In 2013, DIR EN GREY released the EP THE UNRAVELING, transitioning seven of their old pieces into their present style in addition to the title track. Classics including Karma, MACABRE and Bottom of the Death Valley turned into a synthesis of the band’s tradition and its contemporary vibe. When they announced the continuation of their 1999’s tour PSYCHONNECT -mode of “GAUZE”?- for august 2014, I wondered if it would mean the same: Complex rearrangements of the songs from their first full album GAUZE.
Two songs of the long player, ZAN and Tsumi to Batsu, had been rerecorded to accompany two singles in 2009 and 2011. They turned into recent songs by adding and changing elements. Curious about the new fusion of past and present, I attended two of the eleven tour stops. I’ve been a bit disappointed, that the new changes weren’t that substantial. Nevertheless, I took great pleasure in the concerts’ energy and music.
Except the album’s final track GAUZE –mode of eve– they played the whole GAUZE album at every show. After intoned by GAUZE –mode of adam– the shows started with one of the album’s classics. For half of the tour dates it’s been Schwein no Isu, followed by raison d’être and Cage. Indulged in musically history, the audience was heated up with a good mixture of different eras. Each set included Aoi Tsuki from the first EP MISSA (1997) and the last single SUSTAIN THE UNTRUTH as well as one of two new songs of the album ARCHE released a few months later.
Those tracks which had been rearranged were played in the new version with the exception of Tsumi to Batsu, which DIR EN GREY performed both in the original way as well as in the revised interpretation titled Tsumi to Kisei—sometimes even both at the same show. An interesting touch considering the changes especially in the lyrics.
Despite the lack of more new arrangements I hoped for, the style of the GAUZE songs did change and made this unique tour worth the experience. The compositions are much simpler than the band’s later works and one can imagine that performing them could have been less interesting for the musicians. They still seemed to enjoy the tour. And, considering the enthusiastic participation, so did the fans, who were happy about the time travel in a contemporary context.
The old songs turned stronger and deeper partly thanks to the bass being more in the front. The vocals were limited to the original composition here and therefore, more interesting in the newer songs showing the singer’s present vocal range. Also the drums stayed closer to the initial beats, but the guitars used the moments of solos to add some new tunes. From the first to the last song, mostly being Hageshisa to, Kono Mune no Naka de Karamitsuita Shakunetsu no Yami, the setlist had been a good compilation of high and low tide. Sentimental songs alternated with crushing metal imbibing the audience, which was torn away by the waves of music.
304–gō-shitsu, Hakushi no Sakura stayed very close to the original composition, which allowed the listeners to draw a direct comparison between the initial recording and the present performance. Kyo’s voice is clearly more trained today, sounding more mature due to a clearer, straighter delivery. The rhythm section shines in this song, especially in the parts without vocals. Shinya dashed over his tom-toms, Die flailed the chords on the partially used acoustic guitar and Toshiya surprisingly slapped his bass. He adopted this technique around 2009 and returned to picking most of the GAUZE songs during this tour.
Such as in Akuro no Oka, one of my personal favorites of the shows out of sentimental reasons and the space it gives for the single string instruments. In the beginning the chords of Die’s acoustic guitar only shared with the sound of wind in an otherwise silent hall. Kaoru’s solo, being modern with new variations and simultaneously keeping the old sentiment. Toshiya’s muffled, melodious one with the bass resting on his knee. And in the end following Kyo’s expressive scream, Kaoru’s last chords into the silence of the fascinated audience.
Who knew all too well that the rhythmic, intense MASK started when a sentence of a Charles Lindbergh speech was played. While its members have promised us peace, they have led us to war, heedless of the platform upon which they were elected.* The song’s lyrics deal with the oppression of dictatorship. And its title was interpreted on the big LED screen in a clever way. While most songs had only snippets of the old videos, the MASK PV was presented completely. It shows live footage of the band in the beginning of their career—but now all the musicians’ eyes were censored with a black matte. What a fine way of masking the own past and at the same time implying the faceless conformity in a restricted regime.
ZAN resembled a thunderstorm. Flashes of light flickered over the dim stage. The waves of the hard, propelling song crashed through the audience. The people were head banging and threw their arms up in the air to clap and shout along from the heated, sweating bulk in the front until the very last row. The music’s vehemence united band and crowd in the celebration of finalizing the vivid main set—or show.
By the moment the microphone fell, indicating the song’s end, and the last hits on the drums and chords of the strings, the venue was painted in red light again. In clear contrast the almost sublime white spot lights directed on the band leaving the stage.
As DIR EN GREY wasn’t mimicking its former selves, the GAUZE tour’s continuation succeeded. One can say, the songs were less covered by costumes, but expressed concentrated on the musical work itself. Which resulted in the impression of pure concerts as mentioned. They were directed to the fans of the band’s old works. Or better to those, who are interested in both, the band’s inception and its various developments.
By now this chapter of GAUZE is closed and DIR EN GREY opened a new book called ARCHE. A massive one, with which they are touring right now.
SETLIST 2024/08/30
Tokyo STUDIO COAST
SE GAUZE -mode of adam-
01. Yurameki [ゆらめき]02. MASK
03. Cage
04. Kasumi [かすみ] (2013 Ver.)
05. Rinkaku [輪郭]06. Aoi Tsuki [蒼い月]07. Akuro no Oka [アクロの丘]08. mazohyst of decadence
09. Tsumi to Batsu [蜜と唾] (2011 Ver.)
10. INWARD SCREAM
11. 304-gō-shitsu, Hakushi no Sakura [304号室、白死の桜]12. raison d’étre
13. Schwein no Isu [Schweinの椅子]14. Tsumi to Batsu [蜜と唾]15. Zan [残-ZAN-]
ENCORE
E1. Yokan [予感]
E2. Chain Repulsion
E3. SUSTAIN THE UNTRUTH
E4. Rasetsukoku [羅刹国]E5. Hageshisa to, Kono Mune no Naka de Karamitsuita Shakunetsu no Yami [激しさと、この胸の中で絡み付いた灼熱の闇]
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Disclaimer: This is an old tour report from 2014, published in 2015. Thanks go out to DIR EN GREY, sun-krad, and the band’s fans for the incredible live experience.
We’ve recently started a Listening Club on our Instagram account with one DIR EN GREY album per week. This week, it’s been time for GAUZE—which gives us the opportunity to share this old report from our archive. See you again with new material soon!
