What would happen if the worlds of J-Pop and metal fused? It may be a question no one asked, but producer Kobametal’s Babymetal have the answer. They are a trio comprised of three singers and dancers Su-Metal, Yuimetal and Moametal, all in their mid-late teens. It’s all too easy to dismiss Babymetal, but kind words from Slash and Lady Gaga, main stage slots at Sonisphere, Reading & Leeds Festivals and over 25 million YouTube views for viral hit ‘Gimme Chocolate!!’ make an impressive CV that suggests a memorable album is inevitable. But for all the right reasons?
Opener ‘BABYMETAL DEATH’ has an ambient choral intro followed by repeated chants of the song title over a standard metal riff. Some brief interjections from the girls aside, it is a fairly ordinary metal album opener. It’s not until ‘Megitsune’ that Babymetal reaches its full crossover potential with Japanese lyrics and instrumentation alongside guitar, bass and drums. First single ‘Gimme Chocolate!!’ is a fast-paced track with chanted and sung vocal hooks that gets into the very unique swing of the album. ‘Iine’s hints of hip hop are an interesting addition of style to the Babymetal melting pot, even though Japanese rapping into metal riffs may be the point where it seems like they’re trying to do a bit too much with one song. ‘Akatsuki’ seems to strike a more comfortable balance between Babymetal’s two primary styles. ‘Doki Doki ☆ Morning’ has a disco beat that gives an almost industrial feel to a song quickly shifting between upbeat and downbeat while ‘Onedari Daisakusen’ contains some acapella, spoken moments and Limp Bizkit samples.
‘Song 4’s reggae influences, chants and “boing” noises is perhaps the album’s weirdest moment yet; you’d imagine if Blur had released it in ‘Song 2’s place, Britpop would have been a very different musical period indeed. ‘Uki Uki ★ Midnight’ (note the attention to detail on the black star) is stylistically similar to the previous star track, while the final tracks, including Herman Li and Sam Totman (Dragonforce guitarists) collaboration ‘Road of Resistance’ may not take any drastic risks like seen earlier, but they continue the Babymetal sound on from before. It certainly takes some getting used to.
Your enjoyment of ‘Babymetal’ will largely depend on your approach to them. It’s certainly going to alienate a good section of music fans. But if you’re reading this and don’t feel like avoiding the album at all costs, then it’s certainly worth a try.
ALEC EVANS