Unleash is the second extended play by Japanese rock band Band-Maid.^[1] The EP was released by Pony Canyon on September 21, 2022, and contains eight tracks, including the lead single "Sense".^[2] It debuted at number nine on the Oricon Albums Chart,^[3] selling 7,590 in its first week.^[4]

The songs on Unleash were taken from compositions that the band had worked on over the previous two years.^[5][6]

Lead guitarist Kanami Tōno stated that she tries not to listen to rock bands, so that she won't be inspired by them.^[7] "From Now On" originated because lead vocalist Saiki Atsumi wanted to have a new instrumental.^[8][9] The song includes orchestral elements.^[10][11] Bassist Misa wrote her bass solo on a keyboard.^[8][9] Tōno wrote "Balance" with an image of bouncy song, but that would also feel futuristic and experimental.^[12] It includes lots of English words because rhythm guitarist/vocalist Miku Kobato wanted to use more strong words.^[12][13] Atsumi asked Kobato to make the beginning of the chorus in Japanese.^[13]

Atsumi asked Tōno to write "Unleash!!!!!" with the theme of the second phase of world domination.^[5] 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.^[5] The vocal key was originally higher but Atsumi found it difficult to sing.^[5] It was the last song written for the EP.^[5] The tempo is 193.^[14]

"Sense" 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.^[15] The lyrics are about the manga Platinum End. They were given free range with the lyrics, except that they had to include the words "angel" and "premonition".^[16] The orchestral intro was not originally part of the song, Tōno composed it after the producers of the anime asked them to include it.^{[8][10][17][18]}

Atsumi also wrote lyrics for "I'll", but Kobato's lyrics were chosen instead.^[6] "Corallium" is Atsumi's first lyrical composition.^[17] Kobato also wrote lyrics for the song, but Atsumi's lyrics were chosen instead.^[17] The song is about the ocean, which she is afraid of. She stated that she thinks the ocean is similar to love.^[17] Atsumi asked Tōno to write a song similar to "Alone" or "Choose Me".^[19]

"Influencer" is about women who live their lives through social media and want to be beautiful all the time.^[20] When Tōno was writing the song, she knew that she wanted to include a long bass solo.^[11][20] Drummer Akane Hirose consciously wanted to include simple and intense sounding drums without too much complexity.^[6][20]

"Hate?" is the oldest song on Unleash, it was written two years earlier as an instrumental.^[7][20] 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.^[20] The lyrics were written at a time when Atsumi was seeing a lot of stories about infidelities in the news.^[20] Kobato also wrote lyrics for the song, but Atsumi's lyrics were chosen instead.^[6]

All music written by Band-Maid.

Band-Maid

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