Despite the rising cost of touring, HYDE remained determined to complete his two-year world tour “HYDE [INSIDE] LIVE 2025 WORLD TOUR”, culminating in a finale in Stockholm, Sweden, on November 23, 2025. For this show, his stage presence was fierce, intense, and commanding, so much so that even a cold—which we learned the day before that he had caught—did nothing to dull his performance.

With HYDE’s heavy album “HYDE [INSIDE]” being central to the setlist, fans were treated to the raw, powerful energy that defines “HYDE” (unlike his softer “JEKYLL” side).

Graciously, we had the chance to speak with HYDE before the intense finale, diving into his heavy-focused material while also slipping in questions long-time fans might have been curious about: “Who would win in a fight between HYDE and GACKT?”, and “Will there ever be a sequel to Moon Child?”, the film that starred both these artists.

We’re truly grateful to HYDE for taking the time and energy to play along with our silly pranks, especially while dealing with a cold, and we hope you enjoy this playful interview!

HYDE talks heavy music and imagines “Moon Child 2” movie (interview)

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: HYDENBT (JROCK NEWS)

Touring across so many cities can be quite tough, but how has it been for you this time?

I’ve been touring around the world for about two years. Before this, we’d dealt with the COVID pandemic, so we weren’t able to move as freely. It’s been a while since we were able to hit up many stops. I was happy that so many fans had been waiting for us.

For this tour, what were some of the things you made sure to pack while you were away from Japan? For example, your favorite pillow, snacks, or perhaps a red panda?

[Laughs] Red panda… I don’t have a red panda with me, but I always bring a humidifier wherever I go. You know, it’s cold in Europe! Every hotel won’t raise the temperature past 25 °C!

Is it also cold in your own home?

It’s actually really cold [laughs].

[Laughs] It would feel even colder without my humidifier. But I still caught a cold, anyway. It must be because I don’t have my red panda!

Give us just a second [walks away and comes back with a red panda plushie].

Oh, you’re gonna give me one? Oh my gosh! [Laughs] [hugs the plushie] He’ll keep me warm!

: HYDE receives a surprise red panda plushie to help him cure his cold: “He’ll keep me warm!”.Screencap via JROCK NEWS

We’re glad to hear that! As you mentioned, your world tour has been quite extensive. Some of the locations are first time visit too. What was the reason to reach these places this time around?

Well, I wanted to visit places I had never been to before, and the staff ultimately chose the Netherlands and Sweden. I originally wanted to come to these countries too, so I was glad with their picks.

You’ve mentioned in our previous interview that the cost of touring has risen. Did this not deter you from a world tour? Or rather, what motivated you to do it anyway?

I’d toured the world before, and I wanted to go back to the journey once the pandemic ended. With the yen so weak these days, there’s a lot to risk. But we’ve come such a long way, it would’ve been a shame to just leave things off.

Even if we had to push ourselves beyond our limits, if we ended up operating at a loss, I wanted to resume touring. We initially thought there might not be a next time where we could go to as many places. But at each stop, we saw that so many fans had been waiting for us. As we went on, we realized we really wanted to see everyone too.

: HYDE on stage in Stockholm.HYDE

We’re really happy to hear that. Before embarking the tour, what expectations did you have?

I didn’t have much expectations from the beginning. It’s been a long time since we last saw our fans.

We were more worried that they wouldn’t show up or had forgotten about us. But at each of our shows, we saw just as much fiery passion as before, if not more. Maybe it has to do with how our music has gotten heavier and heavier? The crowd might see that too and help turn the concerts into a crazier event. I sensed there was a lot of growth.

Tomorrow marks the end of the world tour here in Sweden. I’m looking forward to showing our progress over the past two years of touring.

You mentioned how your sound has gotten heavier over time. With your next album being JEKYLL-themed, it will be softer in sound and more orchestral-focused. How do you think fans will will feel about it?

The next orchestral tour will begin in Japan. It’ll be a “part 2” to my first solo album, which was called ROENTGEN.

You might hear me sing in a whisper. Because it’ll be completely different from the current rock feel, we can turn it into a very dynamic experience with the help of an orchestra. The concerts should be really interesting.

ROENTGEN was influenced by some of my favorite artists. One of the artists who inspired me for the whisper singing is an artist from here in Sweden, Stina Nordenstam. I loved her work back then. It makes me so happy to finally come to Sweden.

JEKYLL

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If we take a step back to your current album [in 2025], “HYDE [INSIDE]”. This album offers a heavy sound and you even collaborated with YD from Crystal Lake, and SHOW-HATE from SiM. Since they’re well-received overseas, did working with them give you insight into connecting with international listeners?

Hmm, their sounds are certainly heavy, so it helps when trying to work up an audience. The song with Crystal Lake breaks out into a wall of death when played live—it’s fun to see the crazy atmosphere [laughs].

: HYDE crowdsurfing.HYDE

With VAMPS, you collaborated with many Western bands to help reach a broader overseas audience. For your solo-career, we haven’t noticed that you’ve gone this route.

It might surprise you to know that I’m rather shy [laughs]. I’m not the best when it comes to seeing new faces. That makes things pretty hard for me to approach people for a collaboration. And it’s hard to stay connected [with overseas artists] when you live in Japan. Despite this, I’m actually hoping that Stina herself could join me on my next album [laughs].

Maybe I should live in Europe for a while. Wait, but I don’t like the cold.

: HYDE exploring Stockholm.@HydeOfficial_

: HYDE exploring Stockholm.@HydeOfficial_

[Laughs] You said in our last interview that you’d like to collaborate with Billie Eilish. If it happens, what kind of sound would it be?

The next album JEKYLL could set the right tone for that.

During the tour, you’ve also done several cover songs from artists like Linkin Park, My Chemical Romance, and also self-covers of VAMPS and L’arc-en-ciel. What was the thought process behind this?

It helps to pick a song that everyone knows. I try to pick a familiar tune so that people can have an easier time rocking out. There’s a lot of power in a song that’s well-known. And I try to pick ones that energize the crowd and are popular even with Japanese listeners.

About the self-covers of L’arc-en-ciel, did you pick these for a particular reason?

Ah, no. I picked ones I wrote myself, like HONEY. I’m sure there are much more famous songs from the repertoire, but I stuck to my own [laughs].

: HYDE in Stockholm, Sweden, the tour final show.HYDE

: HYDE

Speaking of something completely different. How do you feel about the potential impact of AI on the future of music creation?

I think AI will be able to understand the song composition as we know it within the next few years. It’ll get just as good at writing material like what we’ve written. So, people who make a living purely as a composer could suffer.

For us, live performances are just as much a part of our career. It might take another few hundred years for AI to replicate the live concert experience. Now that I think about it, live music will probably become our only focus.

Don’t you think virtual artists will soon challenge the live entertainment space?

Yes, yes, but that’s all pre-programmed. To fully turn them into a real-time experience might take at least another 10 years. But it’s scary to think about! Change is coming. You could create a superstar with a bit of programming!

That’s definitely plausible! Jumping over to fashion instead. Your recent WaRLOCK fashion line included some haori-inspired pieces that looked really good. As someone who is colorblind, how has that influenced your approach when designing?

Well, it’s all black. Being colorblind doesn’t matter if I wear all black. Not seeing color might hold me back more if I were a painter. Just like with music, I feel pretty free with things like deciding on the fabrics, more so than, say, if I had to add color to a painting.

: HYDE’s haori-inspired outfit, designed by HYDE himself. Shot in LA.Nori (JROCK NEWS)

: HYDE’s outfit in Stockholm.NBT (JROCK NEWS)

That makes sense! Last year, we featured you in our April Fools as a Tekken character fighting GACKT.

Ah! I know!

Wait, you saw that?

Yeah, yeah.

What did you think? We made you pretty buff.

Wow, very cool! If I had to fight GACKT in a video game, I would never lose [laughs].

: From JROCK NEWS’ April Fools 2024, featuring HYDE and GACKT as playable characters.JROCK NEWS

[Laughs] What about in real life?

In real life, I’d lose.

Switching over to something even more serious. When will we see the movie “Moon Child 2” starring you and GACKT…and possibly YOSHIKI?

[Laughs] At the end of Moon Child, GACKT and HYDE both died, so there won’t be a part 2. They burned in the sun [laughs]. Next will have to be a different vampire movie.

But YOSHIKI is a real life vampire for sure.

We think you’re right about that… Lastly, please share a message reflecting on this two-year-long world tour.

“HYDE [INSIDE]” was truly a wonderful tour. The album itself was very aggressive, the heaviest I’ve created, and as such, the audience was crazier than ever.

I think I’m close to having built my ideal concert experience, and we’re about to mark its end right here. It’s my first time greeting fans in Sweden, so I’m not sure what the response will be like. At least on our side, we’ll put in everything we’ve learned and give it all we’ve got.

It would make me happy if everyone could enjoy our show. Looking forward to tomorrow!

: HYDENBT (JROCK NEWS)

Once again, we’re truly grateful for HYDE rolling with our silly jokes. Despite being a high-profile artist, he’s refreshingly down-to-earth, both on stage and off. Moments like this interview, where he laughed along with our questions, show why fans connect so strongly with him.