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A Will

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A Will
Studio album by
Luna Sea
ReleasedDecember 11, 2013
Genre
Length54:16
LabelUniversal
ProducerLuna Sea
Luna Sea chronology
Lunacy
(2000) 		A Will
(2013) 		Luv
(2017)
Singles from A Will
  1. "The End of the Dream/Rouge"
    Released: December 12, 2012
  2. "Thoughts"
    Released: August 28, 2013
  3. "Ran"
    Released: November 13, 2013

A Will is the eighth studio album by Japanese rock band Luna Sea, released on December 11, 2013. It is their first album of new material in over thirteen years, as they reunited in 2010 after disbanding in 2000. The album reached number 3 on both the Oricon Albums Chart and Billboard Japan.[1][2]

Overview

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Commenting on the fact that the band had not created an album in so long, Sugizo stated "Each of us have become accomplished artists on our own, and it is more like we are all coming together as solo artists to make a Luna Sea album."[3] He went on to compare A Will and the process of the band recording it to their first album and being a newly formed group; "You don’t make it to sell it; you do it as a pure expression of the self. What makes this album special is that it was born from that thought process." The band selected songs by going through those that each member had gathered through the years, writing them while living together. Many songs that did not end up being included on the album were partially recorded.[4][5]

On the album's name, which Ryuichi suggested,[6] Sugizo explained:

"WILL" just by itself is a word in future tense, expressing intent to do something; however the words "A WILL" mean "a testament" or "last request". It also has the nuance of pointing toward the future, and although it has a positive meaning, it also means that things are at a place where everything could come to an end and there would be no regrets.[4]

Composition

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Speaking of the opening track "Anthem of Light", Sugizo said "These are wild times, but there's no reason to release negative energy just because of that; we made this song with the thought that it's precisely because we live in our current world that it's necessary for rock music to be the thing that brings light to it." Additionally, he believes there is no reason for Luna Sea to give a political message, only to create music that will "stimulate our imagination."[4] J feels that "Anthem of Light" is an answer to their earlier song "Into the Sun", and that they both have similar rhythms and beats. He wrote "Glowing", which focuses on the "sexiness" of rock music, specifically for the current Luna Sea. He also remarked that despite it being a simple song, the band worked on it for months.[6]

"Both "Maria" and "Gin no Tsuki" were first unveiled in 2010 at separate concerts at the Tokyo Dome as part of the band's reunion world tour, although the lyrics and arrangements of both have been reworked and the latter's titled changed from "Days of Repetition".[7] The album version of "Ran" is slightly different from the single cut. Lead guitarist Sugizo described "Metamorphosis" as a "progressive piece in the form of hardcore/speed metal" where Shinya's drumming shines, and likened it to the band's earlier tracks "Fate" and "In Future".[4] J remarked that the string section at the end of the last track "Grace" connects back to the first song on the album.[6]

Release

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Three limited editions of A Will were produced: Limited Edition A includes the album on high-fidelity SHM-CD, a photobook, and a Blu-ray with the music videos for the four single tracks and their TV ads; Limited Edition B is a standard CD with the same video content on a DVD instead; the third contains the same contents as the prior edition but in a large case emulating the sleeve of an LP record.[8] In commemoration of the album's release, Tower Records in Shibuya hosted a special event from December 5–23, 2013, where the band's instruments, behind the scenes photos, and items used in the album's creation were displayed. Never before seen footage and a preview of the album were also featured.[9]

A Will and the band's other seven major label studio albums, up to Luv, were released on vinyl record for the first time on May 29, 2019.[10]

Track listing

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All tracks are written by Luna Sea

No.TitleLength
1."Anthem of Light" (Originally composed by J.)4:16
2."Rouge" (Originally composed by Sugizo.)4:29
3."The End of The Dream" (Originally composed by J.)4:00
4."Maria" (Originally composed by Inoran.[11] Originally written by Inoran and Ryuichi.)5:28
5."Glowing" (Originally composed by J.)4:27
6."Ran (「乱」, romanized as "Run" by the band)" (Originally composed by Sugizo.)4:28
7."Absorb" (Originally composed by Inoran.[5])6:18
8."Metamorphosis" (Originally composed by Sugizo.)5:47
9."Gin no Tsuki (銀ノ月)" (Originally composed by Sugizo.)5:32
10."Thoughts" (Originally composed by Inoran.)4:04
11."Grace" (Originally composed by J.)5:11

Personnel

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Luna Sea

References

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  1. ^ "LUNA SEAのアルバム売り上げランキング" (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved 2014-04-22.
  2. ^ "Billboard Japan Top Albums│Charts│Billboard JAPAN". Billboard (in Japanese). Retrieved 2014-04-22.
  3. ^ "[Interview] SUGIZO: His upcoming solo tour – Part 1 of 2". barks.jp. 2013-11-16. Archived from the original on 2014-10-21. Retrieved 2013-12-12.
  4. ^ a b c d "[Interview]LUNA SEA's SUGIZO speaks about 'A WILL' which 'contains the love and gratitude that was fully realized precisely because we have had a 25 year long history'". barks.jp. 2013-12-11. Archived from the original on 2014-10-21. Retrieved 2013-12-12.
  5. ^ a b "[Interview] LUNA SEA: Shinya talks about the band's evolution. "We didn't plan it, but this album captures what LUNA SEA is about right now"". barks.jp. 2013-12-21. Archived from the original on 2013-12-24. Retrieved 2013-12-21.
  6. ^ a b c "[Interview] LUNA SEA: J talks about the miraculous ensemble. "We are able to start our new story because of all of our fans. We are looking forward to it."". barks.jp. 2014-01-21. Archived from the original on 2014-01-12. Retrieved 2014-01-11.
  7. ^ "脅威のLUNA SEAに驚愕のSLAVE、両者が見せた奇跡の共演". barks.jp (in Japanese). 2010-12-26. Retrieved 2013-12-13.
  8. ^ "LUNA SEA to release first album in over 13 years". tokyohive.com. 2013-11-09. Retrieved 2013-12-12.
  9. ^ "LUNA SEA album "A WILL" release event at Tower Records Shibuya". barks.jp. 2013-11-27. Archived from the original on 2015-04-21. Retrieved 2013-12-12.
  10. ^ "LUNA SEA、結成30周年記念に『IMAGE』から『LUV』までの8作品をアナログレコード化". barks.jp (in Japanese). 2019-03-01. Retrieved 2019-04-13.
  11. ^ "RYUICHI Interview". Universal Music (in Japanese). 2017-11-23. Archived from the original on 2017-12-22. Retrieved 2017-12-30.
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