Babymetal

In my musical journey, my recent appetite has taken me to the Far East, to the land of the rising sun, where a surprising scene is emerging, and leading it is a band called Babymetal.The surprising fusion of genres that couldn’t be further on the music spectrum, Babymetal is a mashup of Death metal, pop idol music, and catchy techno beats. Three teenage girls, backed by a tight killer metal band, deliver an experience that leaves you dumbfounded at first, a little scared and questioning everything you thought you knew about the industry.The brainchild of a whacky Japanese music producer, Babymetal is a collaboration of talents. The musicians are exceptional, perfectly executing a wide range of styles and techniques of the metal genres. Loaded with crushing riffs, death-growls, heavy beats, even some sweet shredding the debut’s repertoire never gets predictable. More than that, the girls who front the band effortlessly apply their vocals over the range of styles adding their unlimited energy to an otherwise tired genre. The production on this album is solid, and demands you turn it to eleven.The album is full of surprises, whenever there’s a break in the song you’re never quite sure which way Babymetal is going to take you; whether you’re going to be hit by a fireball of shred, cheesy pop or some clubber’s techpop beat, and it’s that unpredictability that keeps you on the edge of your seat. Just listen to the song ‘line!’ to experience this, only be careful if you’re in public: When driving to the crunchy riffs I often found myself winding my window down to torment the neighbourhood, only to wind it back up again seconds later embarrassed by the sudden U-turn to soft pop from my car. In the Iraq war of 2004, a mix of heavy metal and songs from children's TV shows were used to torture Iraqi POWs, I believe it would have sounded something like this. But still, there’s a lot to like about this album –cheesy parts included- and a lot to be discovered. It was a delight to find the speed shredders Herman Li and Sam Totman of Dragonforce fame lend their writing skills and burn their axes on an epic bonus track ‘Road to Resistance’.Although plain out rejected by some in the metal community, Babymetal is building a strong following and can no longer be ignored or passed off as a gimmick. The metalheads haven’t yet made its mind up about whether this style has a place in the west but personally, whether you like it or not, I think this is as exciting and fresh as metal has been in years.- James

The songs here established Babymetal as genuine players in the rock/metal world, rather than a gimmick act. This debut album must surely by now be approaching 'classic' status? Not a poor track on it - genuinely all killer tracks, no fillers! World class musicianship and vocals throughout with enough pop-hooks here to keep even the casual listeners happy! ('Gimme Chocolate' anyone?). Babymetal have gone on to really take the 'metal' world by storm and long may they reign! Quite simply, a stunning debut.

Right I get it....it's not metal blah blah blah!What it is, is a mix of lots of different genre's of music backed up by heavy guitars and metal sounding riffs with super catchy, high energy and simply fun music. The fact I don't understand a word of it seems to add to the experience for me. This is a very good album, by that I mean there are more good songs than bad ones. I don't even think there are any bad tracks, just some that are not as good as others.If you're capable of dropping the "I'm too heavy for metal" attitude (15 yr old virgins) then you should enjoy this album. It's MENTAL!Top tracks: BabyMetal Death - Song4 - Head Bangeeeeeer - Gimmie Chocolate - Megitsune - Onedari Daisakusen

I have heard about the phenomenom known as Babymetal over the years but it wasn't until purchasing this album did I start appreciating their music. I haven't seen that much of their live performances but that doesn't matter as the music is really good! The heavy metal aspect of this band is as good as other bands out there right now and the cutesy Japanese vocals seem to work with the music and it does form a pleasing listening experience. It's definitely original and unique! If you're into heavy metal music, give this a try...you may be pleasantly surprised like I was!

Japanese Death Metal with a hit single titled Gimme Chocolate?... Hmmm.I bought the album on the weight of seeing 'Gimme Chocolate' performed on a documentary tv program a year or so ago, an interest in Japanese culture, and to fill a metal gap in my CD collection. Not usually my genre but what can I say, despite understanding few words of Japanese many of the songs are almost 'pop' style with a very slick metal backing. The energy that comes through the vocals of the three 'metal' girls, not to mention the rapid-fire technical abilities of the band has to be heard to be believed. Su-metal (credited with Vocals and Dance) has a good strong voice and precise delivery, very ably backed by Yuimetal and Moametal (both credited with performing Scream and Dance).The CD contains a a booklet with lyrics in Japanese and a separate sheet with the Japanese lyrics anglicised, although the pace of most of the songs is such that anyone attempting to 'sing along' (unless a fluent Japanese speaker) would probably struggle to keep up.Surprisingly good fun. Despite being able to understand but a few words, a real bop-along album containing many tunes that a casual buyer could find themselves humming quite easily.It'll be interesting to see if Babymetal becomes another short lived phenomenon or whether the band matures and evolves over the next few years.