Dir en grey instore signing at Soundcheck in Hollywood, CA

DIR EN GREY RELEASE EP THE UNRAVELING TODAY IN FRONT OF NORTH AMERICAN TOUR THAT BEGINS NOVEMBER 3 IN DALLAS

Album Presents Reconstruction of Past Material with Vision of Being Present Now

Tokyo, Japan — Japanese rock band DIR EN GREY has released The Unraveling via iTunes in North America. The album presents the new song “Unraveling” alongside a reconstruction of past hits. The body of work reflects the band’s mission to continually evolve. DIR EN GREY offers collectively, “Think of this album as a confrontation with DIR EN GREY’s past as we’ve sieved our previous songs using our present selves as filters. The best phrase to describe the evolution of this album from the ones in the past is the ‘present now’.” The complete track listing of THE UNRAVELING is: “The Unraveling,” “Boku,” “Kasumi,” “Karasu,” “Bottom of the Death Valley,” “Unknown. Despair. Lost,” THE FINAL.”

DIR EN GREY begin a 14-date North American headline run that commences in Dallas, TX on November 3, and concludes on November 24th at the House of Blues in Los Angeles. Renowned for a self-realized vision that is unique, cross-cultural and certainly peculiar, the world-class quintet return to the continent for their first tour in almost two years. Band members will also host an in-store signing at Sound Check Hollywood on Sunday, November 24th at 1PM. The event will only be open to the first 120 people that purchase THE UNRAVELING. For $22.50, the purchaser will receive a signed copy of the CD, and a M&G with the members present at Sound Check Hollywood. Sound Check Hollywood is located at 8872 Sunset Blvd in West Hollywood. For more details fans can call 310-358-0280.

DIR EN GREY is vocalist Kyo, guitarists Kaoru and Die, bassist Toshiya and drummer Shinya. They rose to prominence and popularity almost immediately upon forming 16 years ago, when they caught the attention of the CEO of East West Japan. Their debut was marked by the simultaneous release of three singles, all of which reached the Top Ten. Five albums later, DIR EN GREY added to their international success by solidifying their presence in the U.S. While singing mostly in Japanese, Kyo, via his expressive voice, is able to transition effortlessly from a deep growl to theatrical vocals that transcend language barriers. The Los Angeles Times wrote that “Kyo is a staggering vocalist” and “has stockpiled an extreme range of vocal inflections, from a guttural mutter to a tonsil-ripping scream—no electronic effects needed”.

In August 2011, DIR EN GREY released their 8th studio album, DUM SPIRO SPERO. Critically acclaimed worldwide as their strongest and maddest record yet, audiences across the globe echoed these sentiments. In a time when heavy rock music has few unique voices, the band’s deep and truly unique perspective remains borderless and defies categorization. Kerrang exclaimed in July, 2011, “It’s extreme in a way that corpse-painted clowns will never understand–but as an expression of raw, wounded humanity, it stands as DIR EN GREY’s most captivating, compelling and soulful release to date.“

Following a media day planned in Los Angeles the afternoon of November 1, Dir En Grey will stage the following headline appearances:

11/03 Dallas, TX Trees

11/04 Houston, TX Scout Bar

11/06 Atlanta, GA Center Stage

11/08 Baltimore, MD Baltimore Soundstage

11/09 Philadelphia, PA T.L.A.

11/11 New York, NY Irving Plaza

11/12 Boston, MA Paradise

11/14 Toronto, ONT Opera House

11/16 Chicago, IL House of Blues

11/17 Minneapolis, MN Varsity Theatre

11/19 Denver, CO Bluebird