HYDE has launched his biggest-ever world tour, HYDE [INSIDE] LIVE 2025 WORLD TOUR, playing 24 shows in 16 cities throughout Japan, Latin America, Europe, and other parts of Asia over the course of five months.

This tour is the continuation of his HYDE [INSIDE] LIVE 2024 WORLD TOUR, which he started last year in support of his album HYDE [INSIDE]. This was his first release in five years and his heaviest to date.

One of the most enthralling parts of HYDE’s live performances is that they are artistic shows in which HYDE’s own aesthetic sensibilities are evident throughout the chaos. The June 25 show at Zepp Haneda (TOKYO) began with a stage covered in curtains. A digital clock counted up to the start of the show, and when the clock struck 17:06 (=16:66=666, the number of the beast), the audience is drawn into the fantastic world INSIDE HYDE.

When the curtains part, the first thing you see is the name “HYDE” in electric lights, evocative of a circus freak show. At the center stands a massive podium with a snake and cross motif, decorated with carved skulls. HYDE, his face enveloped in a deep hood and half-covered by a mask, appears at the podium to the wild cheers of the audience. The show began with “LET IT OUT.” Backed by the heavy sound of his band, HYDE looked down on the masses, stirring the audience into a frenzy with just his voice and the movements of his fingers. He then descended from the podium to put on two powerful, back-to-back performances of “AFTER LIGHT” and “I GOT 666.” The audience let out everything they had bottled inside, through their voices and through their whole bodies.

“Good to see so much energy out there. Tonight, we’re going to tear things up! You’re still looking cool and collected, but by the end of the night you’re going to be a mess!”

With “DEFEAT,” he started out singing sensuously, but when he ripped away the mask covering half his face, the wild aggression inside HYDE came bursting to the surface. During “SICK,” he sang through a megaphone, transforming into a ferocious agitator. He climbed the casks at the side of the stage, mounting the amps and sounding a siren through his megaphone, as if to exhort the crowd to go even wilder. It looked like he would dive into the audience any moment. With the crowd even more amped up by the siren, HYDE dropped “TAKING THEM DOWN.” While he created the burning hot atmosphere of a rock show, violently inciting the crowd, a close look at his megaphone revealed two tiny horns, a unique touch. This pop sensibility was something shared in common with HYDE’s music, which is aggressive but also has catchy, beautiful melodies. After completely enthralling the crowd with his cool, mature performance, he raised a flag over his shoulder and began swaying it to and fro as he sang “ON MY OWN.” The song began with his distinctive bewitching vocal style, growing more intense as it went on, as if HYDE was venting what he had deep inside. This was accompanied by white smoke gushing from the stage, creating a dramatic spectacle.

The venue was then brought under the sway of a romantic piano melody, and the inflamed passion of the audience slowly settled. However, the piano gradually grew noisier and noisier, the sound becoming unsettling. The stage grew dark, and the band launched into “TOKOSHIE,” the ending theme to the TV anime Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – Hashira Training Arc. The Far Eastern sensibilities and dark melody interwove, creating a sense of expectation in the venue, like an awe-inspiring ceremony had just begun. The sound gradually rose in intensity, reaching a dramatic climax like achieving nirvana. HYDE, lit by spotlights from above his dais, exuded an unapproachable, godly aura as he sang, a figure of overwhelming grandeur.

In previous shows, HYDE has covered artists like Slipknot, Duran Duran, and Linkin Park. In this show, he performed My Chemical Romance’s “Welcome to the Black Parade.” When the song’s tempo slowed, HYDE put his own punkish spin on the song, sending the crowd wild.

Then he had the audience sit down and transitioned to “6or9,” where, at HYDE’s signal, the entire audience leapt into the air. Throughout the song, he engaged the crowd in call & response, swinging around a towel and creating an even greater sense of unity with everyone at the show. The band then performed “MAD QUALIA” in front of the floor’s heaving circle pit, and HYDE banged his head as if possessed. The rest of the band also paced the stage, inciting the crowd and creating the kind of over-the-top rock show atmosphere that seemed scarcely possible for a small concert venue. Then, as if to light a match to the powder keg of the crowd, HYDE went down to the crowd. As he stood behind the barrier, reaching down and grasping the hands of fans, audience members throughout the venue began crowd surfing, aiming to get closer to HYDE. When HYDE began “DEVIL SIDE,” the audience, perfectly coordinated, swayed back and forth, hearts united as one.

As if to smash the joyous atmosphere of the crowd, brought together by the melodic killer tune, the band launched into their heaviest number, “SOCIAL VIRUS.” Repeating the mantra, “I want to see more chaos,” HYDE contorted his body to the heavy bass sounds of his masked band mates, his voice distorted by his frenzied shouting. After turning both the stage and the floor into a chaotic spectacle, he continued with “MIDNIGHT CELEBRATION II.” HYDE thrashed around the stage, like a man possessed.

As the show came to its close, HYDE collapsed on stage, looking up into the rafters. A bittersweet melody began to play, and HYDE, with a delicate, beautiful voice on the verge of tears, sang “LAST SONG.” His soft singing voice rose from a whisper, gradually becoming more fevered and filling the hearts of the audience with emotion. A deluge of crimson paper confetti fell from the rafters and HYDE sunk to his knees on stage, like a scene from a movie. Taking his voice to its limits, he repeated the frenzied final lines, his voice midway between crying and screaming, and then fell to the floor, a sight so sublime and beautiful that the audience watched with bated breath, feeling like their hearts had been ripped from their chests. HYDE put his all into the performance, with the climax of the show sweeping the audience from its feet as it showed the ephemeral beauty inside HYDE’s aggressive ferocity. It was the highlight of the show. The paper confetti rained on HYDE’s crumpled form as the audience gazed on as if in a trance. And with this, the show came to an end.

When the curtains opened on the stage again for an encore, each band member performed a gorgeous solo. These led into “PANDORA,” and HYDE suddenly appeared on the second-story corridor, making the crowd go wild. Next, he suddenly appeared in front of the first-story PA, surprising the first floor audience. After delighting the fans by suddenly appearing in their midst, HYDE returned to the stage.

“I’m pouring everything I have into this music. I’m getting older, so I just want to do what I love. And since I’m doing what I want, that means I’m weeding people out. I’m going my own way, and I’m sure there are people out there who don’t like that. But that’s fine. I’ll always have my core fans who stick with me. I pray that there are people out there whose hearts are reached by this show. So we’re going to play three more songs, and we’re going to play with all our hearts, so we have no regrets. Total concentration–my singing, your energy. Don’t hold anything back!”

After pouring out his heart about how he felt about the tour, he performed “MUGEN,” the opening theme to the TV anime Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – Hashira Training Arc, followed immediately by “GLAMOROUS SKY.” Then he brought the audience’s voltage to its peak with the show’s finale, party anthem “SEX BLOOD ROCK N’ ROLL.” The curtains fell and the words “THE END” appeared on them, bringing the show to a close.

HYDE will continue jetting across Japan to perform at numerous summer festivals, and then his momentum will take him overseas to meet fans around the world. If you’re planning to see HYDE, you’d best be prepared.

—This article by Sachie Tojo first appeared on Billboard Japan