Conqueror is the sixth studio album by the Japanese all-female rock band Band-Maid. It was released digitally on December 4, 2019, with physical formats released one week later.[2] It debuted at number nine on the Oricon Albums Chart[3] and debuted at number one on the Oricon weekly Rock Album ranking.[4] The album was preceded by the singles "Glory" and "Bubble", both released in January 2019.[5] The international version from JPU Records includes English lyric translations and Romaji lyric transliterations.[6]
"Glory" was used as the second ending theme for the second season of the anime series Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS.[5] "Bubble" was used as the theme song for the Japanese drama series Perfect Crime.[5] The song "Blooming" was used in the Netflix action thriller film Kate.[7]
Background and recording
Production for the album started around August 2018.[8] The album includes a lot of mid-tempo songs, because they felt that their fans were exhausted from their live shows and that they needed to rest.[9] The working title was Future Conqueror.[10]
Composition and lyrics
The drums for "Page" are a mix of live and electronic sounds.[11][12] Lead guitarist Kanami Tōno wrote it with the image of a song that would be played at weddings.[13] The lyrics are about cosmetics.[12][13] "Glory" was inspired by the anime Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS and describes a world where AI and humans coexist.[14] Rhythm guitarist/vocalist Miku Kobato stated that the English lyrics in the song were made intentionally easy to sing, as they found that many kids watched the show.[14]
"Endless Story" was the first song written for the album.[12] It was written with the image of being played at Yokohama Arena.[12] "At the Drop of a Hat" was written the day the Reiwa era was announced. The original title was "Reiwa".[13] The drums are a mix of live and electronic sounds[11][12] Tōno wrote the music for "Azure" after she learned of the passing of manga artist Momoko Sakura.[15]
"Dilemma" was the last song written for the album, as they felt they needed one more intense song.[16] The B-side "Screaming" was originally going to be included on the album, but they opted to record a new song instead.[16] It was written and recorded two weeks prior to the release of the album.[16]
"Bubble" was inspired by the manga Perfect Crime.[14] Kobato wrote the lyrics to be "good enough so that those who read the original would appreciate it".[17] They were originally going to use one of their unreleased songs for the show, but Tōno "realized that the demo I just happened to be working on at the time was a better fit for the drama."[18]
During the recording of the album, Band-Maid was contacted by producer Tony Visconti, who had learned about the band from songwriter Tom Kenney.[19] Visconti invited band members Saiki Atsumi and Kobato to travel to a studio in New York City, where he produced the vocal tracks for the song "The Dragon Cries".[20] Tōno sent Visconti a demo of the song's musical backing, expecting him to want to rework it, but he declared that it needed no alterations.[10][11]
"Flying High" was mixed to sound similar to "The Dragon Cries".[21] All of the members wrote a part of the chorus of "Blooming". Bassist Misa wrote the intro.[21][11][22] "Rinne" was originally going to be included on their previous album, World Domination, but they decided it was not quite right.[22] They stated it initially sounded closer to "Blooming", that it was not as dark and that the BPM was 190.[22]
Outright Geekery gave the album five out five stars, stating that it is Band-Maid's best album to date, and concluding that "This is an album with versatility, passion, and killer hit after killer hit."[23]JRock News also praised the album, noting growth in the band's lyrics, variety in the songwriting, and a duality between the harder and softer aspects of the band's sound.[24]
Conqueror debuted at number nine on the Oricon Albums Chart,[3] selling 11,195 copies in its first week.[29] The album debuted at number 19 on the BillboardHeatseekers chart,[30] selling 560 copies in its first week.[31]
Track listing
All lyrics written by Miku Kobato, except track 11 by Tom Kenney; all music written and arranged by Band-Maid; all music produced by Band-Maid, except track 11 by Tony Visconti.
^ abc"[インタビュー] Band-Maidの新たなる挑戦" [Interview] The New Challenge Of Band-Maid] (in Japanese). barks.jp. December 10, 2019. p. 2. Retrieved November 8, 2021.
