Finale (Pierrot album)

Finale is the fourth studio album by Japanese visual kei rock band Pierrot, released on July 7, 1999, produced by Shinobu Narita.[2] Album's singles are "Clear Sky", "Mad Sky -Koutestu no Kyuuseishu-", "Haruka.../Kanata e..." and "Last Letter".[3]

Finale
Studio album by
ReleasedJuly 7, 1999
Genre
Length59:52
LanguageJapanese
LabelEMI
ProducerShinobu Narita
Pierrot chronology
Celluloid
(1997)
Finale
(1999)
Private Enemy
(2000)
Singles from Finale
  1. "Clear Sky"
    Released: September 10, 1998
  2. "Mad Sky -Koutestu no Kyuuseishu-"
    Released: December 2, 1998
  3. "Haruka.../Kanata e..."
    Released: February 24, 1999
  4. "Last Letter"
    Released: April 28, 1999

It is the band's debut major album, released by EMI.[4] The first edition was limited, with special packaging including bonus items.[3][2] It was re-released on December 19, 2001.[4] Finale became available on subscription streaming services along with the group's major works on September 10, 2024.[5]

Musical style

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OK Music website stated that the lyrics have many romantic and dramatic passages, comparing them to a shōjo manga. In terms of musicality, they said the band has "rock standards" with a bit of avant-garde, and also mentioned that some tracks incorporate psychedelic rock and others punk rock.[1] CD Journal said the lyrics depict a "decadent world" and mentioned the digital guitar sounds and traditional Irish elements in the songs. They also said producer Narita brought a "retro '80s" feel to the music.[3]

Commercial performance

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Finale debuted at number five on Oricon Albums Chart and stayed on chart for seven weeks,[6] selling 171,180 copies while on chart.[7] It sold over 190,000 copies in total.[2]

It was certified gold disc by RIAJ for selling more than 100,000 copies.[8] It is Pierrot's best-selling studio album and the one that reached the highest position on Oricon.[6] Finale reached the same number on Billboard Japan.[9]

Track listing

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Finale track listing
No.TitleLength
1."Finale"4:40
2."Haruka.." (ハルカ...)4:43
3."Creative Master"3:57
4."Kanata e..." (カナタヘ・・・)3:45
5."ECO=system"4:12
6."Magnet Holic"3:17
7."Mad Sky -Koutestu no Kyuuseishu-" (MAD SKY -鋼鉄の救世主-)4:18
8."Sacred"5:40
9."Icaross"3:59
10."Last Letter" (ラストレター)6:01
11."Clear Sky" (クリア・スカイ)5:32
12."Child"6:02
13."Newborn Baby"3:29
Total length:59:52

Personnel

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  • Kirito – vocals
  • Aiji – guitar
  • Jun – guitar
  • Kohta – bass
  • Takeo – drums
  • Shinobu Narita – producer

References

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  1. ^ a b "PIERROTの『FINALE』に息づくロックへの敬意". Ok Music (in Japanese). 2017-07-19. Retrieved 2023-12-30.
  2. ^ a b c "FINALE - この曲を聴け!". hvymetal.com (in Japanese). Retrieved 2023-12-30.
  3. ^ a b c "Pierrot / FINALE [廃盤]". CD Journal (in Japanese). Retrieved 2023-12-30.
  4. ^ a b "PIERROT / FINALE [再発][廃盤]". CDJournal (in Japanese). Retrieved 2023-12-30.
  5. ^ "PIERROT、メジャー・デビュー日である9月10日に全26作品サブスク解禁!". ROCKの総合情報サイトVif (in Japanese). 2024-09-09. Retrieved 2024-09-09.
  6. ^ a b "FINALE | Pierrot". Oricon (in Japanese). Retrieved 2023-12-30.
  7. ^ "ヴィジュアル系のオリコンまとめ。" (in Japanese). Archived from the original on 2010-12-23.
  8. ^ "ゴールドディスク認定" (Search for "Pierrot" on "アーティスト" field and select "検索".). RIAJ (in Japanese). Retrieved 2021-01-20.
  9. ^ Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. 1999-07-31.