The answer is something I will grab by myself

DIR EN GREY KYO

“It is the Latin aphorism for "As long as one breathes, hope is not thrown away". It contains the message "As long as a person lives, he is able to continue holding onto hope". The truth is I wasn't able to let out such a thing as hope, but now is a time/period, where I properly let that out, and all the members agreed to this decision. Of course, there are people who absolutely don't feel things such as "hope", but that is everyone's freedom. In this album, I got to write about the pain that people had until now, the parts they want to hide, their disgusting/repulsive parts, I think I was able to express the worldview and content deeper.”

--Rather than hope that is bathed in light so to say, it's like hope that is seen when one overcomes something, that sort of image, right?

“Because I myself am a pessimist(negative-thinker), I don't have hope itself. That's why, it’s possible that my longing for hope is stronger. I don't mean it in the bright feeling like "Let's do our best and live" - it’s like let’s go beyond something where you suffered/struggled, in the manner where even though you can't see the light you still continue on. I write about nothing but despair, however, after listening there is the feeling of what is next(beyond). I think we were able to make something that lets you feel the force of life. Isn't it that Japanese people often say "Let us conform to unity with everyone"? I can understand the feeling, but before that, one should think of what they can do individually and that links to moving one step forward. It's not simply letting out the answer, it’s to think of the things only I can express, I want to to grab it by myself while feeling it. Because of that you find something larger in that way, I think there is something to become more aware of.”

--As an artist how do you deal with "loneliness"?

“No matter how good a live we make, I can constantly feel loneliness. Though I think that is because I am weak. I want to become strong, but by no means does that happen (laughs). But, if I were to become strong I wouldn't be able to sing songs such as these. It is much easier to not mind the loneliness, but it ends up becoming the opposite. It would be good if I could separate myself from that self that is unable to [mind/realize loneliness], but if it were to end like that I would get really angry (laughs).”

--From now on what kind of music (will you create)?

“Now and from here on, it depends on how much I can put the world-view and image I hold into shape/form. Aren't there releases that others write so that people would listen, in order to sell? There is no way that there is such a thing, it can be the messages towards me or the like but, it's I can only make music that I think is cool. It's very simple. I don’t include things like dishonesty/impurity.”

DIR EN GREY 『DUM SPIRO SPERO』

BOUNCE

Something that has never been heard of before, a sound only we could create--With this issue’s theme, the new album that communicates this flexible band’s charm more than ever is complete!

We want listeners to feel the atmosphere of the people who made it.

“During MACABRE (2000) I constantly listened to Pink Floyd and King Crimson. Most likely, I was attracted to the feeling that it was hard to understand. When the band formed, there was a way of thinking that even if we don’t understand it, as long as ‘we looked cool’ it’s okay. So to say, it isn’t because we couldn’t make anything difficult immediately but we were aware of arranging it to something very DIR EN GREY. After years passed, we thought of making something richer and that is UROBOROS. It took form because we wanted to create a CD that’s something cultivated, something that we’ve been aiming for,  and something that only we could do. “(Kaoru, Guitarist : same as below)

Going forward they had their previous creation in their hearts. Relying on their 5 senses was almost akin to going to an unexplored place. From the very beginning of music writing, melding it with the band, and even during the beginning of the recording, bit by bit they found the path of the new album.

“We didn’t talk among ourselves this time either. Even if we didn’t talk we started fumbling our way into creating something more than the previous album and something different from the previous one. But it took so much time, it came to the point where we thought we couldn’t do it and doubted if we could make 4-5 songs in half a year. I think it’s fun as an artist to receive that much time but there was a doubt if we were going to be satisfied with what we’ve done as a band. Not just to grasp onto something that we can’t see but to put out everything we have acquired through the years. If we did not arrange it so that the listeners could understand the lines in the song, I think it will become something weird when you look back on it in the future. And from there, we make the other members listen to a various patterns of riffs we prepared and we ask each other if we would make that song into something larger.”

In this album there are a lot of fierce, convoluted riffs, so you could say its extremeness is greater than the previous album. Of course, that’s not the only thing. Each song’s variation and scene development becomes more addictive. To borrow words from Kaoru, it’s filled with songs that pursue [the ideal], “Without changing a line, how much can we create that has never been heard of.” This time in each song it’s as if the five members are scrambling for the lead seat, dizzyingly changing, or there are scenes where they attack as one. The ones in front are openly aggressive while the ones in the back are playing each and every phrase drawing attention to the vivid imagery.  After listening, you find yourself completely swallowed up and getting caught in a violent undulating grand plot. And for the single “DIFFERENT SENSE”, the long absent solo has been resurrected; even the listeners that they go after will be a bit surprised but in “VANITAS” and “Juuyoku” you can also hear the hard rock blues-y guitar solos.

“It was to start doing the things that we have never done. Instead of making it into the atmosphere of the creators, we made it something that’s going to be felt. When you listen to it, I think it’s a song where you could feel reality so we’ve been making songs that makes the vocals stand out for the last few years. But, it’s also good that there are songs this time where other people other than the vocals can also be noticed. I think it’s interesting for the listeners that you can taste the others’ atmosphere. Which is why I simply think that it was easy to put forth the atmosphere and the expression of the people playing the solo.”

As long as I breathe, I hope

“This time it’s not  hand-drawn or artificially created, we wanted to create a jacket with the motif of something that is real and that existed. And when it was time to think of where to take the picture, so there was an idea to take the shot in the wild. It’s not to make it look Japanese but it was by good chance to be in a bamboo grove. As for us, we start to link up parts in the very end. We didn’t consiously tried to make it Japanese but it’s the Kyo’s (vocalist) melody and tempo, the guitar riffs, each one will have an atmosphere that will come out because we live in Japan.”

Finally, I wanted to touch on the title of the album. 『DUM SPIRO SPERO』, A latin proverb that means “While I breathe, I hope”.

“Personally, I have been in the band for 14 years, there were times when I have thought of until when we could still continue on. So when we finished making this album there was a feeling <we are alive> Due to that we gave this album’s title those words. When we were talking about recording after the earthquake and what to do, we wanted to do everything that we could do we wanted to deliver hope as fast as possible. Therefore, that is the feeling encapsulated in this album.”

“When I was in middle school I liked movie soundtracks and I rented and listened to them a lot. When a movie was good, even if you thought that you wanted to watch it again, during that time it wasn’t like it immediately comes out on DVD like it does now.  The soundtrack that I listened to the most was ‘Stand By Me’.”

And as the young Kaoru became accustomed to that first soundtrack, your eyes for rock were opened during high school. Then, you became more serious on music.

“From the time I entered high school I came to listen to X JAPAN, and I was greatly influenced by HIDE to start on guitar. As for foreign acts, it’s Dimebag Darell (of Pantera). I was shocked, ‘What in the world is this sound?!’”

I see. And as we got into that, during the composition of the new songs, there are songs that express “As much as possible I try not to put in my own things and create a final product that is not from an image” but it’s also possible that there is a sound that got soaked into you which makes it  harder to hide; like in “Akatsuki,” you can somehow see the influence of Pantera. And as I was pointing this out, he laughed wryly “Of course, it will come out. It couldn’t be helped!”

And as the album is already finished recording, it seems that he has now been able to get more free time. So, I have been given some albums that he currently listens to a lot.

“I don’t check new releases as much as before but of recent ones, first of all is, James Blake. I think it’s also because I like very impressive voices, but it also has a very mysterious way of song writing; it’s very new to listen to and yet very nostalgic so it’s interesting. And then, in this album’s limited press edition we made remixes and I since I wanted to study more for that I was able to fish out one from wide variety, ‘Flying Lotus’. I liked the new release so I bought all of their old songs (Laugh). And Limp Bizkit’s new one felt like, ‘at long last!’. The sound was surprisingly good, especially the sound of the drums. I bought Graveyard because I thought the CD jacket was cool but the sound was totally different from what I expected (laugh), it was 60’s blues rock-ish, and I was surprised of the age of the sound. And, since there is an LP of Deftones covers I listened to it. Japan and Cure covered--whatever they did it’s in Deftones principle. Lastly, this is not a recent one but for some reason I am currently into Motley Crue. But for me, I bought ‘Theatre Of Pain’ for the first time so this is all I can say.”