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Conqueror (Band-Maid album)

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Conqueror
"Normal" cover featuring guitarist/singer Miku Kobato
Studio album by
Band-Maid
ReleasedDecember 4, 2019 (2019-12-04)
Recorded2018–2019
Genre
Length55:27
LanguageJapanese, English
LabelRevolver (Japan), JPU Records (International)
Band-Maid chronology
Band-Maiko
(2019) 		Conqueror
(2019) 		Unseen World
(2021)
Singles from Conqueror
  1. "Glory"
    Released: January 16, 2019
  2. "Bubble"
    Released: January 16, 2019
Alternative cover
"Type B" cover featuring singer Saiki Atsumi
"Type B" cover featuring singer Saiki Atsumi
Music videos
"Glory" on YouTube
"Endless Story" on YouTube
"Bubble" on YouTube
"The Dragon Cries" on YouTube
"Blooming" on YouTube
"Reincarnation" on YouTube

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 in stadiums.[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]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
TuttoRock7.5/10[1]

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]

Accolades

Publication Accolade Rank
Con Safos Magazine Best Albums of 2019
25[25]
Unijolt Top 10 Albums of 2019
9[26]
Wall of Sound Simon Valentine's Top 5 Albums of 2019
4[27]
YesAsia Best Japanese Albums of 2019
–[28]

Commercial performance

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 Billboard Heatseekers 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.

No.TitleLength
1."Page"4:17
2."Glory"3:39
3."Liberal"3:14
4."Endless Story"3:44
5."Mirage"3:57
6."At the Drop of a Hat"4:19
7."Wonderland"3:55
8."Azure"2:49
9."Dilemma"3:36
10."Bubble"3:46
11."The Dragon Cries"3:55
12."Flying High"3:42
13."Catharsis" (カタルシス)3:18
14."Blooming"3:49
15."Reincarnation" (Rinne, 輪廻)3:27
Total length:55:27

DVD/Blu-ray (Limited Edition)

[32]

No.TitleLength
1."Domination" (Instrumental video) 
2."Dice" (Instrumental video) 
3."Onset" (Instrumental video) 

Personnel

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

Charts

Chart performance for Conqueror
Chart (2019) Peak
position
Japan Top Album Sales (Billboard)[29] 9
Japanese Albums (Oricon)[3] 9
Japanese Rock Albums (Oricon)[33] 1
UK Independent Albums (OCC)[34] 29
UK Independent Breakers Albums (OCC)[35] 4
UK Rock & Metal Albums (OCC)[36] 11
US Heatseekers Albums (Billboard)[30] 19
US Top Hard Rock Albums (Billboard)[30] 25
US World Albums (Billboard)[30] 11

References

  1. ^ a b c Loffredo, Fabio (April 15, 2020). "Band-Maid - Conqueror". TuttoRock (in Italian). Retrieved May 3, 2022.
  2. ^ Band-Maid、新AL『Conqueror』ジャケット公開. Barks (in Japanese). October 14, 2019. Retrieved October 14, 2019.
  3. ^ a b c "Conqueror(初回限定盤A) | Band-Maid" (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved October 18, 2021.
  4. ^ "Oricon weekly Rock Album ranking". Oricon (in Japanese). December 18, 2019. Retrieved December 18, 2019.
  5. ^ a b c "Band-Maid to Release New Single 'Bubble' Alongside 'glory' in January". Moshi Moshi Nippon. December 11, 2018. Retrieved December 16, 2019.
  6. ^ "Band-Maid - Conqueror [CD + Translation]". JPU Records. Retrieved August 1, 2020.
  7. ^ "Kate Soundtrack Guide: Every Song In The Netflix Movie". Screen Rant. September 12, 2021. Retrieved September 13, 2021.
  8. ^ "Band-Maid Vanitymix 2019-2020 Winter Pick Up Interview" (in Japanese). Vanitymix. p. 1. Retrieved November 24, 2021.
  9. ^ "全米チャートを席捲　ガールズバンド「Band-Maid」の新アルバムの破壊力" (in Japanese). The Asahi Shimbun. January 24, 2020. p. 2. Retrieved November 24, 2021.
  10. ^ a b "[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. Retrieved November 8, 2021.
  11. ^ a b c d "「Conqueror」 インタビュー" [Conqueror Interview] (in Japanese). Natalie. December 11, 2019. p. 2. Retrieved November 8, 2021.
  12. ^ a b c d e "[インタビュー] Band-Maid「今までの集大成を咲かせたい」新譜で見せた"征服者"の進化" (in Japanese). musicvoice.jp. December 11, 2019. p. 1. Retrieved November 8, 2021.
  13. ^ a b c "[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.
  14. ^ a b c "Interview by Utaten part 2 (For International)". Utaten. bandmaid.tokyo. February 5, 2019. p. 2. Retrieved November 8, 2021.
  15. ^ "Band-Maid VanityMix 2019-2020 Winter Pick Up Interview" (in Japanese). VanityMix. p. 2. Retrieved November 9, 2021.
  16. ^ a b c "全米チャートを席捲　ガールズバンド「Band-Maid」の新アルバムの破壊力" (in Japanese). The Asahi Shimbun. January 24, 2020. p. 4. Retrieved November 8, 2021.
  17. ^ "Interview by Natalie part 2 (For International)". Natalie. bandmaid.tokyo. January 29, 2019. p. 2. Retrieved November 8, 2021.
  18. ^ "Interview by Natalie (For International)". Natalie. bandmaid.tokyo. January 29, 2019. p. 1. Retrieved November 8, 2021.
  19. ^ "Tony Visconti Produces Band-Maid's New Song". JPU Records. November 19, 2019. Retrieved December 16, 2019.
  20. ^ "Band-Maid "The Dragon Cries", a collaboration with David Bowie's producer". JRock News. Retrieved December 15, 2019.
  21. ^ a b "[インタビュー] Band-Maid「今までの集大成を咲かせたい」新譜で見せた"征服者"の進化" (in Japanese). musicvoice.jp. December 11, 2019. p. 2. Retrieved November 8, 2021.
  22. ^ a b c "Band Maid 3rd Album Conqueror インタビュー" (in Japanese). tracks-live.com. December 11, 2019. Archived from the original on December 26, 2019. Retrieved December 26, 2019.
  23. ^ "Band-Maid Conqueror Album Review". Outright Geekery. December 13, 2019. Archived from the original on December 14, 2019. Retrieved December 15, 2019.
  24. ^ "Review: "Conqueror" has Band-Maid duelling on sound". JRock News. December 14, 2019. Retrieved December 15, 2019.
  25. ^ Villaseñor-Baca, Antonio (January 3, 2020). "Best of 2019". Con Safos Magazine. Retrieved March 17, 2022.
  26. ^ Galloway, Brian (April 6, 2020). "Top 10 Albums of 2019". Unijolt. Retrieved February 23, 2022.
  27. ^ Valentine, Simon (December 27, 2019). "Wall of Sound presents: "2019 Year In Review" – by Wall of Sound Writer Simon Valentine". Wall of Sound. Retrieved March 17, 2022.
  28. ^ "YesAsia: YumCha! - Best Japanese Albums of 2019 - Feature Article". YesAsia. December 30, 2019. Retrieved February 22, 2022.
  29. ^ a b "Billboard Japan Top Albums: 2019/12/23 付け". Billboard Japan (in Japanese). Retrieved December 19, 2019.
  30. ^ a b c d "Band-Maid が全米ビルボード・チャート入りの快挙" (in Japanese). Billboard Japan. December 13, 2019. Retrieved September 6, 2021.
  31. ^ Brown, Matt (December 11, 2019). "Metal By Numbers 12/11: Cattle Decapitation slaughter sales". Metal Insider. Retrieved February 2, 2022.
  32. ^ "Band-Maidニューアルバム発売、初回盤には楽器隊によるインスト曲MV集". Natalie (in Japanese). October 2, 2019. Retrieved August 11, 2022.
  33. ^ "全米チャートを席捲 ガールズバンド「BAND-MAID」の新アルバムの破壊力". Aera (in Japanese). January 24, 2020. Retrieved February 9, 2020.
  34. ^ "Official Independent Albums Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. January 2, 2020. Retrieved October 21, 2021.
  35. ^ "Official Independent Albums Breakers Chart Top 20". Official Charts Company. January 2, 2020. Retrieved October 21, 2021.
  36. ^ "Official Rock & Metal Albums Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. January 24, 2020. Retrieved February 9, 2020.
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