During their decade-long run on the Japanese rock scene in the late '90s and early 2000s Pierrot became a leading force of the visual kei movement, finally bursting under the strain of the members' creative impulses and leaving a bunch of other rock acts in their wake. The group, established in 1994, was initially named Crash & Noise and consisted of vocalist Hidelow, guitarists Kirito and Jun, bassist Kohta, and drummer Luka. The Pierrot moniker was adopted in time for the band's first demos, out in 1994. The debut indie album Kikurui Pierrot was released during the same year, although the cast of musicians continued to shift for a while: Luka left in 1994 (to be replaced by Takeo), and Hidelow followed in 1995. After Hidelow's departure, Kirito became the frontman, handing over guitar duties to Aiji, formerly of Kalen. Stable lineup secured, the band released its second album, Pandora No Hako (1996), which gathered ecstatic press and brought Pierrot a contract with Sweet Child Records, which released their EP Celluloid (1997). The band played the label's yearly live event Sweet Trance until 2002, and in 1999 sold out the 10,000 seats of the Budokan, later picking up the habit of finishing their tours at this venue.
In 1999, Pierrot were snatched up by Toshiba-EMI, which released their second album, Finale, that year. The album was a huge success, bolstered by the massive airplay received by the singles Mad Sky, Clear Sky and Last Letter. The fourth album Private Enemy (2000) was a big hit as well, but while working on their next offering, Heaven -- The Customized Landscape (2002), Pierrot crossed to Universal, with which they remained. The period of stability saw the release of two more studio albums -- Id Attack (2003) and Freeze (2004) -- and a re-recording of Pierrot's indie material (Dictators Circus Kijutsuteki Senritsu, 2003), but the calm didn't last long. In 2005 Kirito recorded his debut solo album, Hameln, and, despite his promises that this wouldn't hurt Pierrot, the band folded in 2006. Kirito, Kohta, and Takeo started Angelo; Jun founded ALvino with Koji, guitarist of La'cryma Christi, and vocalist Shouta; and Aiji teamed up with Miyavi's guitarist, Maya, to establish the dance-rock act LM.C.
Also known as
Dizy-Lizy
Origin
Nagano, Japan
Genres
Years active
1994–2006, 2014, 2017
Labels
Associated acts
ALvino
Website
pierrot.jpn.com
Members
Kirito Jun Kohta Takeo Aiji
Past members
Hidelow Luka
Rockwell is a distinctive version of a geometric slab serif design, which has retained its popularity since its appearance in the 1930's. The slab serifs, or Egyptians, originated in the nineteenth century when they were used principally for display work. Free Download: TV-Show PIERROT - DICTATORS CIRCUS FINAL -I SAID “HELLO”- (TS/26.57GB) PIERROT 「DICTATORS CIRCUS FINAL -I SAID『HELLO』-」 October 24th, 2014 at Saitama Super Area 放送内容 01. PSYCHEDELIC LOVER 04. 脳内モルヒネ NOUNAI MORUHINE 07. トリカゴ TORIKAGO 08.
Pierrot (stylized as PIERROT) was a Japanese visual keirock band formed in 1994 in Nagano. After changing their name from Dizy-Lizy to Pierrot and several member changes, the final lineup was completed in 1995 with Kirito on vocals, Jun and Aiji on guitar, Kohta on bass and Takeo on drums. After roughly ten years together, Pierrot disbanded in 2006. Their final single was named 'Hello', an apt title for a band who started their major career with an album called Finale.
Vocalist Kirito embarked on a solo career in 2005, before reuniting with Kohta and Takeo to start a new band called Angelo. Aiji officially joined maya, formerly of Ishihara Gundan and Sinners, in LM.C in 2006. Jun joined guitarist Koji (ex-La'cryma Christi) and vocalist Shouta (ex-NIOI) in creating a new band called ALvino sometime in 2006. Pierrot reunited for two shows in 2014, and another two in 2017.
3Discography
History[edit]
In 1994, guitarists Kirito (then going by his real name, Shinya) and Jun formed a rock band named Dizy-Lizy in Nagano. They recruited Hidelow on vocals, Kirito's younger brother Kohta on bass,[1] and Luka on drums. After changing their name to Pierrot, Luka left in November and Takeo joined. Their debut album, Mad Piero, was released in December, having already been recorded with Luka. Then in February 1995, Hidelow also left the band while Aiji joined, completing the final line up of Kirito on vocals, Jun and Aiji on guitar, Kohta on bass and Takeo on drums. After releasing their second album Pandora's Box in July, they signed with Sweet Child Management. This album was named one of the top albums from 1989-1998 in a 2004 issue of the music magazine Band Yarouze.[2]
In 1998 they signed to Toshiba-EMI and released their major debut, the single 'Clear Sky', which surprisingly reached number 6 on the Oricon music chart. The album Finale was released in July of the following year, and in April they sold out the Nippon Budokan, which was unheard of for a band just making their debut.[3]
Pierrot left Toshiba-EMI and signed with Universal in 2001. In December 2003, they released their best-selling album Dictators Circus: Magical Melody.[3] Following the release of two compilation albums in 2005, Dictators Circus: A Vairant Bud and Dictators Circus: A Deformed Bud, Pierrot announced they were disbanding.[3] They officially disbanded on April 12, 2006, their last release was a single in June 2006, titled 'Hello'.
Pierrot's song 'Kumo no Ito' was covered by Hana Shounen Baddies on the compilation Crush! 2 -90's V-Rock Best Hit Cover Songs-, which was released on November 23, 2011 and features current visual kei bands covering songs from bands that were important to the '90s visual kei movement.[4] 'Haruka...' was covered by -OZ- for the similar album Counteraction - V-Rock covered Visual Anime songs Compilation-, which was released on May 23, 2012 and features covers of songs by visual kei bands that were used in anime.[5]
Pierrot announced on April 12, 2014, exactly 8 years since their disbandment, that they would reunite for two shows. The concerts were held at the Saitama Super Arena on October 24 and 25.[6] In 2017, Pierrot reunited again to play a two-day performance with Dir en grey called Androgynos on July 7 and 8 at Yokohama Arena.[7]
Members[edit]
Kirito (キリト)
Role: vocals/leader (originally guitar)
Real Name: Shinya Murata
Birthday: February 24, 1972
Birthplace: Sapporo, Hokkaido
Now part of the band Angelo together with Kohta and Takeo, and has his own solo career.
Aiji (アイジ)
Role: guitar
Real name: Shinji Mizui
Birthday: November 17, 1974
Birthplace: Nagano, Japan
Now part of the band LM.C with Maya (formerly Miyavi's support guitarist).
Jun (潤)
Role: guitar/synth guitar
Real name: Junichi Yamaura
Birthday: May 4, 1973
Birthplace: Nagano, Japan
Now part of the band ALvino with Koji (ex-La'cryma Christi) and Shouta.
Kohta
Role: bass/chorus
Real name: Kohta Murata
Birthday: June 3, 1975
Birthplace: Sapporo, Hokkaido
Now part of the band Angelo together with Kirito and Takeo.
Takeo
Role: drums/percussion
Real name: Takeo Ishikawa
Birthday: July 11,1972
Birthplace: Koriyama, Fukushima
Now part of the band Angelo together with Kirito and Kohta.
Former members
Hidelow – vocals
Luka – drums
Went on to join D≒sire and later Jils, as Hide Hommure -Hideyoshi-.
Discography[edit]
Demos[edit]
Famme (1994)
Homme (1994)
Piero (July, 1995)
Albums[edit]
Mad Pierrot (気狂いピエロ, Kichigai piero, December 24, 1994)
Pandora's Box (パンドラの匣, Pandora no hako, July 21, 1996)
Celluloid (September 3, 1997) Oricon Albums Chart Peak Position: 63[8]
Finale (July 7, 1999) 5[8]
Private Enemy (November 22, 2000) 14[8]
Heaven: The Customized Landscape (May 24, 2002) 7[8]
Dictators Circus VI at Saitama Super Arena (April 23, 2003) 86[10]
Attack [to] the Freedom (2004, fanclub only)
Dictators Circus VII: A Variant Bud/A Deformed Bud: [Saitama Super Arena] (2005, fanclub only)
Prototype IV (December 14, 2005) 46[10]
Dictators Circus Final 2014. 10. 24 - I Said 「Hello」 - Saitama Super Arena (November 25, 2014)
Dictators Circus Final 2014. 10. 25 - Birthday - Saitama Super Arena (November 25, 2014)
Androgynos (PIERROT X DIR EN GREY) - a view of the Megiddo - / - a view of the Acro - (2 disk set) (December 12, 2017)
References[edit]
^'Just who is Angelo?'. JRock Revolution. Archived from the original on 2015-04-19. Retrieved 2015-04-19.
^'Top 44 Albums from 1989 - 1998'. jame-world.com. 2004-05-09. Retrieved 2015-02-19.
^ abc'PIERROT—Who they were, where they are now'. JRock Revolution. Archived from the original on 2014-04-13. Retrieved 2013-03-16.
^'Aoi, Moran, and more to release '90s Visual Kei cover album'. tokyohive.com. Retrieved 2011-09-28.
^'V-Kei Anime Song Cover Compilation 'Counteraction!' and MJP TV to Collaborate! Live Talk Program with Asai Hiroaki and the Artists Participating!'. musicjapanplus.jp. Retrieved 2012-04-21.
^'PIERROT、「再び5人で皆さんの前に立つことを発表します」さいたまスーパーアリーナ2Daysを10月開催'. barks.jp (in Japanese). Retrieved 2014-04-12.
^'ANDROGYNOS'. www.androgynos.jp (in Japanese). Retrieved 2017-10-29.
^ abcdefghi'Pierrotのアルバム売り上げランキング' (in Japanese). oricon.co.jp. Retrieved 2013-04-26.
^ abcdefghijklmnopqr'Pierrotのシングル売り上げランキング' (in Japanese). oricon.co.jp. Retrieved 2013-04-26.
^ abc'PierrotのDVD売り上げランキング' (in Japanese). oricon.co.jp. Retrieved 2013-04-26.
External links[edit]
Retrieved from 'https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Pierrot_(band)&oldid=921843058'