Launched in February 1997 as a visual kei band, Dir En Grey expanded both its
sound and image over the decades that followed, earning more than 30 Top 10 hits
on the Japanese charts with a marketable blend of progressive heavy metal and
melodic alt-rock. Bandmates Kaoru, Kyo, Die, Shinya, Toshiya made their debut
with the Missa EP in 1997, then cracked the Top for the first time with the
non-album single "-I'll-" in 1998. The full-length album Gauze followed in 1999,
with all five of the album's singles — "Akuro no Oka," "Yurameki," "-Zan-,"
"Cage," and "Yokan" — enjoying Top 10 ...