DIR EN GREY has had two guitarists since the day it formed, and they have never changed. Kaoru is one. Die is the other.
Since 1997
Die was born in Mie Prefecture on 20 December 1974. DIR EN GREY formed in Osaka in February 1997, growing out of an earlier band called La:Sadie’s, and the lineup has stayed the same since: Kyo on vocals, Kaoru and Die on guitar, Toshiya on bass, Shinya on drums.
That means every DIR EN GREY album is the work of the same guitar pair, from Gauze (1999) through Uroboros (2008) and Phalaris (2022) to MORTAL DOWNER, released on 8 April 2026. It also means the same pair played the first European shows in 2005, Korn’s Family Values Tour in the United States in 2006, and Wacken Open Air in 2007.
Twenty-nine years is a long time to stand on the same side of the same stage.
DECAYS
In June 2015, Die announced a band of his own. DECAYS was formed with Kei Kashiyama, the drummer of MOON CHILD, and in it Die did something he does not do in his main band: he sang lead, as well as playing guitar.
The first shows were in July and August 2015, at Akasaka BLITZ in Tokyo, Bottom Line in Nagoya and Club Quattro in Umeda. Kyo’s other band, sukekiyo, was one of the support acts, which says something about how the two men’s side projects sat with each other.
The lineup that made the album included singer and guitarist Ataru Nakamura and the violinist Ayasa, who would later form East Of Eden. The major-label debut, Baby who wanders, came out on 7 December 2016, and a live DVD from Akasaka BLITZ followed in 2017.
Why It Matters
A guitarist in a band this stable could simply stay put. Die stepped out, took the microphone, and put a violinist in the lineup. Then he went back to DIR EN GREY and carried on.
Start with Uroboros for the partnership, then Baby who wanders for the detour.
