Graphic and grotesque, DIR EN GREY are dedicated to taking metal in often dark but always fresh directions. The Japanese five-piece have constantly evolved since coming together as a visual kei act in Osaka in 1997, from alternative roots through progressive styles and across the gamut of death, black and gothic metal, while crafting some disturbing music videos and stage antics along the way. From 2003’s “Obscure”—with its blasts of shock and awe between melodic interludes—to 2022’s brooding “The Perfume of Sins”, this often bizarre band’s catalogue is as bold as it is influential.