● DIR EN GREY doesn’t always move straight forward. On January 11th,they released 『UROBOROS [Remastered & Expanded]』, adding several songs to the previous album 『UROBOROS』(2008) and having it re-mixed by Tue Madsen, who also worked on 『DUM SPIRO SPERO』(2011) before.
On the 22nd of the same month, they held a live show at Osaka-jo Hall titled “UROBOROS -that’s where the truth is-“, that was mainly focused on bringing the atmosphere of the homonymous album to the real world. They opened their 2012 under the theme of moving forward as they made their past the base for their “here and now”.
● Strained over the years, the conditions of Kyo’s throat got worse to the point that the doctors advised him to stop his activities. In February, the band announced it was going to suspend its activities until Kyo’s recovery. As result of this, the band cancel their participation to the US tour they planned to perform with ASKING ALEXANDRIA and TRIVIUM from March to April. Their domestic schedule had to be all cancelled as well.
● 『TOUR2011 AGE QUOD AGIS Vol.1 [Europe & Japan]』 and 『TOUR2011 AGE QUOD AGIS Vol.2 [the U.S. & Japan]』, two documentary footages about the band’s tours held during the previous year. were released in two consecutive months, June and July respectively. For this, DIR EN GREY held a screening event during the summer, with members participating to it.
● Exactly after 1 year since the release of the album 『DUM SPIRO SPERO』, on August 3rd the band announced their 26th major single 『RINKAKU』 was announced, as well as a live show titled “TOUR2012 IN SITU”, scheduled to be held on December 25th at TOKYO INTERNATIONAL FORUM.
● As the fans’ anticipation and eagerness for concerts grows, the tour ”TOUR2012 IN SITU” started with a official fan club 「a knot」 members only show held on October 10th SHIBUYA-AX. This tour was announced on August 12th, during the 2 hours live stream session at the end of a special 24-hours program on 「NICONICO LIVE」, where the members (except for Kyo) made an appearance to talk about what they have been working on behind the scenes while the band was inactive.
● The “TOUR2012 IN SITU” was made of 17 live shows, including Fan Club and Mobile Site Members-only shows, and ended with the previously mentioned gig at TOKYO INTERNATIONAL FORUM. On December 19th, 6 days before the tour final, the long awaited single 「RINKAKU」 was released. After the single was out, fans found out that the artwork was done by Kyo by looking at the credits, and the news went viral.
Lastly, on December 31st they made their first appearance to “COUNTDOWN JAPAN 12/13” at Makuhari Messe, impressing the whole audience even when it was made of fans that came from very different music backgrounds. With this performance, DIR EN GREY’s 2012 came to an end.
Remastered ALBUM 『UROBOROS [Remastered & Expanded]』
- 01.11 RELEASE
Blu-ray 『UROBOROS -with the proof in the name of living…- AT NIPPON BUDOKAN [Blu-ray] Extended Cut』
- 01.11 RELEASE
IN THE DYING MOMENTS
- 01.18 Zepp Tokyo -｢a knot｣only-
- 01.19 Zepp Tokyo
- 01.24 NAMBA Hatch
- 01.26 NAGOYA DIAMOND HALL
UROBOROS -that’s where the truth is-
- 01.22 OSAKA-JO HALL
- 02.08 IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT
Documentary DVD & Blu-ray 『TOUR2011 AGE QUOD AGIS Vol.1 [Europe & Japan]』
- 06.20 RELEASE
Documentary DVD & Blu-ray 『TOUR2011 AGE QUOD AGIS Vol.2 [U.S. & Japan]』
- 07.18 RELEASE
Loud Screening “AGE QUOD AGIS”
- 07.26 Higashibetsuin Hall
- 07.28 DawnCenter
- 07.31 Shinagawa Curian Hall
TOUR2012 IN SITU
- 10.10 SHIBUYA-AX -｢a knot｣ LIMITED-
- 10.16 SENDAI SUNPLAZA HALL
- 10.18 Zepp Sapporo
- 10.23 KYOTO KBS HALL
- 10.24 KYOTO KBS HALL
- 11.03 KURASHIKI GEIBUNKAN HALL
- 11.04 KURASHIKI GEIBUNKAN HALL
- 11.06 Zepp Fukuoka
- 11.14 Zepp Nagoya
- 11.16 Zepp Nagoya
- 11.20 YOKOHAMA BLITZ -｢a knot｣&ONLINE only-
- 11.21 YOKOHAMA BLITZ -｢a knot｣&ONLINE only-
- 11.26 NAMBA Hatch
- 11.28 NAMBA Hatch
- 12.04 SHINKIBA STUDIO COAST (additional)
- 12.06 SHINKIBA STUDIO COAST (additional)
- 12.25 TOKYO INTERNATIONAL FORUM HALL A
LOUD PARK 12
- 10.27 SAITAMA SUPER ARENA
26th SINGLE 『輪郭 (RINKAKU)』
- 12.19 RELEASE
COUNTDOWN JAPAN 12/13
- 12.31 MAKUHARI MESSE International Convention Complex
