Freeze is the fifth
major label release by
Pierrot, which came to fruition slightly more slowly than usual (two years between albums - almost unheard of in Japan, unless you're
Yoshiki). Rather than relying on the success of a few
singles, the band threw this record down all at once, and it
hits like a sledgehammer. It's Pierrot's heaviest album by far. Sounds like the band were sitting around at practice one day and said, 'Dude, enough of this
mainstream crap. Let's make a
metal album.'
And they did. The sonic levels are nearly excruciating. Each song is like a steamroller, and without any resting period between tracks, it plays like one giant pissed-off jam session.
That's not to say that Freeze dips below Pierrot's usual standards. Aiji and Jun's guitars retain their creative dominance over Kirito's (often distorted) vocals; songs twist themselves around completely different sounds within the same verse; bizarre guitar noises that are almost electronic come regularly between drum beats. Only Pierrot could begin with a sinister guitar riff before breaking into a chorus worthy of Broadway.
They have made better use of Kohta on this album, pushing his bass forward on more than a few tracks, and Takeo is always on rhythm. But the stars are still the guitars. A song that best demonstrates this is PIECES. The verses are like cigarette breaks. 'All right, that's all well and good, now get back to work.'
Freeze is a very good album, but incredibly exhausting.
1.
FREEZE
2.
Smiley Skeleton
3.
PERFORMANCE
4.
WINDOW
5.
CLOWN'S MUTTER
6.
Paranoia
7.
UNMASK
8.
Fukai Nemuri ga Sametara
9.
UNKNOWN
10.
PIECES
11.
MYCLOUD