2025 marks six years since avant-garde metal band, DIR EN GREY, held their last concert in North and Central America in 2019, and the band made good on their promise to return with their latest WHO IS THIS HELL FOR? [mode of Withering to death.] tour. Due to a mix of reasons, the band was originally unable to come to the U.S. for their 25th anniversary, and the five-member group was ready to make up for lost time.
Fans, also called “followers” or “toriko” (prisoner), were tightly packed into The Belasco, waiting for the start of the show. Many of them attended the first night performance at venue and were back for the second and final night.
Donning their well-known dramatic attire, the five members took their places on stage, as the crowd cheered for the start of “Ningen wo Kaburu.” The track from their 2018 The Insulated World album was the perfect way to energize the audience, as fans threw their hands and thrashed their heads to the beat of Shinya’s drums and Kyo’s guttural shrieks and growls. Die, with his signature long hair and guitar, kept the fans on stage left pumping their fists, while Kaoru jammed out for the audience on stage right. Toshiya, wearing thigh high heeled boots, showed off his bass at the front of his stage to adoring followers screaming his name.
For lapsed DIR EN GREY fans who have missed out on the band’s recent discography, their performance of the 2024 single, “The Devil In Me,” re-introduced the vigor that long time fans have enjoyed. Turning to their tracks on their 2005 album, Kyo’s bellows and screams during “Spilled Milk” had followers wildly head banging. DIR EN GREY’s command of the audience was so powerful they could have played “Twinkle Twikle Little Star,” and the pit would have headbanged to the beat and jumped just as hard.
A standout performance from the entire setlist had to be their live version of the 2008 song, “VINUSHKA.” The nearly 10-minute song requires stamina and strength, and the metal band had been entertaining nonstop without a break. As veterans in the industry performing together since 1997, their effortless ability to maintain the intense atmosphere was undoubtedly a major factor that draws fans to come and see them live again and again. Although many were worried about Kyo’s vocals because he’d been hospitalized in the past, he showed no signs of concern as he continued to flaunt his five-octave range.
Closing the main set of their show with “Eddie,” DIR EN GREY took their first break backstage after a nonstop 13-song set. While the crowd called for an encore, a video played to amp up the energy once again before the band returned for an additional four songs: one from Withering to death. and the remaining three from more recent albums. Bringing the nearly two-hour show to an end, the members threw out their guitar picks like seeds to pigeons. Fans happily caught the keepsakes and cheered for the Japanese metal band as the house lights turned on.
