Originally a visual kei band, the band dropped that style around 2005 with the release of their fifth full-length album, Withering to death., however as of recently they have reacquired their visual kei aesthetic. Their musical style is difficult to determine; throughout their releases, they have played styles ranging from pop rock to extreme metal. Today, their style can be considered generally a version of alternative metal and avant-garde metal.
The band has been signed to FIREWALL DIV., a subdivision of Free-Will under Sony Music, for their entire career so far. However, their fifth full-length album, Withering to death., was the band's first to see distribution outside of Japan. It was released in Europe by GAN-SHIN and the United States by Warcon Enterprises. They're currently signed to Okami Records for European distribution and The End for United States distribution.
DIR EN GREY, in its earliest form, began as the band of vocalist 京 and drummer Shinya - 廃人黒薔薇族 (Haijin Kurobarazoku, "Invalid Black Rose Family"). Members and associates of this band formed La:Sadie's, which eventually included four of the band's five current members. La:Sadie's disbanded in January 1997. All but the bassist came back together to form Dir en grey. They recruited Toshiya, a bassist from Nagano and previously in the band D†L, and officially formed Dir en grey in February 1997.
In 1998, the band gained major attention by becoming the first indies band to have a single place in the top ten on Japan's Oricon music charts. After making their major debut in early 1999, they played a sold-out performance at Osakajo Hall on December 18, 1999. This remains one of the band's most memorable solo performances to date.
In 2002, the band's THE JAPANESE FXXKER FAMILY tour brought the band their first international performances. The tour took them to several countries in Asia, including China and South Korea. In Shanghai, fans became so excited that authorities attempted to cancel a planned second concert. The band and their management resisted, and the concert was played as scheduled.
The year 2005 was a very significant year in the band's history. Dir en grey played their first non-Asian shows in the spring and summer of that year. TOUR05 It withers and withers was the one that brought the band from Japan to Europe. The band played shows in three European countries - Belgium, France, and Germany. Two of these performances were MTV's Rock im Park and Rock am Ring festivals. Dir en grey also played a solo live concert in Germany on May 28 which sold 3,500 standing-room tickets to Berlin's Columbia Hall in approximately 6 weeks (also rumored as 3 days). The band's album Withering to death. reached #31 on the Official Finnish Album Chart, and the single "CLEVER SLEAZOID" reached #15 on its Singles Chart. These were the first times Dir en grey had placed on a non-Asian music chart.
Throughout 2009 and 2011, the band released a total of three singles that would later be added onto their 8th album (DUM SPIRO SPERO). These singles included 激しさと、この胸の中で絡み付いた灼熱の闇 (December 2nd, 2009), LOTUS (January 26, 2011), and DIFFERENT SENSE (June 22nd, 2011). On August 1st, the band had made an open letter on their Facebook page accusing the Japanese government of lying about the levels of radiation caused from the 2011 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami. This led to the creation of the band's "Scream for the Truth" movement, which hoped to result in the correct numbers and truth from the government.
On August 3rd, 2011 the band released their 8th studio album DUM SPIRO SPERO (Latin; "While I breathe, I hope"). The material of this album was showcased on the tour of Age Quod Agis throughout Japan, and the Americas. In February of 2012, 京 (Kyo) was diagnosed with vocal nodule dysphonia. This lead to the withdrawal of the band's participation in the Still Reckless tour, and Kyo was required to have surgery performed on his throat.
The band celebrated their first album's (GAUZE) 15th anniversary of August 2014 with the Tour14 Psychonnect: Mode of "Gauze"? Japanese tour. The tour included their live performances of the songs featured on Gauze. On August 5th, Dir En Grey announced their 9th studio album, ARCHE, to be released December 10th, 2014. After its release, the band performed two tours: By the Grace of God and The Unstoppable life, which brought the band back to North America; the first time since 2011.
On 6 February 2016, it is officially announced that the band will release their new single, 詩踏み, on July 27, 2016. They performed tours called Tour16-17 From Depression To ________ mode of Vulgar, Tour16-17 From Depression To ________ mode of Dum Spiro Spero, and Tour16-17 From Depression To ________ mode of 鬼葬 from June to November 2016.
In 2017, the band did further tours themed around previous albums. They also covered Easy Make,Easy Mark by D'erlanger for the D'ERLANGER TRIBUTE ALBUM ～Stairway to Heaven～.
Another compilation album, VESTIGE OF SCRATCHES, was released on January 2, 2018. DIR EN GREY's twenty-ninth single 人間を被る was released on April 25, 2018. One of its B-sides is a remake of Ash, a song with origins as far back as 1997.
On June 29, 2018, DIR EN GREY announced that their tenth studio album The Insulated World was to be released on September 26, 2018. After its release, the band went on a European tour in October 2018, under the title "Wearing Human Skin".
DIR EN GREY's eleventh studio album, "Phalaris", was released on June 15th 2022. The band embarked on a Japanese tour in promotion called "TOUR22 PHALARIS -Vol.I.-".
Visit www.direngrey.co.jp for more information, and news.
The Blossoming Beelzebub
DIR EN GREY Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
焼け焦げた言葉
耳からこびり付いて何もかもが...
だから心に決めたんだ
今日も見えない雲が殺した満月
テーブルはいつも一人
並べられたスプーンやフォーク
とっくに冷えきった白い皿に入った
スープ
沈黙に流れる鼓動と
隣の家から聞こえる
かすかな雑音
気怠さに任せ床に寝そべる
横に見えた世界は意外に新鮮で
土の方へ伸びる
初めて一つになれたんだ
今日はこのまま寝りにつきたい
動く米粒にいつか羽が生える?
手を後ろまわし探る
僕は飛べない何故だろ?
僕は僕を捜してる
誰も何も教えてはくれないの?
何故?何故?
わらわらと増えてくる君は...
ソファーの下探してた
銀のナイフ見つけ
椅子に座り直し口に肉を運ぶ
美味しいはずのライスも口に頬張り
羽を探す
The Blossoming Beelzebub by DIR EN GREY is a hauntingly beautiful and tragic song, with lyrics that are open to interpretation. The song starts off with the scent of something gentle that has yet to disappear, reminding the singer of words that were burned and stuck in their ears, making everything feel heavy. The singer decided then to harden their heart, and as the song goes on, we see a glimpse of their lonely and empty life. The moon that is always murdered by invisible clouds, a table always set for one person, cold white plates of soup, and the sound of silence accompanied by a neighbor's distant noise. Everything feels terribly melancholic and dreary, but the singer seems to have found peace in it. They lie down on the floor feeling lethargic, and as they look to the side, they realize that the world is surprisingly fresh, extending towards the ground. For the first time, they feel they have become one with the world. They wonder why they can't fly, why nobody teaches or tells them anything, asking why they can't find themselves. Suddenly, the singer shifts their focus, and we see them under a sofa, holding a silver knife, placing the meat in their mouth, searching for wings.
Although it's difficult to define what the song means, and what it represents, it's safe to say that it deals with loneliness, death, and the futility that comes with life. The lyrics are poetic and enigmatic, leaving the listener with so much to ponder. Perhaps the singer's obsession with wings is a metaphor for their desire for freedom, and by searching for wings, they are trying to escape the life they lead. Or, maybe it means the opposite, that they are searching for a way to embrace and accept their limitations. It's impossible to know for sure, and that's what makes the song's lyrics so alluring.
Line by Line Meaning
優しい香りがまだ消えない
The sweet fragrance hasn't disappeared yet
焼け焦げた言葉
Scorched words
耳からこびり付いて何もかもが...
Stuck in my mind and everything...
だから心に決めたんだ
That's why I decided in my heart
今日も見えない雲が殺した満月
The invisible clouds killed the full moon again today
テーブルはいつも一人
The table is always set for one person
並べられたスプーンやフォーク
The spoons and forks lined up
首にかけられたナプキン
The napkin around my neck
とっくに冷えきった白い皿に入った スープ
The soup in the white bowl that has long gone cold
沈黙に流れる鼓動と
Heartbeat flowing in silence
隣の家から聞こえる
Hearing the sounds from the next-door neighbor's house
かすかな雑音
Faint background noise
気怠さに任せ床に寝そべる
I lie down on the bed, leaving it to the lethargy
横に見えた世界は意外に新鮮で
The world I see beside me is surprisingly fresh
土の方へ伸びる
Stretching towards the ground
初めて一つになれたんだ
I was able to become one for the first time
今日はこのまま寝りにつきたい
I want to go to sleep like this today
動く米粒にいつか羽が生える?
Will wings ever grow on a moving grain of rice?
手を後ろまわし探る
I search behind me with my hands
僕は飛べない何故だろ?
Why can't I fly?
僕は僕を捜してる
I am searching for myself
誰も何も教えてはくれないの?
Won't anyone tell me anything?
何故?何故?
Why? Why?
わらわらと増えてくる君は...
You, multiplying and swarming...
ソファーの下探してた
I was searching underneath the sofa
銀のナイフ見つけ
Found a silver knife
椅子に座り直し口に肉を運ぶ
I sit back down in the chair and bring the meat to my mouth
美味しいはずのライスも口に頬張り
I also chew the rice which was supposed to be delicious
羽を探す
Searching for wings
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: 京
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@aikyai
Yasashi kaori ga mada kienai
Yake kogeta kotoba
Mimi kara kobirisuite nani mo kamo ga
Dakara kokoro kimetanda
Kyou mo mienai kumo ga koroshita mangetsu
Teeburu wa itsumo hitori
Nareba rareta supuun ya fuku
Kubi ni kake rareta napukin
Tokku ni kitta shiroi sara ni haitta Suupu
Chinmoku ni nagareru kodou to tonari no ie kara kikoeru
Kasukana zatsuon
Kedarusa ni makase yuka ni nesoberu
Yoko ni mieta sekai wa igai ni shinsende
Tsuchi no hou e nobiru
Hajimete hitotsu ni naretanda
Kyou wa kono nemuri ni tsukitai
Ugoku kometsubu ni itsuka hane ga haeru?
Te o ushiro mawashi saguru
Boku wa tobenai nazedaro?
Boku wa boku o sageshiteru
Dare mo nani mo oshiete wa kurenai no?
Naze?
Naze?
Sofaa no shita sagashi teta gin no naifu mitsuke
Isu ni suwari naoshi kuchi ni niku o hakobu
Oishii hazu no raisu mo kuchi ni houbari
Hane o sagasu
@BetterCallThall
Genius song.
Not only is it about a man who thinks he's eating rice only to realize after a few bites that it's actually a bowl of maggots, but it even sounds like it's decaying.
@aikyai
Ibrahīm al-Ameriki many interpret the lyrics differently and take the maggot eating as symbolism but I quite literally think the song is about a delusional / dying man eating a bowl of maggots that he sees as rice, losing objects around his house and losing motivation to look for them.
@BetterCallThall
@@aikyai
Oh THERE'S my fork...!
@Marauder623
@@aikyai i interpreted the lyrics as a man who is an introvert trying to find himself. Beelzebub is also known as 'lord of the flies". But he fails and is constantly trying and failing. I actually feel the lyrics a shit ton lol.
@EmilM-pb2hn
It's far far far deeper than that. But it is indeed a genius song
@kyo-sama4547
Absolute greatness of DIR EN GREY!
is perfect.
@AncaBaciu
0:00 - 7:36 is the best part :))<3
@swimmerforlife789
DSS is a crazy album...it is growing on me like mad!
@user-xx3kq2ps1j
岡本太郎さんは「芸術は爆発だ」という名言を残してますが
Dir en greyさまは哀しみを爆発させ、それを芸術にしてるなあと思いました
ライブ中に自傷行為のパフォーマンスされているらしいですが
ライブ行ったことない私でも曲聴いているだけでそういうシーンが蘇り、出血しそうですね
嗚呼、素晴らしい
@tori-506
horrifyingly beautiful, I love it!