Fifteen years ago today, ONE OK ROCK’s “Answer Is Near” premiered on YouTube via A-Sketch Music Label — and though it didn’t cause a global explosion overnight, it marked a turning point few noticed at the time.
Coming off the raw intensity of earlier singles, “Answer Is Near” felt like a shift. Not in energy — that was still there, bleeding through every chorus — but in direction. This wasn’t just a band chasing catharsis anymore. This was a band beginning to shape a global sound.
Taka’s vocal control was sharper, the songwriting tighter, and the emotional weight more personal. Beneath the driving riffs and soaring hooks was a subtle shift in message — less about fighting, more about confronting. Less rebellion, more reckoning.
The music video leaned into simplicity — black-and-white visuals, shadow play, close-ups — but what fans didn’t know at the time was that the concept almost got scrapped. According to a now-deleted interview, a second version of the video was shot and shelved last-minute. Rumour has it, that alternate cut featured unseen early tour footage and a message that was too personal to release.
To this day, that alternate video has never surfaced. But “Answer Is Near” remains a fan favourite not just for what it said — but for what it hinted at. It was the moment ONE OK ROCK stopped being just a Japanese rock band and started quietly mapping their global future.
And if you listen closely — really listen — you can hear the sound of a band about to break the ceiling.