| Unleash | |
| Type: | EP |
| Artist: | Band-Maid |
| Cover: | Band-Maid_Unleash.jpg |
| Length: | 28:33 |
| Language: | Japanese |
| Label: | |
| Prev Title: | Unseen World |
| Prev Year: | 2021 |
| Next Title: | Epic Narratives |
| Next Year: | 2024 |
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, selling 7,590 in its first week.[3]
The songs on Unleash were taken from compositions that the band had worked on over the previous two years.[4] [5]
Lead guitarist Kanami Tōno stated that she tries not to listen to rock bands, so that she won't be inspired by them.[6] "From Now On" originated because lead vocalist Saiki Atsumi wanted to have a new instrumental.[7] [8] The song includes orchestral elements.[9] [10] Bassist Misa wrote her bass solo on a keyboard.[7] [8] Tōno wrote "Balance" with an image of bouncy song, but that would also feel futuristic and experimental.[11] It includes lots of English words because rhythm guitarist/vocalist Miku Kobato wanted to use more strong words.[11] [12] Atsumi asked Kobato to make the beginning of the chorus in Japanese.[12]
Atsumi asked Tōno to write "Unleash!!!!!" with the theme of the second phase of world domination.[4] 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.[4] The vocal key was originally higher but Atsumi found it difficult to sing.[4] It was the last song written for the EP.[4] The tempo is 193.[13]
"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.[14] 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".[15] The orchestral intro was not originally part of the song, Tōno composed it after the producers of the anime asked them to include it.[7] [9] [16] [17]
Atsumi also wrote lyrics for "I'll", but Kobato's lyrics were chosen instead.[5] "Corallium" is Atsumi's first lyrical composition.[16] Kobato also wrote lyrics for the song, but Atsumi's lyrics were chosen instead.[16] The song is about the ocean, which she is afraid of. She stated that she thinks the ocean is similar to love.[16] Atsumi asked Tōno to write a song similar to "Alone" or "Choose Me".[18]
"Influencer" is about women who live their lives through social media and want to be beautiful all the time. When Tōno was writing the song, she knew that she wanted to include a long bass solo.[10] [19] Drummer Akane Hirose consciously wanted to include simple and intense sounding drums without too much complexity.[5] [19]
"Hate?" is the oldest song on Unleash, it was written two years earlier as an instrumental.[6] [19] 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.[19] The lyrics were written at a time when Atsumi was seeing a lot of stories about infidelities in the news.[19] Kobato also wrote lyrics for the song, but Atsumi's lyrics were chosen instead.[5]
| Publication | Accolade | Rank | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Punknews.org | Samantha Barrett's Top EPs of 2022 | ||
| Rice Digital | Six of the top 2022 JRock albums | ||
| Wall of Sound | Simon Valentine's Top 10 Releases of 2022 |
All music written by Band-Maid.
Band-Maid
| Peak position | ||
| Japanese Hot Albums (Billboard Japan)[20] | 10 |
|---|