DIR EN GREY formed in Osaka in February 1997 with five members. It has the same five members. At the front of it, writing every lyric, is Kyo.
Kyoto to Osaka
Kyo was born in Kyoto on 16 February 1976. Before DIR EN GREY he worked as a roadie for Kuroyume and sang in a string of visual kei bands. He has named two singers as his inspirations: Atsushi Sakurai of BUCK-TICK and hide of X JAPAN.
The Albums
The catalogue runs from Gauze in 1999 through Withering to Death (2005), Uroboros (2008), Dum Spiro Spero (2011), Arche (2014), The Insulated World (2018) and Phalaris (2022). The twelfth album, MORTAL DOWNER, came out on 8 April 2026, the band’s first in four years.
The band took that music abroad early. The first European shows were in 2005. In 2006 it played the United States, including Korn’s Family Values Tour. In 2007 it was on the bill at Wacken Open Air.
The Other Two Bands
One band has never been enough for him. In 2013 he formed sukekiyo. In December 2021 came Petit Brabancon, with yukihiro of L’ArcenCiel on drums, Miya of MUCC and antz on guitar, and Hirofumi Takamatsu of THE NOVEMBERS on bass. He has also published volumes of poetry, the first in 2001.
It is a workload that would be unusual for a singer in perfect health.
The Cost
He is not in perfect health, and has said so. In 2000 he lost part of the hearing in his left ear. In 2012 he was diagnosed with vocal nodules and had to withdraw from a tour. On 20 July 2025 he disclosed that he had developed Ménière’s disease, after sudden vertigo and ringing in his ears.
MORTAL DOWNER arrived the following April.
Why It Matters
Singers who lose hearing and voice usually narrow what they do. Kyo has three bands, and the oldest of them has never replaced a member. For the guitarist’s side of that story, read our piece on Die.
Start with Uroboros, then MORTAL DOWNER.
