Wikipedia

Unleash (EP)

Unleash is the second extended play by Japanese rock band Band-Maid.[1] The EP was released by Pony Canyon on September 21, 2022, and contains eight tracks, including the lead single "Sense".[2] It debuted at number nine on the Oricon Albums Chart,[3] selling 7,590 in its first week.[4]

Unleash
EP by
Band-Maid
ReleasedSeptember 21, 2022 (2022-09-21)
Length28:33
LanguageJapanese
Label
Band-Maid chronology
Unseen World
(2021) 		Unleash
(2022) 		Epic Narratives
(2024)
Singles from Unleash
  1. "Sense"
    Released: October 27, 2021
Music videos
"Sense" on YouTube
"Unleash!!!!!" on YouTube
"Influencer" on YouTube
"From Now On" on YouTube

Background and recording

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The songs on Unleash were taken from compositions that the band had worked on over the previous two years.[5][6]

Composition and lyrics

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Lead guitarist Kanami Tōno stated that she tries not to listen to rock bands, so that she won't be inspired by them.[7] "From Now On" originated because lead vocalist Saiki Atsumi wanted to have a new instrumental.[8][9] The song includes orchestral elements.[10][11] Bassist Misa wrote her bass solo on a keyboard.[8][9] Tōno wrote "Balance" with an image of bouncy song, but that would also feel futuristic and experimental.[12] It includes lots of English words because rhythm guitarist/vocalist Miku Kobato wanted to use more strong words.[12][13] Atsumi asked Kobato to make the beginning of the chorus in Japanese.[13]

Atsumi asked Tōno to write "Unleash!!!!!" with the theme of the second phase of world domination.[5] Tōno wanted the melody at the start of the song to be the hook as she feels that Atsumi has a very hook-laden voice.[5] The vocal key was originally higher but Atsumi found it difficult to sing.[5] It was the last song written for the EP.[5] The tempo is 193.[14]

"Sense" and "Corallium" originally appeared on the single for "Sense". They were approached to write "Sense" on New Year's Day 2021 and recorded it before summer.[15] The lyrics are about the manga Platinum End. They were given free range with the lyrics, except that they had to include the words "angel" and "premonition".[16] The orchestral intro was not originally part of the song, Tōno composed it after the producers of the anime asked them to include it.[8][10][17][18]

Atsumi also wrote lyrics for "I'll", but Kobato's lyrics were chosen instead.[6] "Corallium" is Atsumi's first lyrical composition.[17] Kobato also wrote lyrics for the song, but Atsumi's lyrics were chosen instead.[17] The song is about the ocean, which she is afraid of. She stated that she thinks the ocean is similar to love.[17] Atsumi asked Tōno to write a song similar to "Alone" or "Choose Me".[19]

"Influencer" is about women who live their lives through social media and want to be beautiful all the time.[20] When Tōno was writing the song, she knew that she wanted to include a long bass solo.[11][20] Drummer Akane Hirose consciously wanted to include simple and intense sounding drums without too much complexity.[6][20]

"Hate?" is the oldest song on Unleash, it was written two years earlier as an instrumental.[7][20] When Atsumi heard Tōno's demo for the song, Atsumi thought that Tōno was angry about something, which she denied, saying she had an image of an explosion.[20] The lyrics were written at a time when Atsumi was seeing a lot of stories about infidelities in the news.[20] Kobato also wrote lyrics for the song, but Atsumi's lyrics were chosen instead.[6]

Critical reception

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Accolades

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Publication Accolade Rank
Punknews.org Samantha Barrett's Top EPs of 2022
1[21]
Rice Digital Six of the top 2022 JRock albums
—[22]
Wall of Sound Simon Valentine's Top 10 Releases of 2022
2[23]

Track listing

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All music written by Band-Maid.

Track listing for Unleash
No.TitleLyricsLength
1."From Now On"(instrumental)3:46
2."Balance"Miku Kobato3:09
3."Unleash!!!!!"Kobato, Saiki Atsumi3:10
4."Sense"Kobato3:24
5."I'll"Kobato4:07
6."Corallium"Atsumi3:54
7."Influencer"Kobato3:23
8."Hate?"Atsumi3:37
Total length:28:33

DVD/Blu-ray (Limited Edition)

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No.TitleLength
1."Unleash!!!!!" (Music video) 
2."From Now On" (Music video) 
3."Unleash!!!!!" (Instrumental video) 
4."Sense" (Instrumental video) 

Personnel

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Band-Maid

  • Saiki Atsumi – lead vocals
  • Miku Kobato – rhythm guitar, vocals
  • Kanami Tōno – lead guitar
  • Misa – bass
  • Akane Hirose – drums

Charts

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Weekly chart performance for Unleash
Chart (2022) Peak
position
Japanese Albums (Oricon)[3] 9
Japanese Hot Albums (Billboard Japan)[24] 10

References

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  1. ^ "Unleash（通常盤）-Band－Maid". Pony Canyon (in Japanese). Retrieved January 24, 2022.
  2. ^ Pryor, Terrence (July 9, 2022). "J-rock band Band-Maid announce new EP 'Unleash' at Anime Expo 2022". MSN. Retrieved September 25, 2022.
  3. ^ a b "Oricon Top 50 Albums: 2022-10-03" (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved September 28, 2022.
  4. ^ "Billboard Japan Top Albums: 2022/09/28 公開". Billboard Japan (in Japanese). Retrieved December 26, 2022.
  5. ^ a b c d e "【インタビュー】Band-Maid、世界征服の第二章を進める新曲「Unleash!!!!!」". Barks.jp (in Japanese). August 10, 2022. Retrieved September 25, 2022.
  6. ^ a b c d "Band-Maid「Unleash」インタビュー｜世界征服第2章の幕開け、"解放"を掲げた新作EP完成 - 音楽ナタリー 特集・インタビュー". Natalie.mu (in Japanese). September 22, 2022. p. 3. Retrieved September 25, 2022.
  7. ^ a b "Band-Maid VanityMix Web Limited Interview". VanityMix.jp (in Japanese). September 26, 2022. p. 2. Retrieved September 28, 2022.
  8. ^ a b c "【インタビュー】Band-Maid、"らしさ"と"新しさ"満載のEP『Unleash』完成「文字通り解放っていう感じの作品になった」". Barks.jp (in Japanese). September 21, 2022. p. 2. Retrieved September 25, 2022.
  9. ^ a b "Band-Maid VanityMix Web Limited Interview". VanityMix.jp (in Japanese). September 26, 2022. p. 1. Retrieved September 28, 2022.
  10. ^ a b "Band-Maid「Unleash」インタビュー｜世界征服第2章の幕開け、"解放"を掲げた新作EP完成 - 音楽ナタリー 特集・インタビュー". Natalie.mu (in Japanese). September 22, 2022. p. 1. Retrieved September 25, 2022.
  11. ^ a b "Band-Maidインタビュー "世界征服"第2弾と銘打った2nd EP『Unleash』を手に過去最長の全米ツアーへ". TVLife.jp (in Japanese). p. 3. Retrieved September 25, 2022.
  12. ^ a b "【インタビュー】Band-Maid、"らしさ"と"新しさ"満載のEP『Unleash』完成「文字通り解放っていう感じの作品になった」". Barks.jp (in Japanese). September 21, 2022. p. 3. Retrieved September 25, 2022.
  13. ^ a b "Band-Maid「Unleash」インタビュー｜世界征服第2章の幕開け、"解放"を掲げた新作EP完成 - 音楽ナタリー 特集・インタビュー". Natalie.mu (in Japanese). September 22, 2022. p. 2. Retrieved September 25, 2022.
  14. ^ "Band-Maid VanityMix Web Limited Interview". Vanitymix.jp (in Japanese). August 11, 2022. Retrieved September 25, 2022.
  15. ^ "【インタビュー】Band-Maid、新しい武器を手に入れ"心の世界征服"". Barks.jp (in Japanese). October 28, 2021. Retrieved September 25, 2022.
  16. ^ "Band-Maid「Sense」インタビュー――中2病みたいなワクワク!". Usen (in Japanese). October 28, 2021. Retrieved September 25, 2022.
  17. ^ a b c d "「幸せにしてやる！」Band-Maidの本質とは". musicvoice.jp (in Japanese). November 4, 2021. Retrieved September 25, 2022.
  18. ^ "Japan's Band-Maid Talk Connecting With Fans Around the World During COVID & Their New Single 'Sense'". Billboard. November 30, 2021. Retrieved September 25, 2022.
  19. ^ "＜インタビュー＞Band-Maid、コロナ禍での国内外のファンに向けた活動＆最新シングル『Sense』を語る" (Skip to the second page.). Billboard Japan (in Japanese). November 11, 2021. Retrieved September 25, 2022.
  20. ^ a b c d e f "【インタビュー】Band-Maid、"らしさ"と"新しさ"満載のEP『Unleash』完成「文字通り解放っていう感じの作品になった」". Barks.jp (in Japanese). September 21, 2022. p. 4. Retrieved September 25, 2022.
  21. ^ Barrett, Samantha (January 8, 2023). "Best of 2022 - Samantha B's Picks (2022)". Punknews.org. Retrieved January 29, 2023.
  22. ^ Cannon, Trent (December 15, 2021). "Six of the top 2022 JRock albums". Rice Digital. Retrieved December 15, 2021.
  23. ^ Valentine, Simon (December 21, 2022). "Wall of Sound Presents: "2022 Year In Review" – By Writer Simon Valentine". Wall of Sound. Retrieved December 21, 2022.
  24. ^ "Billboard Japan Hot Albums: 2022/09/28 公開". Billboard Japan (in Japanese). Retrieved September 28, 2022.
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