This last part is quite long, but it has some very interesting pieces of information, especially about the band dynamic.
General trivia:
Shinya agrees with the interviewer's view that Kyo's vocal melodies are easy to sing along to. He feels that there is an influence of J-pop in them, which is something that Kyo and Shinya have in common.
When Shinya goes to see sukekiyo, he finds that it's like watching a band led by a completely different person than the Kyo he knows.
(Yet again, don't be a dick - don't plagiarize or take screenshots of this post.)
Toshiya always feels like he is navigating in a fog once a new album gets released, but that fog is especially thick with Mortal Downer. Things become clearer after they play the songs live.
Since ARCHE, Toshiya has tried to make his playing style simpler.
Toshiya described Shinya's drumming as very unique. For Mortal Downer, he tried to make it shine more by playing less bass, essentially.
Toshiya thought at first that Dir en grey wouldn't last long because each of its members had strong wills. Toshiya feels like all the members have the same desire to "make a cool band", and that is what has united them and kept them working together for so many years.
He also sees that doing things outside of the band, such as his photograph and art projects, is necessary to continue contributing to Dir en grey, otherwise he might run into a wall eventually.
Kaoru considers that Mortal Downer is the first chapter to a new era of Dir en grey.
Kaoru feels that there are things better left vague and undiscussed among the band, because otherwise it would lead to awkward moments between them. It's better to let them independently figure things out by hinting at them instead, showing what kind of atmosphere one is leaning toward. He said that they all try not to be too categoric and assertive, because then it could kind of scare off one of the others. But after 30 years together, the members have become agile at thinking along the same wavelength. They are mindful of the others' feelings and avoid asking personal questions, instead deducing their mood through their demeanor.
They don't read each other's interviews.
The band agreed that they would all wear black for the promotional photos. The photoshoot for Burrn! was the first time they got snapped together: even the official band pictures were shot individually.
Die attributes the band's longevity to Dynamite Tommy, who was a pillar to them according to him. If it had just been the five of them at the mercy of a recording company, he thinks that the band might have ended years ago. For Die, there was a moment around Dum Spiro Spero when he had a lot of internal conflict, but after a while, he came to accept things and endure them.
Die said that they didn't start out as friends, but once they moved to Tokyo for the band, they hung out together like friends at first because they only had each other. As time passed, they made their own friends and their lives changed. They learned more about their respective personalities and kept a distance so that they didn't pry too much into their lives.
In the dressing room, the members don't talk to one another, the atmosphere is "gloomy" because all you can hear is the metal music playing in the background. The same thing would happen if you just put the five of them together: nobody would speak.
Toshiya also talked about the tension among the band, which has always been there and which might be the key to why they all stay on their guards, respect one another and have been able to survive for so long. Toshiya says that there has never been a sense of "security" in the band.
Die has lived his life reminding himself every daythat he is "Die from Dir en grey", doing things that he thinks Die from Dir en grey should do, even in his workouts.
Shinya considers that his drumming style was perfected 20 years ago. Also, he hasn't noticed any sign of aging, and he thinks that that's due to living a stress-free life wherein he does what he wants when he wants, and never does what he doesn't want to do.
Apparently Shinya used to get a lot of criticism for his drumming?! And he finds that his life has gotten easier since the COVID-19 pandemic.
Shinya described Dir en grey as a miraculous band and quoted a trend that he noticed on Twitter recently, where Dir en grey was nominated whenever people had to think of "a band that looks like they make a blunder but who hasn't done anything wrong".
Shinya didn't mind that the album took so long to produce, because it put off the promotional activities surrounding it like interviews, which he dislikes because he can't answer questions like: "What were you thinking/feeling when you wrote this song?"
If Kyo had to give "Mortal Downer" a Japanese title, it would be 報復 (悪意) Houfuku (akui), or Retaliation (malice). Kaoru preferred to abstain from answering that question because nothing came to his mind instinctively, but in Ongaku to Hito, he offered that the album could be described as "vocal-oriented". As for Die, he would summarize the album as the kanji character 渦, vortex. Toshiya's kanji is 重, heavy. Lastly, Shinya's choice is 滅, metsu, as in metsubou – extinction.
Kaoru was hoping to work with Tom Lord-Alge to mix their songs even from the year The Insulated World was released, but their schedules didn't align until now, from The Devil In Me onward.
Kaoru doesn't ever take into consideration to compose stuff that doesn't sound like something that Die would make, even if the two of them are the musicians who help shape Dir en grey's sounds. Kaoru was more focused on leaving behind the trend of writing songs that start vaguely and which the vocals then carry the atmosphere on their own. He concentrated on coming up with guitar phrases that were cool and grabbed the attention individually. Die is more considerate of avoiding making songs in Kaoru's style.
Die finds Dum Spiro Spero to be their densest work and their most difficult to perform. Kaoru feels like it has been really hard for him to compose songs ever since Dum Spiro Spero, like he won't be able to do this much longer.
Kaoru always wonders whether his young self would find his new songs cool.
The album ended up being completely different from what Toshiya had imagined at first, one year prior to completion. He thought that it would be more varied, but it turned out to be more focused.
To Toshiya, although Dir en grey aims for a heavy and negative atmosphere, he finds that those feelings are just one side of a coin, and that delving into that atmosphere can help lift people afterward. He thinks that people come to live music venues to vent their feelings and come out purified.
Die thought that Dir en grey would never last this long, that they would break up when the time comes and that being in a band isn't forever. But after passing the 20th anniversary, Die has been even more cognizant of the fans' expectations, how Dir en grey and going to see Dir en grey perform has become part of their own lives, as well as the responsibility toward all the staff who supports Dir en grey and their livelihood.
Interviewers and even the members constantly refer to Mortal Downer as a "vocal album", with characteristic "choruses" that are not typical but more like riffs. Toshiya felt like there were a lot more of those "choruses" this time around. But nobody really understands what's being sung even when they follow the lyrics while listening to the songs.
Toshiya agrees with the interviewer in Burrn! that each song on Mortal Downer could fit into one of their past albums, but that wasn't their intention while composing.
Regarding the festivals where Dir en grey performed in 2025-2026, Kaoru thinks that those who invite them know that Dir en grey are not normal people, so they don't adjust their performance and just go all in. Apparently Dir en grey rarely gets invited, so when they do receive an invitation, they positively consider it. But whoever invites them to a festival needs to have gone to one of their shows first.
Shinya doesn't feel any need to escape reality, ever.
In the past, Shinya was frustrated that his songs didn't make the cut for albums, so he used to go out to record stores to listen to nu metal albums to study that sound, because those were the kinds of songs that tended to be selected by the rest of the band. Even this time around, the demos that he was most confident in were the ones that got rejected. It's difficult, but he has come to accept this. Instead, he turns to SERAPH for music that he wants to create.
Die always flinches when Kyo unexpectedly bumps his mic on something during the interludes.
The interviewer in Phy vol. 29 made Kyo realize that he had changed, that he expressed his anger more simply, and more in general. Kyo nuances that he realized that he has become an unpleasant person and, seeing as he now finds it pointless to be angry at someone because it wastes time, nowadays he might just react by thinking or saying: "Oh, is that so? So you're that kind of person." and let the anger simmer below the surface.
Kyo clarified that he is focused on doing as much as possible within an impression that he has very little time left not only because he wants to have no regrets, but he thinks that he is doing it as a way to save himself in the end. Essentially, if he can look back and name a few things that he has done, then he won't have led that bad a life.
Kyo hopes that his songs can bring a bit of relief by helping people realize that they are not alone with those feelings.
Kyo likes the way that being in bands "distorts" him. He ruled out doing completely solo songs because he cannot compose any.
Kyo's look in the photoshoots for the Mortal Downer release represents his image of the album.
He thinks that a ballad with acoustic guitars wouldn't fit Dir en grey's vibe now.
When Kyo records his initial vocal melodies, apparently he sings the parts that he thinks should be in English in "words that sound like English".
Kyo thinks that Dir en grey's pace of releasing albums might become longer and longer and, objectively speaking, he estimates that Dir en grey could go on this way for another 10 years approximately.
One of Kyo's recent regrets was that he thought he should have studied English when he was younger.
Given the opportunity, Kyo might want to re-record his vocals for the songs that were written in 2024, but that's always the case, and this process might never end.
Although he's generally satisfied by Dir en grey's history, he feels that they should have pushed further maybe earlier, like going abroad sooner in their career. He also regrets listening to people who told him that he should write songs in English if he was performing abroad.
Kyo talks a bit in the Burrn! Magazine about modern visual kei and how almost anything can call itself visual kei these days. He attributes that to how easy it is to listen to music from anywhere in the world now and how much more freedom bands have compared to when Dir en grey started.
This last part is quite long, but it has some very interesting pieces of information, especially about the band dynamic.
General trivia:
Shinya agrees with the interviewer's view that Kyo's vocal melodies are easy to sing along to. He feels that there is an influence of J-pop in them, which is something that Kyo and Shinya have in common.
When Shinya goes to see sukekiyo, he finds that it's like watching a band led by a completely different person than the Kyo he knows.
(Yet again, don't be a dick - don't plagiarize or take screenshots of this post.)
Toshiya always feels like he is navigating in a fog once a new album gets released, but that fog is especially thick with Mortal Downer. Things become clearer after they play the songs live.
Since ARCHE, Toshiya has tried to make his playing style simpler.
Toshiya described Shinya's drumming as very unique. For Mortal Downer, he tried to make it shine more by playing less bass, essentially.
Toshiya thought at first that Dir en grey wouldn't last long because each of its members had strong wills. Toshiya feels like all the members have the same desire to "make a cool band", and that is what has united them and kept them working together for so many years.
He also sees that doing things outside of the band, such as his photograph and art projects, is necessary to continue contributing to Dir en grey, otherwise he might run into a wall eventually.
Kaoru considers that Mortal Downer is the first chapter to a new era of Dir en grey.
Kaoru feels that there are things better left vague and undiscussed among the band, because otherwise it would lead to awkward moments between them. It's better to let them independently figure things out by hinting at them instead, showing what kind of atmosphere one is leaning toward. He said that they all try not to be too categoric and assertive, because then it could kind of scare off one of the others. But after 30 years together, the members have become agile at thinking along the same wavelength. They are mindful of the others' feelings and avoid asking personal questions, instead deducing their mood through their demeanor.
They don't read each other's interviews.
The band agreed that they would all wear black for the promotional photos. The photoshoot for Burrn! was the first time they got snapped together: even the official band pictures were shot individually.
Die attributes the band's longevity to Dynamite Tommy, who was a pillar to them according to him. If it had just been the five of them at the mercy of a recording company, he thinks that the band might have ended years ago. For Die, there was a moment around Dum Spiro Spero when he had a lot of internal conflict, but after a while, he came to accept things and endure them.
Die said that they didn't start out as friends, but once they moved to Tokyo for the band, they hung out together like friends at first because they only had each other. As time passed, they made their own friends and their lives changed. They learned more about their respective personalities and kept a distance so that they didn't pry too much into their lives.
In the dressing room, the members don't talk to one another, the atmosphere is "gloomy" because all you can hear is the metal music playing in the background. The same thing would happen if you just put the five of them together: nobody would speak.
Toshiya also talked about the tension among the band, which has always been there and which might be the key to why they all stay on their guards, respect one another and have been able to survive for so long. Toshiya says that there has never been a sense of "security" in the band.
Die has lived his life reminding himself every daythat he is "Die from Dir en grey", doing things that he thinks Die from Dir en grey should do, even in his workouts.
Shinya considers that his drumming style was perfected 20 years ago. Also, he hasn't noticed any sign of aging, and he thinks that that's due to living a stress-free life wherein he does what he wants when he wants, and never does what he doesn't want to do.
Apparently Shinya used to get a lot of criticism for his drumming?! And he finds that his life has gotten easier since the COVID-19 pandemic.
Shinya described Dir en grey as a miraculous band and quoted a trend that he noticed on Twitter recently, where Dir en grey was nominated whenever people had to think of "a band that looks like they make a blunder but who hasn't done anything wrong".
Shinya didn't mind that the album took so long to produce, because it put off the promotional activities surrounding it like interviews, which he dislikes because he can't answer questions like: "What were you thinking/feeling when you wrote this song?"
If Kyo had to give "Mortal Downer" a Japanese title, it would be 報復 (悪意) Houfuku (akui), or Retaliation (malice). Kaoru preferred to abstain from answering that question because nothing came to his mind instinctively, but in Ongaku to Hito, he offered that the album could be described as "vocal-oriented". As for Die, he would summarize the album as the kanji character 渦, vortex. Toshiya's kanji is 重, heavy. Lastly, Shinya's choice is 滅, metsu, as in metsubou – extinction.
Kaoru was hoping to work with Tom Lord-Alge to mix their songs even from the year The Insulated World was released, but their schedules didn't align until now, from The Devil In Me onward.
Kaoru doesn't ever take into consideration to compose stuff that doesn't sound like something that Die would make, even if the two of them are the musicians who help shape Dir en grey's sounds. Kaoru was more focused on leaving behind the trend of writing songs that start vaguely and which the vocals then carry the atmosphere on their own. He concentrated on coming up with guitar phrases that were cool and grabbed the attention individually. Die is more considerate of avoiding making songs in Kaoru's style.
Die finds Dum Spiro Spero to be their densest work and their most difficult to perform. Kaoru feels like it has been really hard for him to compose songs ever since Dum Spiro Spero, like he won't be able to do this much longer.
Kaoru always wonders whether his young self would find his new songs cool.
The album ended up being completely different from what Toshiya had imagined at first, one year prior to completion. He thought that it would be more varied, but it turned out to be more focused.
To Toshiya, although Dir en grey aims for a heavy and negative atmosphere, he finds that those feelings are just one side of a coin, and that delving into that atmosphere can help lift people afterward. He thinks that people come to live music venues to vent their feelings and come out purified.
Die thought that Dir en grey would never last this long, that they would break up when the time comes and that being in a band isn't forever. But after passing the 20th anniversary, Die has been even more cognizant of the fans' expectations, how Dir en grey and going to see Dir en grey perform has become part of their own lives, as well as the responsibility toward all the staff who supports Dir en grey and their livelihood.
Interviewers and even the members constantly refer to Mortal Downer as a "vocal album", with characteristic "choruses" that are not typical but more like riffs. Toshiya felt like there were a lot more of those "choruses" this time around. But nobody really understands what's being sung even when they follow the lyrics while listening to the songs.
Toshiya agrees with the interviewer in Burrn! that each song on Mortal Downer could fit into one of their past albums, but that wasn't their intention while composing.
Regarding the festivals where Dir en grey performed in 2025-2026, Kaoru thinks that those who invite them know that Dir en grey are not normal people, so they don't adjust their performance and just go all in. Apparently Dir en grey rarely gets invited, so when they do receive an invitation, they positively consider it. But whoever invites them to a festival needs to have gone to one of their shows first.
Shinya doesn't feel any need to escape reality, ever.
In the past, Shinya was frustrated that his songs didn't make the cut for albums, so he used to go out to record stores to listen to nu metal albums to study that sound, because those were the kinds of songs that tended to be selected by the rest of the band. Even this time around, the demos that he was most confident in were the ones that got rejected. It's difficult, but he has come to accept this. Instead, he turns to SERAPH for music that he wants to create.
Die always flinches when Kyo unexpectedly bumps his mic on something during the interludes.
The interviewer in Phy vol. 29 made Kyo realize that he had changed, that he expressed his anger more simply, and more in general. Kyo nuances that he realized that he has become an unpleasant person and, seeing as he now finds it pointless to be angry at someone because it wastes time, nowadays he might just react by thinking or saying: "Oh, is that so? So you're that kind of person." and let the anger simmer below the surface.
Kyo clarified that he is focused on doing as much as possible within an impression that he has very little time left not only because he wants to have no regrets, but he thinks that he is doing it as a way to save himself in the end. Essentially, if he can look back and name a few things that he has done, then he won't have led that bad a life.
Kyo hopes that his songs can bring a bit of relief by helping people realize that they are not alone with those feelings.
Kyo likes the way that being in bands "distorts" him. He ruled out doing completely solo songs because he cannot compose any.
Kyo's look in the photoshoots for the Mortal Downer release represents his image of the album.
He thinks that a ballad with acoustic guitars wouldn't fit Dir en grey's vibe now.
When Kyo records his initial vocal melodies, apparently he sings the parts that he thinks should be in English in "words that sound like English".
Kyo thinks that Dir en grey's pace of releasing albums might become longer and longer and, objectively speaking, he estimates that Dir en grey could go on this way for another 10 years approximately.
One of Kyo's recent regrets was that he thought he should have studied English when he was younger.
Given the opportunity, Kyo might want to re-record his vocals for the songs that were written in 2024, but that's always the case, and this process might never end.
Although he's generally satisfied by Dir en grey's history, he feels that they should have pushed further maybe earlier, like going abroad sooner in their career. He also regrets listening to people who told him that he should write songs in English if he was performing abroad.
Kyo talks a bit in the Burrn! Magazine about modern visual kei and how almost anything can call itself visual kei these days. He attributes that to how easy it is to listen to music from anywhere in the world now and how much more freedom bands have compared to when Dir en grey started.
It's been buffering like hell for me, I have no clue what's going on hahah. I think that part of the stream was exclusive to Premium membership, I think that they showed the MOBS PV, but all I know for sure is that our favourite band is crazy stylish!
izzy806
2087
kaledo-art
pixelskylines
titsay
