Unleash
EP by Band-Maid
Released	September 21, 2022 (2022-09-21)
Length	28:33
Language	Japanese
Label	Pony Canyon
Band-Maid chronology
Unseen World (2021) Unleash (2022)
Singles from Unleash
" Sense" Released: October 27, 2021
Music videos
"Sense" on YouTube
"Unleash!!!!!" on YouTube
"Influencer" on YouTube
"From Now On" on YouTube

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]

Background and recording

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

Composition and lyrics

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

Accolades

Track listing

All music written by Band-Maid.

DVD/Blu-ray (Limited Edition)

Personnel

Band-Maid

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

Charts

References