*~*When Silverchair returned to the studio in May 1996, to record their second album, Freak Show, they'd learned alot about the music world and touring.
The album took shape over an eight-month period. Instead of using material they'd witten in the past, Silverchair wrote all-new songs. One significant change was the amount of input Ben had in the writing process - receiving sole songwriting credit on some of the songs and in the music composotion.
Ben explained the title of their 13-track album as reffering to their experience of the music industry. He told Massive!, "We reckon the music industry is kind of like travelling freak shows, 'cause you know travelling from town to town, unpacking and packing up, you meet all these freaks along the way."
On this album, the power-chord riffs were even more soild and absolutely driven to keep the fans moshing. The first single, Freak, was released in January 1997. It was a straight-ahead mosh pit rumble that later learnt itself into some fascinating remixes. Freak went to number one over the Australian summer and the album followed it, climbing to the top spot while defying the second-album blues that other bands have faced, though it wasn't quite as successful in commercial terms - worldwide- as Frogstomp.
The next single, Abuse Me, was another top-ten hit. Two more singles ensued, Cemetary and The Door; both achieved some succes in Australia.
The Freak Show era marked a place in their career where a whole range of opportunities became apparent. One of these was their work on film soundtracks. No Association was on the Australian film Blackrock, exclusive tracks on Spawn and Godzilla, and a remixed version of Freak on the Austrlian soundtrack for Head On.*~*
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