●DIR EN GREY opened 2016 with the Official Fan Club 「a knot」 and Official Mobile Site Members Limited tour “TOUR16 FINEM LAUDA”, which included shows in Osaka, Nagoya and Kawasaki. After warming up with this short tour of only 6 shows, the band performed the NIPPON BUDOKAN LIVE “ARCHE” on February 5th and 6th, and the “ARCHE -「a knot」LIMITED EXTRA-“ live at LIQUIDROOM on February 12th, bringing the series of tours started from December 2014 to celebrate the release of their 9th original album 『ARCHE』 to a successful end.
●After the 『ARCHE』 chapter got to its conclusion, in June DIR EN GREY started a new tour project: “TOUR16-17 FROM DEPRESSION TO ________”, a series of tours to be held for the next two years. The first round would be “TOUR16-17 FROM DEPRESSION TO ________ [mode of VULGAR]”, focused on the songs featured in their namesake 4th Original Album 『VULGAR』, released back in 2003. Held from June to July, this tour had the band performing in Nagoya, Sendai, Osaka, Kurashiki and Tokyo, counting a total of 9 shows in 5 different cities. An additional show to be held at Zepp Tokyo on July 4th was announced just a few days before the tour to start, so the band successfully performed a total of 10 shows.
●June 29th marked the day of the first release for this year: the LIVE Blu-ray ＆ DVD『ARCHE AT NIPPON BUDOKAN』. It included the full live footage of both the shows held at Nippon Budokan on February 5th and 6th and, in its First Press Limited Edition, also a bonus disc with special contents such as the “DOCUMENTARY OF ARCHE”, and a Bonus CD featuring an exclusive selection of live tracks taken from the shows of 『ARCHE』’s tours.
●1 year and 7 months after the release of 『ARCHE』, the band released its 28th single 『詩踏み(UTAFUMI)』 on July 27th. The main song from this single, marking the first step since 『ARCHE』, was first performed during the “TOUR16-17 FROM DEPRESSION TO ________ [mode of VULGAR]” in June, having a very good response from the audience. The single also features 「空谷の跫音(Kuukoku no Kyouon) feat. SUGIZO」, a collaboration track with SUGIZO (X JAPAN, LUNA SEA) on violin, and a remix track, 「Revelation of mankind [REMIX]」. The Blu-ray & DVD included in the Limited Deluxe Version and Limited First Press Version features a live footage from the “ARCHE -「a knot」 LIMITED EXTRA-“ show held at LIQUIDROOM in February.
●September marked the start of the second round for the “TOUR16-17 FROM DEPRESSION TO ________” series, this time presenting the “TOUR16-17 FROM DEPRESSION TO ________ [mode of DUM SPIRO SPERO]”, focused on the songs featured in the 8th original album 『DUM SPIRO SPERO』 released back in 2011. This tour started with 2 shows in Taiwan on September 8th and 9th, then continued in Japan bringing the band to Kyoto, Tokyo, Nagano, Nagoya, and Osaka for a total of 9 shows in 5 different cities.
●”TOUR16-17 FROM DEPRESSION TO ________ [mode of DUM SPIRO SPERO]” ended on Oct. 3rd with a live show at NAMBA Hatch, Osaka. Less than a month later, DIR EN GREY started the “TOUR16-17 FROM DEPRESSION TO ________ [mode of 鬼葬 (KISOU)]” with a show in Hong Kong on October 28th. Focusing this time on the band’s 3rd original album 『鬼葬 (KISOU)』, the domestic part of this tour started with two 「a knot」 and Official Mobile Site Members only shows held at CLUB CITTA’ on November 7th (the first male-limited live in 7 years since 2009) and 8th (the first female-limited live in 12 years since 2004), and counted a total of 12 concerts, including 2 additional shows at Shinkiba STUDIO COAST on December 5th and 6th, held in 8 cities all around Japan.
●On December 25th, DIR EN GREY had their last performance for 2016 on the stage of KYOTO PULSE PLAZA during the 『Porno Ultra Express 2016』live event hosted by ROTTENGRAFFTY. It had been 2 years since the last time the band performed at this event.
After giving a successful end to their 9th original album 『ARCHE』 tours at the beginning of the year, DIR EN GREY’s project “TOUR16-17 FROM DEPRESSION TO ________” series made of 2016 a pretty remarkable year live-wise. Not just that, but the band gave out several hints about their future after 『ARCHE』 by performing new songs during the tour series above and by releasing their new single 『詩踏み (UTAFUMI)』 in July.
TOUR16 FINEM LAUDA
- 01.14 NAMBA Hatch -｢a knot｣ & ONLINE only-
- 01.15 NAMBA Hatch -｢a knot｣ & ONLINE only-
- 01.21 NAGOYA DIAMOND HALL -｢a knot｣ & ONLINE only-
- 01.22 NAGOYA DIAMOND HALL -｢a knot｣ & ONLINE only-
- 01.26 CLUB CITTA’ -｢a knot｣only-
- 01.27 CLUB CITTA’ -｢a knot｣only-
ARCHE
- 02.05 NIPPON BUDOKAN
- 02.06 NIPPON BUDOKAN
ARCHE -「a knot」LIMITED EXTRA-
- 02.12 LIQUIDROOM
TOUR16-17 FROM DEPRESSION TO ________ [mode of VULGAR]
- 06.03 Zepp Nagoya
- 06.04 Zepp Nagoya
- 06.11 SENDAI PIT
- 06.12 SENDAI PIT
- 06.16 NAMBA Hatch
- 06.17 NAMBA Hatch
- 06.19 KURASHIKI GEIBUNKAN HALL
- 07.01 SHINKIBA STUDIO COAST
- 07.02 SHINKIBA STUDIO COAST
- 07.04 Zepp Tokyo (additional)
LIVE Blu-ray & DVD 『ARCHE AT NIPPON BUDOKAN』
- 06.29 RELEASE
28th SINGLE 『詩踏み (UTAFUMI)』
- 07.27 RELEASE
TOUR16-17 FROM DEPRESSION TO ________ [mode of DUM SPIRO SPERO]TAIWAN
- 09.08 Legacy Taipei
- 09.09 Legacy Taipei
TOUR16-17 FROM DEPRESSION TO ________ [mode of DUM SPIRO SPERO]
- 09.16 KBS Hall
- 09.17 KBS Hall
- 09.20 Nakano SUNPLAZA
- 09.21 Nakano SUNPLAZA
- 09.23 Hokuto Bunka Hall
- 09.28 Zepp Nagoya
- 09.29 Zepp Nagoya
- 10.02 NAMBA Hatch
- 10.03 NAMBA Hatch
TOUR16-17 FROM DEPRESSION TO ________ [mode of 鬼葬 (KISOU)] HONG KONG
- 10.28 KITEC, Rotunda Hall 3
TOUR16-17 FROM DEPRESSION TO ________ [mode of 鬼葬 (KISOU)]
- 11.7 CLUB CITTA’ [MALE LIMITED] -｢a knot｣ & ONLINE only-
- 11.8 CLUB CITTA’ [FEMALE LIMITED] -｢a knot｣ & ONLINE only-
- 11.10 SONIC CITY HALL – Main Hall
- 11.13 Zepp Sapporo
- 11.17 Sunport Hall Takamatsu – Main Hall
- 11.20 FUKUOKA CONVENTION CENTER – Main Hall
- 11.22 NAGOYA CIVIC ASSEMBLY HALL
- 11.23 Biwako Hall Center for the Performing Arts, Shiga – Main Hall
- 11.26 NAMBA Hatch
- 11.27 NAMBA Hatch
- 12.05 SHINKIBA STUDIO COAST (additional)
- 12.06 SHINKIBA STUDIO COAST (additional)
Porno Ultra Express 2016
- 12.25 KYOTO PULSE PLAZA
