WOD to release major 1st album "Ai"! New song "Endless Repeat" released in advance

■ “Honestly, even if we become major, what we do won’t change, but if we can play music with more people, it will be even more fun.” (wod)

WOD, a three-piece band from Kobe, has announced that they will be releasing their first major album, “Ai,” on October 23rd under Sony Music Labels.

WOD, consisting of Takuya Saito (Vo & Gu), Ken Mackay (Ba) and Motoyoshi Nakajima (Dr), is a neo-grunge band that shows off their unique originality with their sometimes emotionally shouted vocals, distorted guitars, heavy bass that instantly captures your eardrums, drums with outstanding beats, and an undeniable groove that is sharpened to the limit. Their song “STARS”, which was used as the opening theme for the TV anime “BLEACH: Millennium Blood War Arc – Farewell Story”, has exceeded 7.5 million streams worldwide, and they have also appeared at large festivals around the country, such as “SUMMER SONIC”, “RISING SUN ROCK FESTIIVAL”, and “Kyoto Daisakusen”.

Many celebrities, including musicians, actors, manga artists, and international artists, have publicly declared themselves to be their fans, and the band has also been selected for Nippon Television’s “This is going to be a hit! 2023/2024,” Tower Records’ “Tower Recommend Artist of the Year 2022,” and the Kansai Block Award at the “15th National CD Shop Awards 2023.”

On June 1st, all posts on Instagram were suddenly deleted, and all official WOD social media activity stopped. While fans were in an uproar, a teaser video for “Ai” was suddenly posted on June 9th, which was “Rock Day,” and information about the album was released.

The album title “Ai” is filled with many meanings, including “I” referring to oneself, “Eye” representing the eyes that have seen through one’s life experiences so far, and “love” for the staff who have been involved, the people who support them, the family and friends who support them, and the fans.

■Pre-release single “Endless Repeat” will be released digitally!
It has also been decided that the first pre-release single from her major debut album, “Ai,” titled “Endless Repeat,” will be released digitally on June 19th.

Following the release of “My Generation” in 2023, this song was produced with Masayuki Nakano (THE SPELLBOUND / BOOMBOOMSATELLITES) as sound producer, and is an innovative song that evokes 1980s and 1990s UK rock, incorporating breakbeats, synthesizers, percussion, and female choruses into the solid three-piece sound that is the foundation of wod.

The lyrics, which are full of rock-mindedness and ask themselves about “repeated days,” were co-written with Yusuke Kobayashi (THE NOVEMBERS / THE SPELLBOUND). As the flag-bearer of a new generation of rock bands, wod has further evolved and this psychedelic party tune heralds a new chapter. The download jacket has also been released.

A new artist photo has also been released. Photographed by photographer Masato Moriyama and directed by art director Keitaro Terasawa, it is a truly innovative piece.

15 years after forming their band in junior high school, WOD, the band you should be listening to the most right now, is finally heading to the major leagues.

■wod Comment
It’s packed with love, I, and EYE, and as always, it’s an album that is very wod-like.
To be honest, what we do won’t change even if we become major, but wouldn’t it be more fun if we could play music together with more people?
“Ai” is also the first sound of the Japanese alphabet. We will always be searching for that feeling of excitement we felt when we first played the sound, in the past, now and tomorrow.
I’m looking forward to WOD’s first restart as it continues to roll.