Backstage at the Birmingham Academy, the majority of Dir En Grey were having a well earned rest sat side by side on a sloping sofa, clutching their laptops. Though most would consider this a somewhat ‘nerdy’ scenario, the guys pulled this moment off cooler than most. Meanwhile, I sat on an adjacent hand-me-down sofa opposite the band’s drummer, Shinya. This Japanese rock star was a lot more timid than one would expect. Keeping his knuckles closely wrapped together against his mouth, I hoped he, and his lovely translator, would be able to shed some light on the experience’s the UK had enabled him and his band members to endure.
Planet Loud – Welcome to Birmingham. Are you exited to be here?
Dir En Grey – Of course today is our second to last show before the end of the Kerrang! Tour so I’m very exited about playing tonight.
Planet Loud – When you first started your careers as musicians, did you ever see yourselves breaking through so many different language barriers considering you don’t sing or perform in English?
Dir En Grey – When the band first started out we never imagined being able to perform anywhere outside of Japan. It wasn’t an aim for us, but actually coming over and playing in places like America, we’re still overwhelmed by everything that’s happened for us.
Planet Loud – Considering you’ve been on tour for quite a while now, which audience’s reaction has surprised you most?
Dir En Grey – The Kerrang! tour is the first time we have ever experienced people tossing all sorts of things on stage, from clothing material to beer. It’s very interesting to experience playing to a crowd like that.
Planet Loud – Have any of the reactions been worse than you expected?
Dir En Grey – This time around in the UK, we didn’t expect to be as accepted as we have been. People are really enjoying the shows so we haven’t experienced any bad responses from the crowd. In fact the responses have been better than we expected everywhere.
Planet Loud – The nature of the music on such a tour is quite dark, and so is your image. Do you think it is important to match your image to your music?
Dir En Grey – When we are on stage it’s very important to keep to the concepts and the styles of the music. When it comes to us as individuals we’re very different to what the band tries to portray, and each of us are very different from one another.
Planet Loud – Is it more a case that your music is just a small part of who you are and not necessarily everything about your lives?
Dir En Grey – Yes, that would be the case.
Planet Loud – The video for ‘Dozing Green’ was voted the best video at the ‘MTV Headbanger’s Ball’ in 2008. What was it like to receive the top spot over a lot of American and English bands? Was this a shock to you?
Dir En Grey – We are incredibly shocked we got the best video, we have no idea how it actually happened. There are so many other bands more famous than us out there, but we are very thankful to the kids who are voting for us for these awards.
Planet Loud – You have said that this video has represented you as a band. Why do you feel that this particular video does this over any other videos you have made, and why has it taken so long to achieve this?
Dir En Grey – The video for Dozing Green definitely sums up what the band has become after being together for more than ten years. It wasn’t like we came down to a point where we decided to make this video to sum us up, but the process came very naturally to say that Dir En Grey could be understood by watching a video like this.
Planet Loud – You’re also due to release a DVD called ‘A Knot Of’ in February. Do you feel this will offer fans a better and more in depth understanding with regard to what your music and your careers are about?
Dir En Grey – This DVD to be released, it was our aim to compile clips from our past tours from about 2005, because that was pretty much the start of our careers overseas. It would definitely be something that new fans should pick up to learn about the band, it would be very easy to digest for somebody who has never heard of the band before.
Planet Loud – So do you feel this DVD will set you apart as ‘Artists’ rather than a group of people just out there in the world of music? (This was a bit of a tricky question to translate over, but short and sweet answers can sometimes be better.)
Dir En Grey – The question is whether I agree?
Planet Loud – Yes..
Dir En Grey – Then my answer would be yes.
Planet Loud – Your Myspace page is flooded with comments from your fans who are proclaiming that they have bought tickets purely to see you. Did you ever expect to be so favoured amongst the other acts performing here tonight?
Dir En Grey – I’m hearing this for the first time. I’m very happy. I’m not sure whether this current situation about our UK fans is true myself, but if it is, I would definitely like to come back here again.
Planet Loud – People have been sleeping outside the venue since Tuesday purely for this performance. Does that kind of situation surprise you?
Dir En Grey – Yes, hearing that is just great. To know that kids are so anxious to see us play live, we want to do alot more to keep that going.
Planet Loud – Considering it’s just turned January in 2009, can you give us any insight as to what this year holds for the future of Dir En Grey?
Dir En Grey – We actually go back to Japan for a tour after finishing in the UK on the Kerran!g tour, so there’s no break for us either. Hopefully in the summer we will be coming back and doing some shows in the UK if we can make it work. This year will pretty much be a year of touring for Dir En Grey.
Interview by Holly Brookes
