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Special effects and makeup artist Naofumi Yonetsuka offers a glimpse of his creative process behind the twisted costumes for metal band DIR EN GREY. In a four-minute YouTube short, Yonetsuka walks through the birth of the bull skeleton, the centerpiece for the latest music video The Perfume of Sins, and a calling to the nihilistic themes sprawled throughout the 11th studio album PHALARIS.

DIR EN GREY『PHALARIS』The Perfume of SinsMVのあの牛骨造形の出来る迄！

From sketching out the early concept art to applying the last of the finish, Yonetsuka leads the charge and remains personally involved in every step of the build. The montage shows the spunky bleached-blonde mastermind formalizing blueprints, assembling each molded vertebra into a spinal column, and spray-painting dried blood on the skull. He even engineers the pink and green LED lights flitting from a pair of milk pumps that feed into a mouth gag and fabricates a mechanism to puppeteer the forearms by the wearer.

For The Perfume of Sins, DIR EN GREY vocalist Kyo encases himself within the ribcage. Under an insectoid trance, his mind splinters as armored soldiers stuff innocent captives into a Brazen Bull and torch it.

DIR EN GREY - 「The Perfume of Sins」[11th ALBUM『PHALARIS』収録] (Promotion Edit Ver.) (CLIP)

With his Shibuya-based company HAUNTED LTD, Yonetsuka shares a storied history with DIR EN GREY that dates back to the 1999 debut single Zan. The collaborations continued in music videos for ain’t afraid to die, OBSCURE, DIFFERENT SENSE, and set designs for numerous national tours. More recently, he produced the practical effects in the music video for Oboro, which features Kyo emerging from a mother’s bulbous womb, doused in amniotic fluid and scatters of neon color.

One of the haunting key visuals for “Oboro”, featuring vocalist Kyo.

Yonetsuka’s other notable works include Rakuten’s Cardman costume and the animatronics for the Shinjuku Robot Restaurant. He and his HAUNTED LTD team have won numerous artistic accolades, including back-to-back ACC TOKYO CREATIVITY AWARDS in the film and television category.

DIR EN GREY concluded the PHALARIS Vol. I tour in Tokyo on August 1 following a brief delay due to bassist Toshiya’s positive COVID-19 test. The band will resume traveling across Japan in October for the “FROM DEPRESSION TO__” tour, which celebrates its 25th anniversary.

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Phalaris

Regular Edition
CDJapan
CD
  1. Schadenfreude
    Schadenfreude
  2. Oboro
    朧
  3. The Perfume of Sins
    The Perfume of Sins
  4. 13
    13
  5. Utsutsu, Bouga wo Kurau
    現、忘我を喰らう
  6. Ochita Koto no Aru Sora
    落ちた事のある空
  7. Mouai ni Shosu
    盲愛に処す
  8. Hibiki
    響
  9. Eddie
    Eddie
  10. Otogi
    御伽
  11. Kamui
    カムイ

Phalaris

Limited Edition CD + Bonus CD / Limited Edition
CDJapan
CD
  1. Schadenfreude
    Schadenfreude
  2. Oboro
    朧
  3. The Perfume of Sins
    The Perfume of Sins
  4. 13
    13
  5. Utsutsu, Bouga wo Kurau
    現、忘我を喰らう
  6. Ochita Koto no Aru Sora
    落ちた事のある空
  7. Mouai ni Shosu
    盲愛に処す
  8. Hibiki
    響
  9. Eddie
    Eddie
  10. Otogi
    御伽
  11. Kamui
    カムイ
CD
  1. mazohyst of decadence
  2. ain't afraid to die

Phalaris

Limited Edition CD + Bonus CD + DVD / Limited Edition
CDJapan
CD
  1. Schadenfreude
    Schadenfreude
  2. Oboro
    朧
  3. The Perfume of Sins
    The Perfume of Sins
  4. 13
    13
  5. Utsutsu, Bouga wo Kurau
    現、忘我を喰らう
  6. Ochita Koto no Aru Sora
    落ちた事のある空
  7. Mouai ni Shosu
    盲愛に処す
  8. Hibiki
    響
  9. Eddie
    Eddie
  10. Otogi
    御伽
  11. Kamui
    カムイ
CD
  1. mazohyst of decadence
  2. ain't afraid to die
DVD
  1. DOZING GREEN (Acoustic Ver.)
    DOZING GREEN (Acoustic Ver.)
  2. Zetsuentai
    絶縁体
  3. Kukoku no kyouon
    空谷の跫音
  4. Ningen wo kaburu
    人間を被る
  5. Devote My Life
    Devote My Life
  6. CLEVER SLEAZOID
    CLEVER SLEAZOID
  7. DIFFERENT SENSE
    DIFFERENT SENSE
  8. Aka
    赫
  9. Ranunculus
    Ranunculus
  10. Keigaku no Yoku
    谿壑の欲
  11. The World of Mercy
    The World of Mercy
  12. Oboro
    朧
  13. Kasumi
    かすみ
  14. Followers
    Followers
  15. OBSCURE
    OBSCURE
  16. Ochita Koto no Aru Sora
    落ちた事のある空
  17. Sustain the untruth
    Sustain the untruth
  18. Hageshisa To, Kono Mune No Naka De Karamitsuita Shakunetsu No Yami
    激しさと、この胸の中で絡み付いた灼熱の闇

Phalaris

Limited Edition CD + Bonus CD + Blu-ray / Limited Edition
CDJapan
CD
  1. Schadenfreude
    Schadenfreude
  2. Oboro
    朧
  3. The Perfume of Sins
    The Perfume of Sins
  4. 13
    13
  5. Utsutsu, Bouga wo Kurau
    現、忘我を喰らう
  6. Ochita Koto no Aru Sora
    落ちた事のある空
  7. Mouai ni Shosu
    盲愛に処す
  8. Hibiki
    響
  9. Eddie
    Eddie
  10. Otogi
    御伽
  11. Kamui
    カムイ
CD
  1. mazohyst of decadence
  2. ain't afraid to die
Blu-ray
  1. DOZING GREEN (Acoustic Ver.)
    DOZING GREEN (Acoustic Ver.)
  2. Zetsuentai
    絶縁体
  3. Kukoku no kyouon
    空谷の跫音
  4. Ningen wo kaburu
    人間を被る
  5. Devote My Life
    Devote My Life
  6. CLEVER SLEAZOID
    CLEVER SLEAZOID
  7. DIFFERENT SENSE
    DIFFERENT SENSE
  8. Aka
    赫
  9. Ranunculus
    Ranunculus
  10. Keigaku no Yoku
    谿壑の欲
  11. The World of Mercy
    The World of Mercy
  12. Oboro
    朧
  13. Kasumi
    かすみ
  14. Followers
    Followers
  15. OBSCURE
    OBSCURE
  16. Ochita Koto no Aru Sora
    落ちた事のある空
  17. Sustain the untruth
    Sustain the untruth
  18. Hageshisa To, Kono Mune No Naka De Karamitsuita Shakunetsu No Yami
    激しさと、この胸の中で絡み付いた灼熱の闇
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