-pounding music. The twin guitar attack of Kaoru and Die sizzled, distorted, reverberated and bashed while the rhythm section anchored the often thunderous music. Finally, rather than communicating with the audience between songs, the space between songs was usually filled with dark, atmospheric rhythms that may have been either pre-recorded or programmed, completing the setting. In all, Dir En Grey’s performance made for an interesting brand of hair-raising metal music.

Visit Dir En Grey at www.direngrey.co.jp/english.