“Inside” HYDE’s world tour finale in Los Angeles

Jrock superstar HYDE descended upon Los Angeles on November 30 with his haunting carnival, marking the ultimate stop of the HYDE [INSIDE] LIVE 2024 WORLD TOUR. HYDE’s travels had swept him across Asia—to Taipei, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Chengdu, Beijing, Seoul—and later to New York, one of only two performances in the US. His first North American appearance in over five years, the finale reunites thirsting fans who last tasted the carnage way back before the pandemic.

The mild Californian autumn ushers an international hoard, who snake up three flights to The Novo. Nestled in the heart of the LA Live entertainment complex, the regal yet intimate venue is apropos for hosting what would become a countdown to the midnight celebration.

The curtains part just past 20:00, revealing a band of noisemakers in masquerade. On the backdrop, the colossal words “Life is a comedy, unsweet my candy” declares the evening’s epigram. A wooden podium towers from stage center, stamped with HYDE’s insignia. Then, a diminutive shadow climbs to the microphone atop to broadcast the sinister opener, LET IT OUT.

Dressed in part like a decorated dictator and another a mutinied pirate, HYDE compels our attention with the authority of Judas Priest’s Rob Halford. Arms flail and smiles spread across the audience. He then glides down from his throne for heavyweights AFTER LIGHT, I GOT 666, and DEFEAT, a desolate dirge and 2019 videogame tie-in for the macabre swashbuckler DEVIL MAY CRY 5.

HYDE’s crew of misfit support musicians tear into each down-tuned note like hyenas crunching through bone. Yet, they still turn on a dime when the set’s middle section pivots from metal to melancholy. HYDE’s prepared a medley of offbeat surprises this tour, like the yet unreleased requiem THE ABYSS. Tokoshie, the somber ending for the latest season of anime Demon Slayer, transforms him into a vampire king that prowls the darkness, his coat billowing in the crosswind. He even works in a blistering palm-muted take on his L’Arc~en~Ciel chart topper HONEY and the crackpot 6or9, previously performed with the supergroup THE LAST ROCKSTARS.

“Show me chaos! I want more chaos!” HYDE commands during the breakdown of the thrash elegy SOCIAL VIRUS. Like a prophet parting the sea, he motions the crowd to recede. Then, upon his guttural roar, the bodies crash spectacularly into one another.

The production spares no expense, with floor-to-ceiling inflatable tube men flanking the stage. HYDE douses himself with a vial of blood. And as he laments in solitude in LAST SONG, crimson droplets drizzling down his platinum locks, air cannons deluge the hall with confetti.

Curtains slacken and close in on a now collapsed HYDE. Contrasting the first act that enraptured with its fiery ferocity, the closing notes of the funeral hymn exit HYDE in isolation. He crawls alone, disconnected, blanketed by debris, signaling the desolate conclusion to the main set.

For the encore, guitarists Julian and Yas Nomura kick things off with an old-school duel, each passage more sweeping and frenetic than the one traded before it. Drummer Shuntaro Kado joins in to transition to a double-bass blasted solo of his own. Grabbing two mallets, Shuntaro then batters an enormous keg. Keyboardist Hico and bassist Gabriel return to rile up all the energy.

“This feels unreal to me!”

With these lyrics, HYDE smashes through the drumhead, an allusion to the disarray unleashed in the nu metal groove PANDORA.

Despite the runtime well exceeding 90 minutes by this point, HYDE emotes harder than ever. He closes in on both sides of the first row in Mugen, with Julian taking the occasional chorus for a duet originally penned with rock band MY FIRST STORY. During his self-cover of GLAMOROUS SKY, Mika Nakashima’s soliloquy in the film adaptation of manga NANA, HYDE even steps onto the front rail to clasp hands with the starstruck audience.

“Circle pit! Circle pit!”

With these words, a carousel of flesh begins to whirl, some peeling off their shirts and flinging them in the air. Memories of unrequited love and dreams long lost come flooding back, causing some teary superfans to completely break down. The chaos that HYDE demanded was in fact a calling to set ourselves free.

At last, the tribal clang of Hico’s drum pad queues it’s time to part ways. The beat is instantly recognizable, and we can mouth every word of the chant. VAMPS’ sinister anthem SEX BLOOD ROCK N’ ROLL beckons the final pandemonium. It’s the embodiment of what makes HYDE a living legend: Like the eponymous doctor who transformed himself into a gothic menace, the night proves we’ll always need a little bit of HYDE’s madness inside all of us.

Setlist:

1. LET IT OUT
2. PANDORA
3. I GOT 666
4. DEFEAT
5. BLEEDING
6. TAKING THEM DOWN
7. THE ABYSS
8. Tokoshie (MY FIRST STORY x HYDE cover)
9. HONEY (L’Arc~en~Ciel cover)
10. 6or9
11. MAD QUALIA
12. SOCIAL VIRUS
13. MIDNIGHT CELEBRATION II
14. LAST SONG

Encore:

1. PANDORA
2. Mugen (MY FIRST STORY x HYDE cover)
3. GLAMOROUS SKY (Mika Nakashima cover)
4. SEX BLOOD ROCK N’ ROLL (VAMPS cover)