D'ESPAIRSRAY Discusses Complete Reunion: "We Needed All That Time"
This interview was originally published in Japanese on barks.jp. Translated by VK Chronicle.
D’ESPAIRSRAY Takes a New Path
On May 4th, D’ESPAIRSRAY held a one-man live titled ＜D’ESPAIRSRAY LIVE 2026 “RAPTURE”＞ at Zepp DiverCity (TOKYO), marking a complete revival after approximately 16 years. Furthermore, on May 13th, they also released the single “RAPTURE” for the first time in approximately 16 years.
From their disbandment in June 2011 to their revival——the members spoke directly about this dramatic turn of events.
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Q: First, could you tell us what kind of response you felt after successfully completing the one-man live?
HIZUMI (Vo): From the beginning through the middle portion, I definitely felt quite a bit of fear. There was the fear of not knowing what would happen with my throat being irregular, and anxiety about whether I could really run through to the end. I had to constantly keep those two things in the back of my mind while controlling my throat properly while singing, so mentally I was just completely worn down (laughs bitterly).
Q: From that confident way of singing, we couldn’t tell there was any such situation.
HIZUMI: Well, as a person, my mind wasn’t at peace. However, as we got into the latter half, the fear gradually disappeared and my vision opened up, so to speak.
▲HIZUMI
Q: Certainly, by the 13th song “Squall,” there was an impression that a sense of liberation had been born.
HIZUMI: Yes. From the second half of the main set onward, that kind of fear disappeared.
Q: As a result, I think the one-man live after approximately 16 years turned out to be a really good show.
HIZUMI: I’m glad you’d say that.
Q: TSUKASA, what kind of things did you feel at the recent live?
TSUKASA (Dr): First of all, I was really happy to do this with these four people again after so long, and truly, the stage after approximately 16 years was incredibly moving. However, the level of tension was stronger than when we performed at Makuhari last fall (＜CROSS ROAD Fest＞). This is something Karyu and I talked about—on the day itself, my mind was extremely tense from morning onwards. Plus, even after we started, my body felt really “stiff.” To be honest, in that respect, I found myself thinking about physical conditioning in my head. Like HIZUMI, as we got through the live, my body gradually loosened up, and at the same time my mental state became really good too.
Q: That’s the best outcome then.
TSUKASA: However, actually after the MC during the encore, my hands and thighs started cramping. That was a bit rough for me personally. But looking back, the old D’ESPAIRSRAY lives also used to have a lot of cramping too, usually during the encore. So in a way, you could say it was a standard occurrence at Dispa lives (laughs).
Q: It seems D’ESPAIRSRAY lives must involve that kind of intense physical strain for the drummer. How did you manage to get through that emergency situation?
TSUKASA: If I put too much force in, the muscle pain becomes really intense, so I managed by deliberately loosening my grip and hitting with less tension. Going forward, I’m thinking I need to come up with some countermeasures so I don’t cramp up as much. But more than anything, that live was incredibly moving.
Q: What kind of day was ＜D’ESPAIRSRAY LIVE 2026 “RAPTURE”＞ for you, Karyu?
Karyu (G): To be honest, it was fun. The pre-production was tough in various ways, and things were cutting it really close right up until the end, but all my feelings just burst out during the live. I really felt that sense of doing it while having fun. The distance between us felt close too, and I think we managed a revival that felt more real than it did in Makuhari.
Q: ＜CROSS ROAD Fest＞ had time constraints, so it was over in a flash. But with a one-man live, we could really savor this “return of champions” feeling.
ZERO (B): I really felt that people had been waiting for us. The first thing I noticed was that even with an earmonitor in, I could hear an incredible roar from the audience at the moment between the SE entrance and when the first song started—that was the first time that had ever happened. The tickets sold out quickly too, so I felt everyone’s anticipation in that single moment. From there, we just flew off into another world.
Q: And you managed a good landing as well, didn’t you?
ZERO: That’s right. I think there were probably some unexpected songs in the setlist this time, but we included them all to match this revival scene of “RAPTURE.” In various ways, I think we managed to deliver the absolute best D’ESPAIRSRAY right now to everyone at that live.
Q: Looking back, D’ESPAIRSRAY entered a hiatus period after ＜Human-clad monsters FINAL＞ held on December 30th, 2010 at what is now the former Yokohama BLITZ, and then proceeded to announce their disbandment on June 15th, 2011. Since then, you’ve had Karyu involved with Angelo and H.U.G, ZERO and TSUKASA with THE MICRO HEAD 4N’S, and TSUKASA also performed as enka singer Mogamigawa Tsukasa. Meanwhile, HIZUMI underwent throat treatment and from 2019 made a comeback as vocalist in NUL. In the midst of all this, last May D’ESPAIRSRAY announced their revival, and actually took the stage again at ＜CROSS ROAD Fest＞ in November. This revival, after various twists and turns, feels almost miraculous to the fans known as “maniacs.” Was it ultimately HIZUMI’s state of mind—feeling that “now we can do this”—that was the biggest trigger?
HIZUMI: The eight years before I started singing in NUL. were like that too, and even after starting NUL., I was trying different things and gradually removing anxieties one by one. So it’s true that those accumulations led to D’ESPAIRSRAY’s revival. Personally though, the early NUL. lives were especially tough.
Q: With NUL., it seems MASATO (G / defspiral) and Toshiyuki Kishi (Programming) were initially composing and arranging with considerable consideration for HIZUMI’s physical condition, but even so, singing multiple songs at a live must have had difficult periods.
HIZUMI: We really moved forward very gradually over many years. Both MASATO and Kishi thought a lot about how to improve my throat’s condition, and from the singing perspective, that was incredibly helpful. They created a situation where I could feel more positive mentally too. So I’m really grateful to both of them.
Q: By the way, at the recent live, before starting “abyss” at the very end of the encore, HIZUMI, you said something to the audience like: “Everyone here too might come to days where you have to give up on various things. But please, whatever you do, don’t give up on living.” That felt like it came from a place where you yourself had been pushed to that brink… Though that’s just speculation, so I avoided mentioning it in the live report. But could I ask about the actual situation?
HIZUMI: That’s exactly right. I’ve had times like that several times. Those words could only be said because I got through that period. And now there’s a me here who’s glad I didn’t do that. There might be situations like that ahead too. That MC was me putting those things into words.
Q: The situation of encountering “days where you have to give up on various things” can happen to anyone, really. Your words carried strong persuasive power and warm kindness.
HIZUMI: Right now, compared to the past, it’s easier for people to attack others. So expressing words like that is something I want to keep valuing as part of myself.
▲Karyu
Q: Meanwhile, the three instrumentalists have been performing D’ESPAIRSRAY songs in Luv PARADE with vocalist TAKA (defspiral) since 2022. That activity could be interpreted as a stepping stone to revival. Did you, Karyu, think at some point that you wanted to move with D’ESPAIRSRAY again?
Karyu: From the moment we decided to go on hiatus initially, whether we disbanded or not, I’ve always wanted to do it. But as a practical matter, we couldn’t at the time, so that’s why it ended with disbandment. Now that we’ve revived and finished that one-man, I feel that everything we’ve done up until now led to where we are now. Going through various flows, I think we’ve arrived at this moment in really the best possible state.
Q: There might have been a future where things just continued normally from 16 years ago, but if we think of this as four people arriving here after their own training periods, that makes sense too.
Karyu: If we’d kept going like that, different problems might have come up. I gained a lot from going out into the outside world, and my way of thinking changed considerably too, so there’s really significant meaning in being here now because of that.
ZERO: I also think this was the right timing. Even after Dispa disbanded, we’d gather every year on our founding anniversary, September 9th, and we were always thinking we’d want to do it someday. On milestone anniversaries we’d bring it up—”What do you think?”—but with various complications it never happened. But when word came about that event, HIZUMI stood up, and the revival became reality from there. It wasn’t like we started talking about doing a one-man initially, but we managed to do one, put out new material, and we’ve got future plans lined up. All that probably means the time we spent was necessary for all of this.
Q: TSUKASA, how are you taking in this joyful fact of D’ESPAIRSRAY’s revival right now?
TSUKASA: If I think about what I came to Tokyo to do, it was to play drums in D’ESPAIRSRAY. When we rehearsed for ＜CROSS ROAD Fest＞ last year and played together as four people for the first time in a while, that was the first thing I remembered. The drumming in my various other activities has meaning I really care about and is so much fun, but through that one-man live, I really felt the significance of making sound together as these four people. I’m so grateful that we could come back here, and grateful to all the people supporting us in different activities and to my bandmates.
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Q: And so D’ESPAIRSRAY has now released “RAPTURE,” their first new single in 16 years since “LOVE IS DEAD” in 2010. This syncs with the live title as well, and it’s a song that was performed right away at the live. Could you tell us how “RAPTURE,” the first song D’ESPAIRSRAY releases in this revival, came to be?
Karyu: This was the same with Angelo too, but when releasing a song at a revival timing, I always want to include new ideas and messages. So D’ESPAIRSRAY was the same way. Also, in terms of songwriting method, we needed to do things differently from how D’ESPAIRSRAY did it before. First, to understand HIZUMI’s current throat condition, I went to see NUL. lives and researched the recordings too—I spent quite a bit of time on that kind of prep work. Direction-wise, initially I thought about “what kind of song would more people find convincing?” But ultimately, I focused on what I wanted to express while considering what these four of us can do now, and I worked through this song over about half a year, worrying about it.
Q: Given how carefully and time-consumingly this was created, it seems the song contains a lot of compressed elements.
Karyu: I packed in as much as I could of what I think everyone would want. Shouts, heavy rhythms, but also emotional melodies—all of it. There was a moment I thought about whether to lower the key, and I even considered making rap the main focus, but ultimately we took the best parts of all the ideas that came out and finished it that way. I think we created something that will make longtime fans happy, as well as new fans.
Q: At the recent live, HIZUMI said, “It’s a work with all the good parts of the old D’ESPAIRSRAY and the new D’ESPAIRSRAY packed in… or so Karyu said (laughs).” When you encountered this song, HIZUMI, what kind of sensation did you get?
HIZUMI: I thought, “This is seriously German metal!” (laughs). From that first impression, I thought about how I’d handle it myself. Since I knew this would be first performed at a one-man, I tried to write the lyrics while imagining that scene. I wanted it to reach the longtime fans, the people following us now, and people we’d meet in the future, so I deliberately used the title “REDEEMER” from an old single in the lyrics as《I’ll be your Re:deemer》.
Q: TSUKASA, what was your first impression of “RAPTURE”?
TSUKASA: The strong metal element in the intro made me really happy because it suits my taste. At the same time, the chorus melody sounded really compelling, so I thought if HIZUMI’s lyrics turned out good, it would definitely reach the maniacs’ hearts. I got excited listening to it, and couldn’t wait to play the drums.
Q: How did it feel actually playing it?
TSUKASA: This is about the live, not recording, but the A-melody felt a bit slow even though it’s two-beat, but when the chorus opened up, it felt really right. I felt like I was able to play it with this expansive atmosphere that conveys what D’ESPAIRSRAY will be going forward.
Q: ZERO, what’s your perspective on the revival’s first single “RAPTURE”?
ZERO: I think if we’d wanted to, we could have shown a much more dramatic evolution right away. But I also had the sense that the song we released at this timing should be some kind of cushion for our future. So I think it turned out as Karyu said—”packed with all the good parts of old D’ESPAIRSRAY and new D’ESPAIRSRAY.” Still, in the recording, I tried the most current approach to my sound-making, so I think we got a pretty good challenge out of it. We were able to give D’ESPAIRSRAY a new sound of its own.
Q: Given that 16 years have passed since the last work “LOVE IS DEAD,” the equipment used must be different from then, and the individual members’ skills have naturally changed too. What was the aspect where you felt the most change during this recording?
Karyu: The recording method changed first. We recorded in a way that’s more like recent bands, and basically we didn’t all get together in a studio to record like we used to.
HIZUMI: Back then, going to the studio and everyone gathering to record was normal. That got updated to a more contemporary recording method.
TSUKASA: We’d been using triggers at lives before, but now we’re using them in recording too. In that sense, the drum sound feels a bit more mechanical than before. We were able to make good use of that in “RAPTURE.”
ZERO: Over these 16 years of living life, those changes naturally came out in the sound. Even if the phrasing is something that’s myself, the sound production is contemporary and new. “RAPTURE” probably turned out this way because of now. Plus, the recording environment is different from the old days with lots of different people around. Now I have to be self-contained. I think each of us has gotten better at taking responsibility for our own sound compared to before.
Karyu: Your mention of that reminds me—back in the day we’d often do late-night recording sessions. Time for going home felt wasteful, so we’d often stay at the studio overnight and sleep there, huh (laughs bitterly). Now with home recording, it’s less a battle against time and more just a constant battle with myself. Data transfer is instant, and if we need meetings, we can do them online. It really got convenient.
HIZUMI: Time efficiency went up, right (laughs).
Karyu: Earlier ZERO was talking about “each person taking responsibility for their own sound.” Back then I chose all the takes myself. Now it’s more about deleg