* SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic: So much of the band's catalog, especially the one-two-three punch that is ''UROBOROS'', ''DUM SPIRO SPERO'' and ''ARCHE''. Justified by the fact that they were voted First on Loudwire's "Extreme Metal Olympics", beating extreme metal acts such as Belphegor, Music/{{Opeth}}, Arch Enemy, Music/{{Meshuggah}}, Vader, Despised Icon ''and'' the [[TropeMakers Fathers of Death Metal]] '''''Music/{{Death}}''''' (which they beat in the Gold medal final) and DeathMetal TropeCodifier *drum roll*... '''''Music/CannibalCorpse''''' (which won bronze), cementing their place among the music elite.
** Even fans who otherwise think TheyChangedItNowItSucks ''love'' "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BCdSXPlMlE4 THE FINAL]]."
* AwesomenessByAnalysis: Their style of music and performances invoke so much MindScrew that even fans of technical music have trouble appreciating their works. Despite that, they still get positive recognition from music critics and metal purists alike.
* BrownNote: "SA BIR" from ''UROBOROS'' and "Kyoukotsu no Nari" from ''DUM SPIRO SPERO''. Especially the latter, thanks to massive SensoryAbuse and its sheer loudness (at least when played live).
* CrossesTheLineTwice: Almost everything. They have become the VisualKei counterpart of what [[Music/AnalCunt a certain band]] is to metal.
* EnsembleDarkHorse: Of NuMetal (before the ''UROBOROS'' era) and {{deathcore}} in recent years. Also considered by many to be the dark horse of the TechnicalDeathMetal genre and, according to some, {{djent}}.
* FanCommunityNicknames: The Merciless Cult. The old fan community nickname ("knots") is still in use, however.
* FandomRivalry: The band's fanbase is notorious for engaging in raging rivalries with the fandoms of other Japanese bands, and even with an American one, as of late.
** A well-known one involves Diru fans vs. Music/TheGazette fans. It's only more likely to get worse, as their respective fandoms try (in vain) to accumulate evidence that the bands copy each other.
** Music/{{Kuroyume}} fans vs. Dir en grey fans engage in massive arguments about who really kickstarted the Nagoya and Eroguro kei sub-movements, as well as which band was more groundbreaking and experimental (and responsible for keeping Music/VisualKei alive). This FandomRivalry approaches Music/{{Pantera}} vs. Music/{{Exhorder}} levels in many Music/VisualKei circles. [[note]][[{{Irony}} Just like with Pantera and Exhorder, the members of Dir en grey and Kuroyume are friends]] - Kyo even [[AscendedFanboy worked as a roadie]] for Kiyoharu and were pretty close.[[/note]]
** As of the Extreme Metal Olympics's aftermath (see above), the Diru fanbase has now a fierce rivalry with Music/{{Death}}'s one.
* InNameOnly: Some older fans' reactions to the current trend of [[RearrangeTheSong re-arranging older songs]] in their new style, to the point that they can sound like different songs with the same title.
** The same can be said for the band in general, with every album sounding like it's been done by a completely different group.
* ItsPopularNowItSucks: Happened preemptively among some long time J-Rock fans who were actually ''hoping'' the band would flop in the United States because they couldn't stand the thought of "Hot Topic kiddies" liking their band.
** [[VindicatedByHistory Mostly averted in recent years.]] The band is both commercially successful and massively respected by metal fans, both within and outside the VK scene.
* ItsTheSameNowItSucks: The band is beginning to develop this as of ''THE UNRAVELING'' and the 2013 tour. Many of the newer songs sound much like other more recent songs (to the degree that when played live and badly mixed, telling ''what'' song the band is playing is difficult). But since releasing "Sustain the untruth" (and eventually ''ARCHE''), they somehow averted this trope.
** Played straight once more on ''The Insulated World''. Though well-received, a major criticism leveled against it had to do with Dir treading water at that point. To say nothing of the unfortunate [[LoudnessWar mixing/mastering choices]] possibly brought on by "Big Bass" Gardner and Dan Lancaster's fingerprints...
* LessDisturbingInContext: A lyrical case involves "mazohyst of decadence", which, ripped from its context of abortion being a primary method of birth control in Japan, seems like a right-wing anti-abortion rant and UsefulNotes/VictimBlaming, when it's actually lashing out at a society that refuses to acknowledge the need for birth control and sex education and uses the most painful and traumatizing last-ditch procedure as a substitute for preventing pregnancy in the first place.
* MisaimedFandom: Rape and misogyny are ''frequent'' themes in Music/DirEnGrey's work from depictions in their videos to their lyrics, and whether the band is trying to condemn them or play them as erotic, they have a ''very'' large Misaimed Fandom that thinks rape is funny/sexy/cool/not as serious as it is/all of the above and will often use the word "rape" as a term of endearment. Dir en grey's fandom is ''not'' a very survivor friendly place in Visual Kei as a result. Also, they're possibly the primary reason that rape is still a popular seen as "add instant awesome shock value" not just in Eroguro but in a depressingly large part of Visual Kei and metal (especially {{Deathcore}}) in general.
* {{Narm}}: Many songs from ''Withering to death.'' and ''THE MARROW OF A BONE''.
** "AGITATED SCREAMS OF MAGGOTS" is an ''entire track'' filled with this, mainly because of Kyo's [[WordSaladLyrics badly written]], [[JapaneseRanguage badly pronounced]] [[GratuitousEnglish English]] lyrics, with lines such as "I'm gonna slash your wound just like mine", "[[WordSaladLyrics You can't shoot the silver bullet into me!]]" and the ever-notorious [[MemeticMutation "I'LL RAPE YOUR DAUGHTER ON OUR GRAVE!"]] [[CrossesTheLineTwice It is so wrong]] in [[GratuitousRape so]] [[InterplayOfSexAndViolence many]] [[{{Squick}} ways]] that it's not even funny.
** The ClusterFBomb at the end of "LIE BURIED WITH A VENGEANCE" which is occasionally interrupted by Kyo making [[TheUnintelligible unintelligible]] noises that sound an awful lot like "Ooga-booga-booga." [[note]]He's actually growling out "YOU'RE A MOTHERFUCKER", though due to the vocal production coupled with his Engrish, that bit tends to get misheard as such[[/note]]
** The [[spoiler:LastNoteNightmare on "DOZING GREEN"]].
** Due to its odd diction and butchered pronunciation, the first part of the chorus of "NEW AGE CULTURE" sounds an awful lot like Kyo is demonically chanting "BEAN BURRITO!"
* NightmareFuel: They have [[NightmareFuel/DirEnGrey their own page]], and boy have they ever earned it.
* PeripheryDemographic: They have an enthusiastic following with metalheads who don't normally listen to Japanese language music.
* RescuedFromTheScrappyHeap: Early on, [[Music/YoshikiHayashi Yoshiki]] saved the band from the collapsing Visual scene by helping them develop the experimental vibe they are now very well-known for.
* SignatureSong: "OBSCURE". Other notable songs would include "THE FINAL", "[[NarmCharm AGITATED SCREAMS OF MAGGOTS]]", "DOZING GREEN" and, more recently, after the "Extreme Metal Olympics", "DIFFERENT SENSE"[[note]]It was the song that made Diru win the Olympics.[[/note]].
* SpiritualSuccessor: Literally this to Kuroyume, having taken their predecessors' Darker and Edgier approach to Visual Kei and running off with it so that they can popularize Avant-Garde Metal in the scene. And that's not mentioning the fact that they have a vocalist that is both a near-perfect double for and has very good relations with Kuroyume frontman Kiyoharu.
* TearJerker: "ain't afraid to die" is a SurprisinglyGentleSong about a man remembering his former lover on the anniversary of her death. One interpretation of the title is that he welcomes death as a chance to be reunited with her. [[spoiler: Kyo leaves all but the first line of the last verse unsung, implying that he died before he could finish.]]
** Also qualifies as NightmareFuel for some listeners.
** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tBhzKh2Whks This performance.]]
* TheyChangedItNowItSucks: This either started with ''VULGAR,'' with ''THE MARROW OF A BONE,'' or not at all.
** Also one reason why ''THE UNRAVELING'' was met with mixed reactions from fans.
** Fans (or former fans) who complain about Dir en grey's new sound are mostly people who miss the band's Music/VisualKei period. Though some of the complaining is beginning to originate from people feeling the band is stagnating as of TheNewTens, and/or that their production value live and recorded seeming to take a massive nosedive from even the ''UROBOROS'' era. Even Music/YoshikiHayashi, their former producer, walked out midpoint of the 2013 Hollywood live claiming a business engagement elsewhere.
* ToughActToFollow: Averted every time by the band in terms of music. However, it seems that they have been getting this after some fans have claimed that their new ''THE UNRAVELING'' EP is not a worthy match for the band's previous efforts. The same can apply for ''The Insulated World''.
** Also played straight in terms of the band's visual image. Though they have re-applied visuals since the ''UROBOROS'' era, fans still expect to see something that would match the awesomeness of the bands Music/VisualKei era.
* {{Wangst}}: A recurring theme in the band's lyrical content, and often overlaps with {{Gorn}}, MindScrew, NauseaFuel and NightmareFuel
* TheWoobie: Poor, poor poor Kyo. Seems '''nothing''' ever seems to go his way in his life. '''''NOTHING'''''.
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