In 2006 they independently released 2 mini albums. Because of their albums sales, their participation in relatively large festivals that summer and their energetic shows in the outskirts of Tokyo, they were noticed by a foreign record company.
In March 2007 Tomoya officially joined the group and the band finally made their major debut by releasing their first single 内秘心書(Naihi Shinsho) on April 25th.
The band's name, One Ok Rock, came from "one o'clock," the time that the band used to practice on weekends. However, noticing that the Japanese language made no distinction between r's and l's, they changed "o'clock" to "o'crock" (or "o'krock") which then was separated to become "ok rock".
On April 5th, 2009, Alex was arrested for allegedly groping a female prep school student. They were going to release the single 「Ａｒｏｕｎｄ ザ ｗｏｒｌｄ 少年」on May 6th but this was cancelled. The song was also going to be used for the drama 'God Hand Teru' but was replaced. Also, a nationwide tour was cancelled because of the incident. On May 15th, it was announced the Alex has left the group and the other 4 members would continue activities in the summer without him.
ONE OK ROCK continued as a four-member group and made a comeback with a live concert tour that started on September 5, 2009, titled Overcome Emotion. Their first release afterwards was their fourth single, "Kanzen Kankaku Dreamer", on February 3, 2010. The band followed up with their fourth album, Niche Syndrome, which was released on June 9. Their next single, "Answer is Near", was released on February 16, 2011.
The band released their first double A-side single "Re:make/No Scared" on July 20, 2011, the latter song being the main theme for the Black Rock Shooter: The Game video game. The band's fifth album, Zankyo Reference, was released on October 5, 2011. Their single, "The Beginning", which is used as a theme for the live action movie adaptation of the Rurouni Kenshin manga, was released on August 22, 2012. Their next single Deeper Deeper / Nothing Helps was followed by their 6th full-length album titled Jinsei × Boku = released on March 6, 2013.
Their song Mighty Long Fall from their 9th single was used as the theme song for the second movie adaption of the Rurouni Kenshin manga titled Rurouni Kenshin: Kyoto Inferno. The bands 7th album, 35xxxv was released in Japan on February 11, 2015. Later in 2015 the band signed with Warner Bros. Records in America and released their debut album in the US, 35xxxv (Deluxe Edition), an all-English album.
Members
* Taka (森内 寛貴, Moriuchi Takahiro, born April 17, 1988 in Tokyo) - Vocals. Former NEWS member.
* Toru (山下 亨, Yamashita Tōru, born December 7, 1988 in Osaka) - guitar and some vocals. Former member of the hip-hop dance group, Heads.
* Ryota (小浜 良太, Kohama Ryōta, born September 4, 1989 in Osaka) - bass. Former member of hip-hop dance group, Heads.
* Tomoya (神吉 智也, Kanki Tomoya, born June 27, 1987 in Hyogo) - drums.
Former members
* Alex (鬼澤ｱﾚｸｻﾝﾀﾞ, Alexander Onizawa, born March 19, 1988 in San Francisco) - guitar. Officially left band as of May 2009.
One By One
ONE OK ROCK Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
You wanna see us be nothing, nothing
Where do we belong? We have to stay strong
We are an army of used up freaks
Standing on the battleground, standing on the front
Wow-oh-oh-oh-oh, can't see my way out
Standing on the pinnacle, standing on the sun
One by one we turn our hands to guns
One by one they fall down
Kept down so long sick of living in the middle
If you stand for nothing you'll fall for anything
Our time is now we won't stand down
Wake up, scream out
We are the chosen ones
Standing on the battleground, standing on the front
Wow-oh-oh-oh-oh, can't see my way out
Standing on the pinnacle, standing on the sun
Wow-oh-oh-oh-oh, can't see my way out
One by one we turn our hands to guns
One by one they fall down
One by one they fall down
Standing on the battleground, standing on the front
Wow-oh-oh-oh-oh, can't see my way out
Standing on the pinnacle, standing on the sun
Wow-oh-oh-oh-oh, can't see my way out
One by one we turn our hands to guns
One by one they fall down
One by one they fall down (one by one they fall down) one by one they fall down
One by one they fall down (one by one they fall down) one by one they fall down
The lyrics to One OK Rock's song "One By One" seem to speak to the struggle of feeling lost and disconnected in a society that expects conformity. The opening lines, "Heaven is all gone empty in my arms / You wanna see us be nothing, nothing / Where do we belong? We have to stay strong / We are an army of used up freaks," suggest a search for purpose and belonging, but feeling empty and misunderstood. The chorus, "Standing on the battleground, standing on the front / Wow-oh-oh-oh-oh, can't see my way out / Standing on the pinnacle, standing on the sun / Wow-oh-oh-oh-oh, can't see my way out," continues this theme of feeling stuck and overwhelmed, unable to see a clear path forward.
However, the song also offers a message of empowerment and defiance. The line "Kept down so long sick of living in the middle" speaks to the frustration of being stuck in a status quo, while "Our time is now we won't stand down / Wake up, scream out / We are the chosen ones" suggests a determination to fight back and make a difference. The repeated phrase "One by one we turn our hands to guns / One by one they fall down" could be interpreted as a call to action - not necessarily a literal call to violence, but a rallying cry to take a stand and fight against injustice or oppression.
Overall, "One By One" seems to encapsulate a sense of disillusionment with the state of the world, but also a refusal to give up or give in. It's a powerful anthem for anyone feeling lost or helpless, offering both empathy and motivation to take action.
Line by Line Meaning
Heaven is all gone empty in my arms
I feel empty and lost, as if I've lost everything.
You wanna see us be nothing, nothing
Others want to see us fail and give up completely.
Where do we belong? We have to stay strong
We feel lost and unsure of our place, but we need to stay strong in order to find our way.
We are an army of used up freaks
We may feel broken and disregarded by society, but we are unified in our struggle.
Standing on the battleground, standing on the front
We are at the forefront of a battle or struggle, taking on the challenges head-on.
Wow-oh-oh-oh-oh, can't see my way out
Feeling trapped and uncertain, unable to see a way forward or escape.
One by one we turn our hands to guns
We become stronger and take control of our lives and situations, one step at a time.
One by one they fall down
Our obstacles and challenges fall away as we persevere and overcome them.
Kept down so long sick of living in the middle
We are tired of being held back and feeling like we are just existing with no real progress or growth.
If you stand for nothing you'll fall for anything
It's important to have beliefs and values to guide us, or we'll be easily swayed or defeated.
Our time is now we won't stand down
We are ready to take action and fight for our goals and dreams.
Wake up, scream out
We need to shake off complacency and make our voices heard.
We are the chosen ones
We may have faced difficult situations and obstacles, but we are strong enough to overcome them and succeed.
One by one they fall down (one by one they fall down) one by one they fall down
We will overcome our challenges step by step, until we have conquered each and every one.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: John Feldmann, Taka
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind