Unseen World

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Unseen World
Unseen World.jpg
Studio album by
Band-Maid
ReleasedJanuary 13, 2021 (2021-01-13)
Recorded2020
LanguageJapanese
LabelPony Canyon
Band-Maid chronology
Conqueror
(2019) 		Unseen World
(2021)
Music videos
"Warning!" on YouTube
"After Life" on YouTube
"Manners" on YouTube

Unseen World is the seventh studio album by the Japanese all-female rock band Band-Maid. It was released digitally on January 13, 2021, with physical formats released one week later.[1] It is the band's first album for Pony Canyon.[2]

The cover is a collage of the band members' fingers.[3] The album reached the top 20 on the rock music charts in thirteen countries,[4] and reached no. 1 on the Oricon Rock Albums chart in Japan.[5]

Critical reception[]

The album received generally positive reviews from music journalists familiar with the J-rock scene. Carlos Vélez-Cancel at Everything Is Noise noted that the album is heavier than its predecessors, and praised the band's "ability to craft anthemic songs without being afraid to delve into the unconventional."[6] Raijin Rock also noted the album's lack of ballads when compared to the band's previous albums and its "absolutely furious and unabating assault of aggressive hard rock", along with guitarist Kanami Tōno's ability to write memorable riffs, concluding that the band "are more cohesive on Unseen World than in any previous release."[7] The album also received positive reviews from The Death of Music, which noted the band's continuing musical development;[8] and Exclaim! which described the album's music as more adventurous and displaying more character than albums by other current J-Rock bands.[9]

Ryan Dyer of MetalSucks selected the album as one of the best metal albums 2021.[10]

Track listing[]

All lyrics written by Miku Kobato, all music written by Band-Maid.

CD (Normal Edition)
No.TitleLength
1."Warning!"4:20
2."No God"4:10
3."After Life"3:23
4."Manners"3:50
5."I Still Seek Revenge."3:02
6."H-G-K"3:07
7."Nightingale (Sayonakidori, サヨナキドリ)"4:33
8."Why Why Why"3:37
9."Chemical Reaction"4:09
10."Giovanni"4:17
11."Ambition (Honkai, 本懐)"3:16
12."Black Hole"3:05
13."Without Holding Back (Instrumental)"3:33
Total length:48:33
CD (First Press Limited Edition)
No.TitleLength
1."Warning!"4:20
2."No God"4:10
3."After Life"3:23
4."Manners"3:50
5."I Still Seek Revenge."3:02
6."H-G-K"3:07
7."Nightingale (Sayonakidori, サヨナキドリ)"4:33
8."Why Why Why"3:37
9."Chemical Reaction"4:09
10."Giovanni"4:17
11."Ambition (Honkai, 本懐)"3:16
12."Black Hole"3:05
Total length:45:00

Limited Edition[]

Disc 1 (Roots, 原点回帰盤)
No.TitleLength
1."After Life"3:23
2."Why Why Why"3:37
3."Youth"3:41
4."Nightingale (Sayonakidori, サヨナキドリ)"4:33
5."Chemical Reaction"4:09
6."Manners"3:50
7."I Still Seek Revenge."3:02
Total length:26:18
Disc 2 (Progress, 現点進化盤）
No.TitleLength
1."Giovanni"4:17
2."H-G-K"3:07
3."Manners"3:50
4."Black Hole"3:05
5."Ambition (Honkai, 本懐)"3:16
6."No God"4:10
7."Warning!"4:20
Total length:26:08

DVD/Blu-ray (First Press Limited Edition)[]

No.TitleLength
1."After Life (Instrumental Video)" 
2."No God (Instrumental Video)" 
3."Giovanni (Instrumental Video)" 
4."Without Holding Back (Instrumental Video)" 

Personnel[]

Band-Maid
  • Saiki Atsumi – lead vocals (except track 7)
  • Miku Kobato – rhythm guitar, vocals, lead vocals on track 7
  • Kanami Tōno – lead guitar
  • Misa – bass
  • Akane Hirose – drums

Charts[]

Chart (2021) Peak
position
Japan Hot Albums (Billboard Japan)[11] 6
Japanese Albums (Oricon)[12] 8
Rock Albums in Japan (Oricon)[5] 1

Trivia[]

"H-G-K"'s title is a reference to a Turkish military guided bomb, HGK, as has been confirmed by lyricist Miku Kobato in an interview.[13]

References[]

  1. ^ "BAND-MAID Post Teaser For New Album 'Unseen World'". Moshi Moshi Nippon. January 8, 2021. Retrieved January 12, 2021.
  2. ^ "BAND-MAID、ニューアルバム「Unseen World」を1月20日に発売！12月発売シングル楽曲は、アニメ「ログ・ホライズン 円卓崩壊」オープニングテーマに決定！". Pony Canyon (in Japanese). November 3, 2020. Retrieved January 12, 2021.
  3. ^ "BAND-MAID to Release New Album 'Unseen World' On January 20". Moshi Moshi Nippon. November 25, 2020. Retrieved January 12, 2021.
  4. ^ "BAND-MAID、ニューアルバム『Unseen World』が世界2位にランクイン！ハリウッドデビューに先駆け、全世界のチャートを席巻！". Pony Canyon (in Japanese). January 25, 2021. Retrieved March 11, 2021.
  5. ^ Jump up to: a b "オリコン週間 ROCKアルバムランキング 2021年01月18日～2021年01月24日". Oricon (in Japanese). Archived from the original on February 6, 2021. Retrieved January 29, 2021.
  6. ^ Vélez-Cancel, Carlos (February 2, 2021). "BAND-MAID - "Unseen World"". Everything Is Noise. Retrieved March 11, 2021.
  7. ^ "BAND-MAID: The Furies Unleashed. Review of "Unseen World"". Raijin Rock. January 28, 2021. Retrieved March 11, 2021.
  8. ^ Whitehead, Philip (February 5, 2021). "ALBUM REVIEW: Band-Maid - Unseen World". lamortdelamusique.blogspot.com. Retrieved March 11, 2021.
  9. ^ Juergensen, Rhys (January 26, 2021). "BAND-MAID Begin Their Evolution into Japanese Rock Breakouts on 'Unseen World'". Exclaim!. Retrieved March 11, 2021.
  10. ^ Dyer, Ryan (July 23, 2021). "Too Soon? Ryan Dyer's Best Metal Albums of 2021… So Far". Metalsucks. Retrieved July 25, 2021.
  11. ^ "Billboard Japan Hot Albums: 2021/02/01 付け". Billboard Japan (in Japanese). Retrieved January 29, 2021.
  12. ^ "Oricon Top 50 Albums: 2021-02-01" (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved January 29, 2021.
  13. ^ Tsuchiya (January 19, 2021). "BAND-MAID VANITYMIX WEB LIMITED INTERVIEW". VANITYMIX マガジン (in Japanese). Retrieved March 30, 2021.
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