DIR EN GREY - UNWAVERING FACT OF TOMORROW at KOKO, London

Hours before DIR EN GREY took to the stage in the historic Camden concert hall now known as KOKO, queues had already gone round the corner of the venue and more fans were arriving thick and fast. The array of languages and accents that could be heard were testament to the distances some had travelled. After queuing there was another wait an hour and a half long until the performance, but even then spirits remained high. Some screamed out the band's name to the point of hoarseness long before they appeared, while others shouted for their favourite members until their patience was finally rewarded.

A deep bass rumbling signalled the long-awaited arrival of the band. The members entered the stage one by one to SA BIR, which was almost inaudible because of the screams that greeted them. First out was Kaoru, then Die, followed by Toshiya, Shinya and finally, to the loudest cheers, Kyo. The whole band opted for totally black attire, with the exception of Shinya who stood out in his pure white shirt.

The opening song was RED SOIL, the first of many to come from their latest album UROBOROS. The fans couldn't contain their excitement when the opening guitar riff began, whooping and cheering on recognising it. One was so overcome at her closeness to her heroes that she collapsed within a minute of them starting and needed fanning and watering from staff. Unfortunately the sound setup wasn't perfect, and the vocals were occasionally drowned out by the instruments but it made no difference to the fans. AGITATED SCREAMS OF MAGGOTS saw Kyo wholeheartedly delivering the trademark screams. He needed some water after so much effort, and sprayed some of it onto the delighted front rows of the audience.

Next came THE FATAL BELIEVER. While Toshiya and Die wandered around the stage and interacted with the crowd, Kaoru chose to remain quite aloof and performed with minimal necessary movement. The band performed so energetically through these first three songs that they all had to stop and towel off before coming back with Hageshisa to, kono mune no nake de karamitsuita shakunetsu no yami. This was met with loud, enthusiastic singing from the crowd, who knew it inside out despite it being their newest single. At the climax of the song Kyo climbed onto a red cage positioned front of stage to belt out the chorus all the more, while Toshiya flamboyantly mashed his bass and finished with a triumphant fist in the air. Shinya's rapid drumming and the thrashing guitars sent the crowd wild in STUCK MAN. In the bridge all the members save Shinya came to the front, thrilling those lucky enough to be so close.

During Gaika, chinmoku ga nemuru koro Kyo, who was decked out in a black leather shirt and aviators, finally succumbed to the heat and discarded these to the joy of his fans. Doubling over during parts of the song, he threw every last abdominal fibre into the drawn out screams. Then the gentle guitar that followed introduced INCONVENIENT IDEAL, bringing the pace down slightly. The previously rowdy audience quietened to take in the understated performance. The vocals were spot on, from the softly sung verse to the high falsetto of the chorus. The audience raised their hands in response to the emotional climax, the final rendition of the chorus filled with agony and Shinya's hair swinging wildly with every forceful downstroke.

The rest of the band backed off to leave the stage to Kyo, bathed in a red light. Low droning played in the background to accompany his first INWARD SCREAM, where for roughly a minute he emitted pained groans which escalated into gut-wrenching screams. The lights then shifted to purple and the band returned for DOZING GREEN. Even Kaoru altered his motionless playing and got into the performance. Toshiya meanwhile was loving the crowd, lifting his hands to encourage them and accentuating every strum of his bass. In ROTTING ROOT Kyo glared intensely beyond the audience as Shinya hammered at his drumkit like he despised it. With lights fading back to red, Kaoru played the intimidating intro of Shokubeni to cheers, which was then joined by Shinya to more elation. When the vocals began, the noise from the crowd drowned out the music, and they joined in with Kyo's howls mid-song. As all the members head banged in unison it was clear that it was a band favourite as well. The instrumentals stopped for a moment to allow Kyo to sing the chorus alone, before they all resumed in full force amidst mad strobing effects from the lighting department.

OBSCURE was highly anticipated judging from the response, and it was a sea of devil horns come the chorus. Die and Toshiya again came to the front and pointed at random people. As Kyo basked in the spotlight during the final sustained cry, the lights dimmed and the second INWARD SCREAM interjected. Afterwards the energetic BUGABOO and then Reiketsu nariseba got everyone jumping again. Halfway through the latter, Kyo turned his back on the spectators in a crucified pose as a lull in the song began. Then when the instruments exploded back to life even the statue-like Kaoru moved from his spot on the left of the stage and the rest thrashed about madly, especially Toshiya who went repeatedly back and forth across the stage, sending his black skirt flying around as he jumped all over the place. VINUSHKA rounded off the main set. As it began the bassist rested his fist on his heart then raised it to the air, as if asking for strength through this ten-minute epic. Holding his bass up to the sky he accentuated every note. The vocals, at times soft and caressing as Kyo appeared to bring his mic in for a kiss, then transformed as he returned to what he does best - bent over in a squat position he gave it everything as he screamed from the gut halfway through. Hands shot up in the final throes, and it was brought to a close with a shrill cry. The band then left the stage, prompting claps and calls from the audience for an encore in time with the flashing stage lights.

Excitement swelled once more as the band members walked back on stage. With hand on heart again Toshiya gazed out as the well known intro to THE FINAL kicked in. It proved to be the biggest hit of the evening as the crowd erupted and jumped up and down in time, singing along to the familiar tune and for parts of the chorus where Kyo stopped to let them fill in the gaps. Kyo jumped back on his cage for the second encore, the wild -ZAN-. Shinya played aggressively, his head jerking violently. Die swung his long mane of hair around and the front rows all head banged in time with him. A pause just prior to the end allowed fans to shout out their appreciation before crashing drums brought it to a close. Finally Kyo spoke to the audience for the first and last time, announcing "LAST SONG!" over and over. The pounding Rasetsukoku was chosen as the finale, sending all band members into simultaneous head banging. Kyo crouched atop the cage once more, his torso juddering so rapidly it was as if he was being electrocuted. Die waved his arms to get the crowd going, but they didn't need it as they moshed to the final few minutes. Kyo was so spent by the end he stumbled off his cage, and then picked up his water bottle to spit more of it over the sweating crowd.

Kyo was the first to leave, while the others stayed to fling plectrums, towels and their remaining water over eager fans. Kaoru stood stock-still, arms raised, as he absorbed the admiration. Toshiya stood atop the cage, hands clasped over his chest to sweetly thank everyone for the support. Lastly Shinya, who had kept his down head the whole time, stood on the cage to uproarous cheering. Completely stony-faced, he casually tossed drumsticks into the crowd, raised an arm in salute and sauntered off. Despite the waiting, the heat, the sound quality and a random homeless man wandering in and demanding that the "Japanese go home!", everyone was buzzing after the performance. Fans chatted excitedly about what they'd just witnessed, and some obviously thought it was over too soon: one girl was slumped in the foyer in tears. There's no doubt that Diru would be welcomed back by this lot once again.


Set list:

01. SA BIR
02. RED SOIL
03. Agitated Screams of Maggots
04. THE FATAL BELIEVER
05. Hageshisa to, kono mune no naka de karamitsuita shakunetsu no yami
06. STUCK MAN
07. Gaika, chinmoku ga nemuru koro
08. INCONVENIENT IDEAL
09. INWARD SCREAM
10. DOZING GREEN
11. ROTTING ROOT
12. Shokubeni
13. OBSCURE
14. INWARD SCREAM
15. BUGABOO
16. Reiketsu nariseba
17. VINUSHKA

Encore

EN1. THE FINAL
EN2. -ZAN-
EN3. Rasetsukoku