THREAD: Kyo's vocal range starting with his harsh vocal range which imo, makes him the best metal vocalist out there.

I counted 4 different vocal styles that he cycled through effortlessly. We got guttural death metal vocals, high shriek, some other thing I cant name, and beautiful clean vocals !

This one is mostly high shriek but that transition between the vocal styles!!

whaaaat is even going on

This live performance shows that he can hit those notes live !!! IRL!!! REAL TIME https://twitter.com/lesbiantoshiya/status/1293098967992078336?s=09/video/1

The ending of Vinushka is my favorite (specifically the last like 40 seconds) give me chills EVERY. TIME. and kyo sounds like hes fucking possessed. no one does it like him

here we go. ending of bugaboo gives me chills too. you can just tell he's putting every damn inch of his soul into this. it has so much emotion, its just fucking incredible.

when I say kyo is an actual demon and that he's fucking possessed, this is what im referring to:

remember when DEG did doom? my fav genre of music? kyo matched the vocal style of the genre FLAWLESSLY. the drawn out howls and growls sound so gooooood

more death metal style vocals mixed w high shrieks and a sick breakdown TBH

this live completely blew me away bc 1. STAGE PRESENCE 2. it has chaotic levels of kyo energy and 3. HE HIT EVERY FUCKING NOTE

I love the thunderous intro to keibetsu to hajimari. I missed this raw unhinged kyo singing reminiscent of TMOAB era singing. that along w the lyrical content of the song really drives the message home imo.

aaaand we're back! utafumi shows kyo's versatility and this live shows how he can do all those transitions IRL too!! I think kyo has perfected the high shriek :)

The Deeper Vileness (The Marrow of a Bone, 2007) vs The Deeper Vileness [New Version] (The Insulated World, 2019)

On The Insulated World, Kyo is using his voice here in a brand new way. Legit new sounds first appearing on this album. Like how? The vocals on TIW do remind me of TMOAB era Kyo vocals!

Hellooooo what are these sounds again, never before heard until kyo blessed us with these gorgeously chaotic mouth sounds <3 (also remember what he does during the lives for this song )

More TIW. More throat sounds and combinations we haven't really heard before until this album! his transitions b/w clean and harsh vocals are sounding even more natural these days

I think whats next deserves an introduction. The Marrow of a Bone (2007) was DEG's induction to extreme metal. This album's sound precedes all the songs in this thread. I'd say this is DEG's first serious dive into extreme metal. This entire album is absolute unfiltered chaos.

TMOAB doesn't have incredible production or anything, but I believe that was intentional in creating the raw, chaotic effect this album has. just let it wash over you because it's meant to be experienced!

Just complete chaos here!!

TW FOR ASOM
when ASOM premiered, DEG fans were shocked! this was SO DIFFERENT from anything they've ever done before. ASOM showed that they were serious about this new direction of their music. I personally don't like ASOM but I believe it's integral to TMOAB's sound as an album.

TMOAB was an experimental album for DEG but especially for Kyo vocally. In TMOAB, he explores singing and sustaining higher notes and mixing that with abrasive harsh vocals. We heard some of that in the preceding album, Withering to Death (ex: dead tree, kodoku ni, saku)

Lots of brand new sounds here at the time (remember, 2007) and that's what makes it so raw. This is a longer clip than usual because I love the progression of this song. also PSYCHO KILLA (do you hear the similarity between The Insulated World screams and TMOAB?)

Brand. New. Sounds!!!!! That squeal-almost shriek thing is BRAND NEW here. the unhinged banshee screams!! EVERYTHING. its simply iconic.

ALSO: Important to note that kyo is in his 40's in these lives. HIS 40'S! HELLOOO? His voice has somehow gotten better WITH age and that's after 10+ years of harsh vocals/screaming. Even vocal legends now in their 40's struggle hitting those notes live. He is a true vocal master.

We're wrapping up harsh vocal/screaming with the album ARCHE. If you've been paying attention, you should notice kyos screams sound COMPLETELY DIFFERENT here that anything we've heard so far. he's using some other part of his throat IDK what it's called but its sick.

Theres A LOT going on in this song. A combination of way too many vocal styles to count. Again though, note how these sounds haven't existed like this on any other album mentioned so far! This is how creative kyo is! Vocally each album has a different sound. HOW does he do that?

Almost forgot to include one of their two most recent singles, The World of Mercy. I got so excited because HOW has he found ANOTHER way to use his voice? This sounds COMPLETELY DIFFERENT AGAIN from what we've heard on this thread! I'm predicting the new album will be metal AF

We're going back in time for Dir en grey's first studio album, GAUZE (1999). This album had a lot of different sounds - pop (like this song) and more aggressive sounding songs (zan, schwein no isu,). You can tell kyo's voice isn't quite seasoned yet, but still sounds good imo :)

Cage is still one of their most popular songs! Its been 20 years! This album has a ton of catchy songs. There's a lot of cutesy style singing from Kyo on this album but that seems to be the trend during that time.

Here's more of that cutesy singing that I mentioned. It's also a really damn catchy melody! To be honest, I like the squeaky singing thing he does lol. There's not much exploration in his singing in this album.

In Zan, we hear the versatility in Kyo's voice AND the rest of the band. They went from pop to whatever this is! There are a few other songs on GAUZE that have this vibe and follow this trend. This was where he started with his screams!

Their second studio album, MACABRE (2000), was released only one year after GAUZE but sounds extremely different - both as a band and kyo vocally. I'd say this is around when DEG started really sounding like DEG. You can tell Kyo is finding his sound starting with this album.

Hotarubi is a beautiful song that showcases his range pretty early on. Those lows sound so fucking gorgeous! Kyo's lows up until WTD are my favorite kyo sounds tbh

Maybe I'm biased because I like the cutesy squeak every now and then, especially on this album. MACABRE does have a tinge of the squeaky cutesy singing but it's not as constant like in GAUZE. Also, how can you not just sigh at how dreamy he sounds here? I get goosebumps

Sorry to do this! Zakuro is one of their many depressing songs that have so much emotion . Vocally, this song is similar to Hotarubi and Macabre. Kyo has found his comfortable singing spot on this album.

Myaku shows his screams mixed with his clean singing. The screams are similar to what we hear on Zan. He's evolving though! It's not cutesy like Zan was. It's more mature sounding (for lack of better words) imo

Moving onto their third studio album, KISOU (2002). I'd say this is where Kyo starts using his voice more in that *weird* way that's become so characteristic of Kyo that we all love :) He uses his voice in a really different way in this album!

Filth is a good song to show this different way he's using his voice and embracing that *weird*. He's getting very creative with his melodies! :)
(also this album cover is annoying lmao)

This is a really fun song cause this is something we haven't heard vocally yet! That *weird* sounding singing is brand new here and becomes very on brand kyo sounds. We love to see it. Also musically, this is really different! DEG's sound as a band is changing here.

HELLOOOO??? What the hell is this? This is the first time we're hearing this sound (from GAUZE till now). This falsetto that we're hearing is totally new. Those screams?? WHAT is that? It's new! Also musically, this sound isn't pop-y at ALL.

(ALSO Gyakojou has 3 different vocal styles in that snippet!!)

heLLOOOO??? AGAIN??? This acoustic guitar part?? Brand new DEG sounds musically. Kyo's voice here sounds VERY strong. Also, there is no cutesy style singing here. It's very bold and mature sounding here!

absolutely FUCKING SICKENING performance of Kiri to Mayu by Kyo here. WHAT THE FFFFFFFFFUCk!!!!

OKEY we're now moving onto VULGAR (2003). As a band, this album is a completely fresh sound. Visually, I'd say this is where they "toned down" their look. I know people will disagree but I think this album has nu-metal vibes! Lots of new songs as a band and also from kyo :)

WOOOO kyo is giving us VOCALS! cutesy singing is GONE. he is really exploring that higher vocal range here! and then he hits us with those GROWLS! that specific growl is a brand new kyo sound so far! those two things are this albums sound for kyo vocally. i'll elaborate :)

please just feel that first minute!!! beautiful. this is a brand new DEG sound as a band! also this is the first time we hear kyo singing those kind of notes with no cutesy singing style! its a stronger, bolder sound imo

TOUR04 THE CODE OF VULGAR[ism] was absolute kyo vocal perfection! I prefer the lives of Shokubeni because while the recording is gorgeous, kyo's performance brings the song to life. This video shows kyo's new way of growing and you can also see how DEG's clothes are different now

This song shows how DIFFERENT this album is and how DEG has completely embraced this new sound and made it their own. From this album on, the progression and path of DEG's sound starts making sense. The songs I've chosen for VULGAR will prepare you for Withering to Death.

VULGAR had a lot of songs you can bang your head to that set itself apart from previous albums. Kyo started exploring higher vocal ranges & using different growls (before we mostly heard a high scream - VULGAR has deeper, lower screams). Kyos voice has lots of variety on VULGAR.

Now we're moving onto their fifth studio album, Withering to Death (2005). This album...woooo. Keep in mind what VULGAR sounded like. The direction DEG takes on this album makes total sense. During this time, they also did their first European tour & gaining recognition overseas!

This was a pivotal moment for DEG! They finally toured the US in 2006 and played alongside Deftones and Korn in festivals. Obviously now, with the release of WTD, the sound they had on this album was a perfect match to the certain style of music these festivals had.

ANYWHO! Kyos voice on this album is at a new level. He explores even higher range singing and takes on a more aggressive type of screaming. You bet your ass I'm putting Saku on here.

tw /// blood
HERE WE GO! I'd say this is their first *LOUD* song that is a perfect precursor for the next album. In Saku, we hear brand new Kyo sounds! That falsetto is explored more in this album and he's starting to explore how far he can go with that & screaming/growling too.

In WTD, there's a *darker* new sound DEG is beginning to explore here. It's intense & heavier than their preceding albums. Kyo is matching that sound & has adapted by using this chaotic vocal screaming! the contrast w the quieter singing & then screaming is common on WTD.

Kyo is giving us VOCALS on Kodou. Notice how there is absolutely NO cutesy style singing. This goes along with DEG's sound on this album, since it is a darker sounding album - it has no place on this album.

Here we get a lot of Saku style singing, but those last 30 seconds is a BRAND NEW sound!!! Also I hope you're paying attention to this new sound DEG has on this album. This is important to note for the following album :)

I know I said we'd get 4 per album, but I needed to include how gorgeous his lows are. On dead tree we get the best of all worlds: falsetto, gorgeous lows, &screams! the control he has over his voice on this song is amazing. (itohisa & higeki are also great examples of his lows)

Moving on to their sixth studio album, The Marrow of a Bone (2007). DEG shifted gears with this album with their first dive into extreme metal. This album is raw & the most chaotic sounding album of theirs to date. Kyo pushes his voice to the highest limits possible on TMOAB.

Kyo is climbing up there vocally! And just SOUND-wise, he sounds different, right? He's learning how to sustain that high singing. He's also doing this thing where he's holding clean notes & then transitioning to screaming which sounds sick as hell &fits the sound of this album.

When I first heard this song, I audibly gasped. His range here....WTF!! Where did this come from? Kyo finds ways to reinvent his singing EVERY. SINGLE. ALBUM. I think 1:03 and 1:20 are the highest he's sang so far (as of 2007). Have you tried singing along to this? ITS IMPOSSIBLE

Wooww he is UP THERE!! He's found a way to express so much in this style of singing...it's so gut wrenching and gives you goosebumps. IDK what it's called, but that dissonance at 1:04-1:14 between the guitars and kyos voice is fucking PHENOMENAL.

Here we have more of that half screaming/half singing vocal style that's brand new!!!! Earlier in my thread where I showed his harsh vocal range had more of that &also more of his clean singing on this album - scroll up to find it :) This song is so raw...LISTEN TILL THE END!!

WOOOOO!!! UROBOROS (2008) is next! These guys are QUICK and are always thinking "whats next? what brand new thing are we gonna try?" Kyo explores EVEN MORE of his higher range and how he can go EVEN FURTHER. He also begins exploring his deeper, guttural harsh vocals starting here

HELLLOOOOO?????? WTF IS THIS?????? this is insane vocally. I thought The Pledge was crazy but THIS?? what cant this man do? idk what its called but he just started doing that new throat thing (like on rasetsukoku) on this album! Very dreamy & groovy song

You thought Toguro was insane? Wait till you hear Ware, Yami Tote There a special tenderness in kyo's voice on this track, especially :35-:45 like This is more of kyo pushing himself and his voice to his highest limits!!

*DJ Khaled voice* Anotha one. KYO SAID VOCALS!!!! This is an absolutely gorgeous song and his voice here....my jaw is on the floor He's doing more of that thing he did on Toguro but is so effortlessly climbing up those notes and SUSTAINING THEM here!

Kyo really said VOCALS this entire album honestly. I think that howl at the end is brand new here??? I don't remember it being held and sustained that long on TMOAB. BUT do you hear the BRAND new DEG sounds? This shit RIPS

Sometimes I want an entire album in guttural kyo vocals but then I remember that Kyo is a singer with a beautiful singing voice. All the growls, howls, shrieks, etc are supplementary to his clean singing voice. 1/?

His range vocally (clean), his tone, his creative and catchy melodies that he's still coming up with after 20+ YEARS OF BEING IN BANDS, the way he uses his voice to make you feel what he feels, his poetry, the way he embraces different singing styles and perfects them, 2/?

The way he's CONSTANTLY finding new sounds and incorporating them into his limitless singing styles, the way he can transition from clean singing into whatever harsh vocal style he wants, 3/?

The way he's SO AMBITIOUS in perfecting his voice so that it is the truest and most honest reflection of his art and capabilities, the way that he is ALWAYS in "what's next" mode "what brand new thing can i do", the way he reinvents himself 4/?

KYO IS 44 YEARS OLD!!!! And he's in ANOTHER band more recently that explores a different side of him, artistically AND vocally. He's creating new vocal melodies for THAT band too! And they sound NOTHING like what we hear from DEG 5/?

Whose voice gets better WITH age? HE DOES!!! I genuinely believe that he has perfected and mastered his voice and has sounded better than ever RIGHT NOW AT 44. He is a true vocal master. 6/?

He's 44 years old and hes still giving us the SAME energy (if not more) from his younger years. That man exhausts himself and pushes himself to his limits mentally, emotionally, physically, vocally - you can feel it in his performances. 7/?