BAND-MAID dropped album Epic Narratives on September 25, marking the eight full-length record that follows Unseen World from 2021. After filling the three-year void with the punchy 2022 EP Unleash and two North America tours, maidiacs can finally breathe easy with the bestowment of a proper story-driven album—one that emanates both imaginativeness and polish. Like each successive BAND-MAID release, the latest repertoire slingshots the impossibly hard rocking quintet farther than ever before.

Just saying 2021 aloud makes it sounds like it took place eons ago. That was pandemic times. And it was within this world of flux and stewed frustrations the maids wrought music that, for many, became a shield from the uncertainty.

Epic Narratives is totally over that.

It blasts across with zero remorse and delivers a more triumphant and emphatic BAND-MAID. The steps are bold, the themes forward-looking, and the soundscapes tears the gloomy shrouds right off our heads. The positivity feels every bit as contagious as it is, well, epic.

For the first time, BAND-MAID front-loads nearly all the familiar tunes within the first half of the album, and this gambit totally pays dividends. Opener Magie, first teased at the colossal Yokohama Arena gig last November, sizzles with pentatonic leads from guitarist KANAMI and a celestial chorus by vocalist SAIKI. Singles Shambles and Protect You take us into riff city and down blast beat avenue (hats off once again to drummer AKANE), respectively. In Brightest Star, MIKU spotlights her foray into taking a solo in immaculate harmony with KANAMI.

It’s a barrage of hooks, and they refuse to let go.

Also inaugural are the international collaborations with Mexican rock trio The Warning and guitarist Mike Einziger of American alternative unit Incubus. SAIKI and Dani (vocalist of The Warning) trade verses in SHOW THEM as if rekindling the sassy flames of past midtempo songs Manners and The Dragon Cries. Bestie, co-written by Einziger about the serendipity of uplifting lifelong friends and cherishing vulnerability together, touches upon a kind of love that’s too often overlooked. For me, it soars straight into S-tier.

The latter half of Epic Narratives orchestrates a musical cosmos all its own. With the lion’s share of new tracks packed here, the second act stretches over everything from sentimental retrospectives like Letters to you and The one to the battering ram Toi et moi. Fireworks light the sky in dance anthem TAMAYA!—listeners take note of bassist MISA, effortlessly weaving together both pick and slap techniques. The sheer breadth of it all encompasses scale we haven’t heard since the 2019 album Conqueror.

With so much to unpack, Epic Narratives leaves the resounding statement that it is BAND-MAID’s most ambitious work to date. Yet, it could also serve as a worthy gateway for new fans, ready to experience the maids in peak form. The compositions are mature, the execution audacious, and the themes as monumental and worth celebrating as life itself. Do yourself a favor and embark on BAND-MAID’s newest, brightest chapter.