"Obscure") and its conformity-oriented society ("Children"). Others deal with more traditional subject matter such as personal feelings, emotions, and lost love ("Undecided", "Taiyou no Ao", "Mushi"). When asked why most of the band's lyrics are in Japanese instead of English, which has more broad international appeal, Kaoru said that "We consider our music [to be] a piece of art. [...] The language is part of that artwork." He explained that Kyo prefers "the sensitivities that Japanese language offers. There are expressions and nuances that can only be conveyed in Japanese; he values that." The vocabulary used ranges from vulgar to exalted, with wordplay and double entendres occurring frequently. For example, the title of the song "Mitsu to Tsuba", which is about rape, means "Honey and Saliva", but is written with the kanji inverted, suggesting reading them with an inverted pronunciation - "Tsumi to Batsu" - which would translate to "Crime and Punishment", a more appropriate title. Stage image His stage performances became known in the mid 2000s for their shock elements such as full-body makeup resembling heavy burns, fake vomit of varying color and consistency, which developed into various acts of self-mutilation. There is video documentation from the mid-2000 involving the use of blades as well as evidence of strained mental health and fainting, although some of it was performative, and purported to be in place within a tour's usual set-list. Kyo would also regularly engage in fish-hooking during the performance of "Kodoku ni Shisu, Yueni Kodoku" throughout the "It Withers and Withers" and "Inward Scream" tours. However, after 2008's Uroboros, the occurrence of these incidents have subsided; while he still sometimes wears costumes on stage, he rarely performs self mutilation, real or simulated, his last recorded one being during the same song on Dir en Grey's TOUR16-17 FROM DEPRESSION TO __ [mode of Withering to death.] tour. Collaborations While in a 2010 North American co-headline tour, Kyo performed with Apocalyptica, singing "Bring Them To Light" along with Tipe Johnson. Later that year, he recorded vocals for Daisuke to Kuro no Injatachi's debut album. In 2013, Kyo gathered artists from various visual kei rock bands to form the supergroup Sukekiyo. The band opened the first show for Sugizo's tour Thrive to Realize, and performed the next day for the Countdown Japan 13/14 festival. Their first album, Immortalis, was released in 2014. The band has subsequently released an EP, Vitium, in