Background and recording
Production for the album started around August 2018. 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. The working title was ''Future Conqueror''.Composition and lyrics
The drums for "Page" are a mix of live and electronic sounds. Lead guitarist Kanami Tōno wrote it with the image of a song that would be played at weddings. The lyrics are about cosmetics. "Glory" was inspired by the anime ''Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS'' and describes a world where AIs and human coexist. 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. "Endless Story" was the first song written for the album. It was written with the image of being played in stadiums. "At the Drop of a Hat" was written the day the Reiwa era was announced. The original title was "Reiwa". The drums are a mix of live and electronic sounds Tōno wrote the music for "Azure" after she learned of the passing of manga artist Momoko Sakura. "Dilemma" was the last song written for the album, as they felt they needed one more intense song. The B-side "Screaming" was originally going to be included on the album, but they opted to record a new song instead. It was written and recorded two weeks prior to the release of the album. During the recording of the album, Band-Maid was contacted by producer Tony Visconti, who had learned about the band from songwriter Tom Kenney. 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". 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. "Bubble" was inspired by the manga ''Perfect Crime''. Kobato wrote the lyrics to be "good enough so that those who read the original would appreciate it". 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." "Flying High" was mixed to sound similar to "The Dragon Cries". All of the members wrote a part of the chorus of "Blooming". Bassist Misa wrote the intro. "Rinne" was originally going to be included on their previous album, ''World Domination'', but they decided it was not quite right. They stated it initially sounded closer to "Blooming", that it was not as dark and that the BPM was 190.Critical reception
''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." ''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.Accolades
Commercial performance
''Conqueror'' debuted at number nine on theTrack 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.DVD/Blu-ray (Limited Edition)
Personnel
*Saiki Atsumi – lead vocals *Miku Kobato – rhythm guitar, vocals *Kanami Tōno – lead guitar *Misa – bass *Akane Hirose – drumsCharts
References
External links