BABYMETAL on Rolling Stone about "Metal Resistance" & Tokyo Dome

Rolling Stone Japan released the second part of the interview with BABYMETAL. In the second part the girls talk about in depth about some of the songs of the album like "Meta! Taro", "Road Of Resistance", "GJ!", "Sis.Anger" and "The One". They also talk about Tokyo Dome show in September! Read the interview translated below. 

 

--So far, BABYMETAL’s activities have been at the stage of what you call "the first three chapters of metal resistance” and you have completed them. What’s your intention of releasing an album under the title of yet again “Metal Resistance”?

Su-metal: "We are now about to start the fourth chapter of our metal resistance. Our theme since last year has been, “Walk where no road is in sight.” Based on this, we find something BABYMETAL can do. Namely, it is to unite people beyond the confines of national or linguistic boundaries, with the new music genre called BABYMETAL. Metal music has a lot of powerful sound that can move us, but don’t you think that lyrics used in the genre tend to contain words with negative connotations? Our lyrics are positive and contain powerful messages. I guess this approach is maybe something only BABYMETAL can do. “Metal Resistance” contains our determination to walk along our unique path."

 

--That music video of “KARATE”… the one released the other day, that’s also powerful and positive.

Moametal: "I like this song best in the album. Don’t people say that polite decorum is everything for the practice of karate, or the way of karate? I think this philosophy is most important not only for us in general but also for BABYMETAL. In the new album, we tried quite many types of songs, but this song makes me feel that we three are going to fight challenges together. It’s like, “let’s fight together with the way of BABYMETAL.”

 

--Does the choreography also express the concept?

Moametal: "I think so. Our theme is “A battle against our weaknesses” DDEEAATTHH! We believe that going beyond our limit leads us to a better vantage point, where wonderful scenery awaits us. It’s based on this concept of a battle against ourselves. There is a moment when we three dance together. This is going to be a moment we encourage ourselves when we have gone beyond our limit during a show. When I might be about to give up, this could be the moment when I think, “I can do it.”

 

--What is your favorite song?

Su-metal: "I’d say “Meta Taro.” Well, isn’t it the cutest song in the history of BABYMETAL? lol We three sing during the chorus together, and we haven’t done that before. Their voices, when they overlap my voice, bring more tenderness and softness to the song, adding extra texture to our album. You know, these days more small children come to our shows, and we want to sing with them together. I want to sing to them like I’m an older sister in a music TV program for small kids (click here  for more detail)."

 

--What about you, Yui-san?

Yuimetal: "My favorite is “Road of Resistance.” DDEEAATTHH! It’s already become a staple of our shows. The lyrics fit us perfectly. The sound is cool. Personally I like the choreography too. It’s my favorite. When performing it live at our show, there is a moment when we and our audience sing together, I’d say it’s kind of “call and response,” and that’s when we feel united. We performed it for the first time at the Brixton Academy in London. Since then, we have performed it live many times. It’s full of good memories."

 

--You also have performed “Awadama Fever” live. Did you find anything new about this song when you recorded it in the studio?

Su-metal: "This is related to what Yui has just said, but it’s like we grow our songs together with our audiences. Whenever we perform a new song, we are like, “Oh, the audience is finding the beat like that?” “Oh, this part of the lyrics is moving them.” “They are finding this piece of choreography interesting!” We get a lot of these discoveries, unexpected ones. Our new album contains many words like “chasing a dream” or “taking another step forward,” but this song is one that’s best for dreamers. This sense of floating like bubbles is something we have perfected during our shows. So, when we recorded it in the studio, we were able to exude that atmosphere."

 

 

--Personally, “GJ!” is a memorable song. Have you ever rapped before?

Moametal: "Never this fast. I struggled to keep up with the beat during the recording. Fast rapping, fast dancing. I can’t imagine how audiences will react to the song at all. I’m looking forward."

 

--I’m quite surprised by the lyrics of “Sis. Anger” by Black Babymetal (Laughs)

Yuimetal: "I bet you are  (Laughs) The song expresses the concept of black metal, but it was shocking when we read the lyrics for the first time. It contains expressions we usually don't use, and I was like, “This is scary stuff” (Laughs) I enjoyed working on this song, though. We can only sing this sort of song as Black Babymetal. The straightforward lyrics encourage us. I like it."

 

--The final song of the album is “THE ONE.” Su-metal sings in English beautifully.

Su-metal: "Thank you (Laughs) “The one” means “being united as one.” With the power of music, I want all of us to be united. I tried an English song because fans overseas sing along with me and I thought maybe English songs were easier for them to sing along. Without having experienced world tours, this song for us would not have been written."

 

--You are going to embark on a new world tour. How would you want to do it this time?

Su-metal: "Performing overseas means a different audience reaction at each performance. To me, a world tour is like a boot camp. The same old set list gives rise to a rather different show each time. Recently, I have reached a certain state of mind and now I can enjoy it. Whatever happens, I want to unite our audiences with the power of music. I want to grow our new songs with our audiences. We have a high landmark waiting for us to reach. I want to bring our songs to perfection before we get there."

 

--A high landmark… you mean a performance at Tokyo Dome at the end of your world tour?

Su-metal, Yuimetal, Moametal: "That’s right! What shall we do? (Laughs)"

 

--What do you think? Can you imagine yourselves performing there?

Moametal: "To be honest no lol Well, we’ll get to many places we’ve never been to during the world tour. I want to learn many things there, and build on the experiences for our Tokyo Dome show."

 

Yuimetal: "My head spins just thinking about it, but I want to make it successful. I want to learn many things during the tour. I want BABYMETAL to be a group that suits a Tokyo Dome performance."

 

Su-metal: "Kitsune-Sama’s revelations really surprise me every time. They are always beyond my imagination. They are always too unrealistic for me to even feel worried about them. Every time, I think it won’t work, but somehow it ends up being a success. So, I have this feeling that it’ll work this time too. It’s because we’ve been touring for a long time with this team. With many experiences at the boot camp, which is our world tour, we want to return home and perform at Tokyo Dome in such a way that only BABYMETAL can do it."

 

 

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Interview by: Rolling Stone Japan

Translation by: Bebiimetarudesu

 

Read Rolling Stone Japan with BABYMETAL Part 1, click here. 

Below, Rolling Stone Japan photoshoot with BABYMETAL.