''Unleash'' is the second

extended play An extended play record, usually referred to as an EP, is a musical recording that contains more tracks than a single but fewer than an album or LP record.

by Japanese rock band

Band-Maid Band-Maid (stylized as BAND-MAID® until 2016) is a Japanese rock band formed in 2013, consisting of singer Saiki Atsumi, guitarist/singer Miku Kobato, lead guitarist Kanami Tōno, bassist Misa, and drummer Akane Hirose. The band combines a rock ...

. The EP was released by

Pony Canyon , also known by the shorthand form , is a Japanese mass media publishing company founded on October 1, 1966. The company publishes mainly physical home media on compact discs, including music, films and TV shows and video games. It is affiliate ...

on September 21, 2022, and contains eight tracks, including the lead single "

Sense A sense is a biological system used by an organism for sensation, the process of gathering information about the world through the detection of Stimulus (physiology), stimuli. (For example, in the human body, the brain which is part of the cen ...

". It debuted at number nine on the

Oricon Albums Chart The Oricon Albums Chart is the Japanese music industry standard albums popularity chart issued daily, weekly, monthly and yearly by Oricon. Oricon originally published LP, CT, Cartridge and CD charts prior to the establishment of the Oricon Albu ...

, selling 7,590 in its first week.

Background and recording

The songs on ''Unleash'' were taken from compositions that the band had worked on over the previous two years.

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. "From Now On" originated because lead vocalist Saiki Atsumi wanted to have a new instrumental. The song includes orchestral elements. Bassist Misa wrote her bass solo on a keyboard. Tōno wrote "Balance" with an image of bouncy song, but that would also feel futuristic and experimental. It includes lots of English words because rhythm guitarist/vocalist Miku Kobato wanted to use more strong words. Atsumi asked Kobato to make the beginning of the chorus in Japanese. Atsumi asked Tōno to write "Unleash!!!!!" with the theme of the second phase of world domination. 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. The vocal key was originally higher but Atsumi found it difficult to sing. It was the last song written for the EP. The

tempo In musical terminology, tempo (Italian, 'time'; plural ''tempos'', or ''tempi'' from the Italian plural) is the speed or pace of a given piece. In classical music, tempo is typically indicated with an instruction at the start of a piece (often ...

is 193. "

" 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. The lyrics are about the manga ''

Platinum End is a Japanese manga series written by Tsugumi Ohba and illustrated by Takeshi Obata. It was serialized in Shueisha's ''Jump Square'' monthly magazine from November 2015 to January 2021, with its chapters collected in 14 ''tankōbon'' volumes ...

''. They were given free range with the lyrics, except that they had to include the words "angel" and "premonition". The orchestral intro was not originally part of the song, Tōno composed it after the producers of the anime asked them to include it. Atsumi also wrote lyrics for "I'll", but Kobato's lyrics were chosen instead. "Corallium" is Atsumi's first lyrical composition. Kobato also wrote lyrics for the song, but Atsumi's lyrics were chosen instead. The song is about the ocean, which she is afraid of. She stated that she thinks the ocean is similar to love. Atsumi asked Tōno to write a song similar to "Alone" or "

Choose Me ''Choose Me'' is a 1984 American romantic comedy-drama film written and directed by Alan Rudolph, starring Geneviève Bujold, Keith Carradine, and Lesley Ann Warren. The film is a look at sex and love in 1980s Los Angeles centered around a dive ...

". "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. Drummer Akane Hirose consciously wanted to include simple and intense sounding drums without too much complexity. "Hate?" is the oldest song on ''Unleash'', it was written two years earlier as an instrumental. 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. The lyrics were written at a time when Atsumi was seeing a lot of stories about infidelities in the news. Kobato also wrote lyrics for the song, but Atsumi's lyrics were chosen instead.

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

{{Authority control 2022 EPs Band-Maid albums Pony Canyon EPs Japanese-language EPs EPs by Japanese artists