Somewhat of a phenomenon the rise to power of Babymetal is a particularly interesting story. Created from the remains of a talent show, producers brought together a band of sorts comprising of musicians and the three now iconic girls Su-Metal, Yui-Metal and Moametal Releasing their debut saw the band tour the world over, had bigger audiences than most would dream of and seemingly having the backing of some of the most well respected Metal elite. Now we arrive at the heralded Fox Day to join the Metal Resistance.
[tracklist]
- Metal Resistance
- KARATE
- Awadam Fever
- YAVA!
- Amore
- Meta Taro
- From Dusk Till Dawn
- GJ!
- Sis. Anger
- No Rain, No Rainbow
- Tales Of The Destinies
- The One
[/tracklist][details]
[length]54:00[/length]
[record_label]earMusic[/record_label]
[release_date]April 1st 2016[/release_date]
[/details]
Cutting milk teeth with their debut record the band return to reveal their hardened calcium with Metal Resistance. For those who believe Babymetal’s claws may have dulled opener “Metal Resistance” fiercely asserts their presence as one of the most unorthodox Metal acts of the modern day. Featuring the music stylings of many different fantastic instrumentalists to include homegrown Dragonforce masters Herman Li and Sam Totman. Who excellently strut their stuff throughout the record reminding us of just how devastating not only their speed but accuracy can be.
There are some instances that did leave me scratching my metaphorical head, the likes of “Awadama Fever” features an almost Jungle style beat seeing the band’s sound firmly in the industrial spectrum. An interesting idea but sadly falls flat compared to the likes of stadium potential “KARATE”. Where we see Babymetal’s real prowess, song writing come to the fore. Though the sheer amount of experimentation on Metal Resistance is implorable, the ska trance stylings of “YAVA!” lend to an average chorus which just about redeems the track. No doubt the break section will have Babymetalheads banging despite this. Shortly before waltzing into the realms of Folk with “Meta Taro” whilst of course imprinting their signature J-Pop tag sounding slightly like propaganda music.
It doesn’t end there however an almost Bring Me The Horizon sounding interlude of “From Dusk Till Dawn” although sounding perhaps ill fitting somehow compliments what was put before it. Clearly Babymetal’s biggest double edged sword is their eclectic musical nature. Bringing together genres that the more stubborn of Metalhead may disagree with, yet despite this their invention is implorable. The borderline Prog “The One” making for a fittingly epic finisher. The cutesy statement that was their debut album sees Metal Resistance capitalise on the sheer madness and their seemingly limitless songwriting contributions seeing the band return, harder, faster but ultimately better? An album that fans will no doubt enjoy and that has had anorak’s like myself begin to turn around.
[verdict]Maybe[/verdict]
[why]If you were a fan of previous album then take it that Babymetal have had a tune up and have emerged brilliantly. However if you’re not already a fan this might begin to sway you but won’t have you singing along in stadiums.[/why]
