EPIC DAY
| EPIC DAY | ||||
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| Studio album by B'z | ||||
| Released | March 3, 2015 | |||
| Recorded | August 2014 - Early 2015 | |||
| Genre | Hard rock | |||
| Length | TBA | |||
| Label | Vermillion Records | |||
| Producer | Tak Matsumoto | |||
| B'z chronology | ||||
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| Singles from EPIC DAY | ||||
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EPIC DAY is the nineteenth studio album by B'z, set to be released on March 4, 2015. It will be supported by B'z LIVE-GYM 2015 -EPIC NIGHT-.
Production and information
Following their year-long festivities for their 25th anniversary in 2013, the band took a break from B'z activities following the B'z Special LIVE at EX THEATER ROPPONGI show on November 30, 2013. This hiatus afforded the individual members time to dedicate to solo activities. Tak would go on to release his tenth studio album New Horizon in April and followed it up with his first true solo tour, Tak Matsumoto LIVE 2014 -New Horizon-, from May to June. Meanwhile, Koshi released three digital exclusive singles leading up to his fifth studio album, Singing Bird, in May. A special live engagement entitled Koshi Inaba LIVE 2014 ~en-ball~ saw ten shows all played at Shinagawa Stellar Ball over a period of two weeks.
As the band's solo activities wound down, it was revealed in Be With! issue 102 that the duo would immediately be returning to the studio come August to work on their next B'z album. It was unknown whether the album would be released by the end of the year as few public announcements were made during the recording process. Shane Gaalaas and Barry Sparks were both involved in the recording from the onset, with the former providing social media updates as he came to and from Japan. However, in October, the 103rd issue revealed twenty-seven tour dates from a then-untitled 2015 tour, with more dates promised in the near future.
The first song to be revealed from the sessions was "Exit To The Sun", an acoustic ballad that was simultaneously announced as the theme to NHK drama series Dark Suit. The series began airing on November 22nd and featured the song throughout its run. One week later, another song could be heard on television and online when "NO EXCUSE" began airing as the theme to a line of Smirnoff Ice commercials. The title of the album was first publicly revealed shortly thereafter in various morning newspapers across Japan on December 3, 2014. Along with mentioning the title EPIC DAY, the spread unveiled lead single "Uchouten" along with its release date and the details of its two editions. At the same time, the previously untitled LIVE-GYM to begin in March received its final title of B'z LIVE-GYM 2015 -EPIC NIGHT-.
The lead and only single from the album, "Uchouten" was much-anticipated as it was the band's first in the nearly three years since 2012's "GO FOR IT, BABY -Kioku no Sanmyaku-". A sample of the song was briefly available on the band's official website, but it would not be heard in full until it premiered on radio in the last weeks of 2014. The first live performance of the song came on Music Station SUPER LIVE 2015 on which B'z was one of the premiere guests. A music video was shot for the single, clips from which began airing on various Japanese news and music-themed television programs as well as being featured in commercials leading up to its release.
On January 1, it was announced that the February issue of YOUNG GUITAR magazine would feature Tak Matsumoto and Slash on the cover together as well as the subjects of a special joint feature. The two guitarists sat down for a lengthy discussion, during which they discussed their influences, playstyles, and the two of them both having worked with Koshi in the past.
With the tour start date looming, "Uchouten" was released on January 14, 2015 and debuted at the top of the Weekly Oricon Singles chart for the band's forty-seventh consecutive number one single as it moved over 75,000 physical copies in its first day on shelves. Two days later, on January 16, it was revealed that a new EPIC DAY song, "Amari ni mo", would serve as the theme to a pair of commercials for H.I.S, a travel company based out of Japan.
Track listing
All music and guitar by Tak Matsumoto. All lyrics and lead vocals by Koshi Inaba.
Side A
- Las Vegas
- Uchouten — Ecstasy, 有頂天
- File:s51 01.ogg The band's first single in nearly three years, their fifty-first single is a hard rock song designed to work well in a live setting with several call-and-response moments, priming it as a crowd pleaser. Koshi described it in the band's 2015 New Year's message as the "first new explosion of B'z sound in a long while" due to the hiatus between releases. The composition includes a bass solo prior to the guitar's and sports an arrangement that utilizes both acoustic and electric guitar work at alternating intervals. On the lyrics front, Koshi mentioned in a press release for Gakkou no Kaidan—a school-centric drama series for which the song served as a theme—that he focused on the themes of "confidence and insecurity, happiness and sadness" and added, "This song is about cheering oneself up and trying to move on, while embracing these two conflicting feelings."
- Exit To The Sun
- NO EXCUSE
- Amari ni mo — Too Much, アマリニモ
Side B
Personnel
B'z
- Tak Matsumoto: Guitar, Music Composition, Arrangement
- Koshi Inaba: Vocals, Lyric Composition, Arrangement
Support Members
Production