With a consistent lineup of guitarists Kaoru and Die, vocalist Kyo, drummer Shinya and bassist Toshiya, they have released eleven full-length albums.

Dir En Grey was preceded by the independent rock band La:Sadie's, which was formed by vocalist Kyo and bassist Kisaki in November 1995.

After playing one show as a Kuroyume cover-band called "Deathmask" at the live house Nagano J on January 24, they officially formed Dir En Grey on February 2, 1997.

"[8] They released their first EP, Missa, a few months later and attracted mainstream attention in 1998, by entering the top ten on the Oricon music charts with the still independently produced songs "Jealous" and "-I'll-".

In 2000, vocalist Kyo was hospitalized with hearing trouble and several dates of the tour in support of Dir En Grey's then-upcoming album, Macabre, had to be postponed.

Tour 00 >> 01 Macabre eventually took off later the same year and was concluded at Nippon Budokan shortly after the release of the single "Ain't Afraid to Die" in April 2001.

In the following year, along with the release of a third full-length album, Kisō, Dir En Grey gave their first performances abroad, touring China, Taiwan, and South Korea.

In the same year, they released the single "Child Prey", which was featured as the second opening theme of the Baki the Grappler anime series, and also the beginning of their fourth album called Vulgar.

In summer 2003, Dir En Grey performed at Akasaka Blitz for five evenings in a single week, with each show (except the first) themed after a certain album, the last featuring songs from the then yet to be released Vulgar.

The band performed in Austin, Texas, at the South by Southwest festival, New York City at the Avalon Club and Los Angeles, California, at the Wiltern Theatre, followed by the North American release of Withering to Death.

The group went on another international tour in September named after their most recent single "Dozing Green", beginning in Japan and continuing in Europe, including their first performance in the Netherlands and Switzerland.

In late November, Dir En Grey opened two shows for Linkin Park at Saitama Super Arena and in December performed another Japan tour with 10 Years as a supporting act.

The band also toured the United States and Canada in support of the album,[29][30] with dates scheduled for November and December (overlapping the release of Uroboros[31]) with opening act The Human Abstract.

The tour was interrupted briefly while in Sapporo and Sendai, with an announcement on the band's official website, explaining that Kyo had been diagnosed with edema of the larynx, and would require the postponement of three shows, which were rescheduled for early May.

It was announced on April 7, 2010, that the band would be returning to the United Kingdom in August on the lineup for the Sonisphere Festival in Knebworth, playing on a bill headlined by Iron Maiden and Rammstein.

It was announced on April 28, 2010, that Dir En Grey would be playing an exclusive club date at London's Koko venue on August 3 as part of The Unwavering Fact of Tomorrow Tour 2010.

[40] On August 1, 2011, Dir En Grey released an open letter on their official Facebook that accused the Japanese government of lying to its people and hiding the true danger of the radiation levels after the nuclear accidents caused by the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami.

In October, the band launched a campaign called Scream for the Truth, complete with a website and a billboard hanging in Times Square in New York City, in hopes of stopping the alleged misinformation and getting correct numbers.

In February 2012, following a doctor's visit, vocalist Kyo was diagnosed with vocal nodule dysphonia,[43] leading to Dir En Grey pulling out of the North American The Still Reckless Tour consisting of Asking Alexandria, Trivium, Motionless in White, and I See Stars.

[52] The band also announced two back-to-back shows at the Nippon Budokan for March 2014 titled "Dum Spiro Spero" along with a new single, "Sustain the Untruth", which was released in January 2014.

[56] On 5–6 February 2016, Dir En Grey performed their album Arche at Nippon Budokan with a June 2016 release date of Blu-ray & DVD.

[70] They provided a cover of "National Media Boys" for the January 29, 2020 Buck-Tick tribute album Parade III ~Respective Tracks of Buck-Tick~[71] Their 31st single, "Ochita Koto no Aru Sora" was released digitally on August 3, 2020.

While up to that point some songs had already been more fast-paced, raw and aggressive than others, the band's music took a decisive turn with the release of the EP Six Ugly, from then on sporting more metal influences in general.

Dir En Grey's style gravitated towards riffs and song structures more along the lines of contemporary North American fusion genres, such as nu metal and metalcore, until 2007's The Marrow of a Bone.

[79][80] Kyo's singing is considered a pivotal aspect of the band, and he has gained recognition for his distinctive vocal work and for his large range and versatility, being able to "howl, croon, emote cleanly, scream, shriek, growl, bellow, and make nearly inhuman sounds.

"[83] Dane Prokofiev of PopMatters said that his "natural ease at and inclination towards striking such a stark contrast between the two opposite ends of the human vocal spectrum can be obtained as only a kind of pre-birth winning lottery ticket—you know, that much coveted prize we call "talent".

The vocabulary varies from subtle to explicit (though the use of profanity has greatly decreased as the band matured, last featuring on Uroboros), and several songs rely heavily on double entendres and other wordplay, often involving the multiple meanings of a kanji character.

[88][89] Speaking of the change in their appearance, Kaoru said "Eventually, we felt that dressing like we used to onstage put up a wall between us and the audience, so we stopped wearing the kind of makeup we did before."

"[93] Dir En Grey have created some controversy in Japan as some of their music videos have been banned from television for "abrasive visuals including baby-eating, murder, [and] gore."

Similarly, stations refused to play the video for 2008's "Vinushka" which included stock footage of World War II and newspaper headlines following the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.