"Metal Resistance" was released on April 1, FOX DAY, and on March 29 in Japan. Three members of our Facebook Group, two of them Collaborators on Newswire share their impressions of the new album 2 weeks after its release. Hitoshi from Japan, Andrew from England and Daniel from Mexico. Read their reviews below, please share your thoughts in the comments section!
Fan Review: New BABYMETAL Album "Metal Resistance"
Hitoshi Sugioka from Tokyo, Japan. Newswire's translator.
How was your impression the time you listened the first Album? As old school fan since late 2012 I had the chance to process their music in a different level since the songs were released as Singles and Lives, so actually when the debut album was released only 2 songs were new for most of the old school fans. This time with "Metal Resistance" released on April 1 for most of the fans and March 29 for me and the rest of the fans in Japan was a little bit different. This time we listened a few songs but not most of the songs of the album. At the moment of the release "Road Of Resistance", "KARATE", "Awadama Fever", "Yava!" (as Chigau) and "The One" were already in my mind. But there is a number of new songs never heard.
Road Of Resistance: This is the opening song, it's correct to include a song released a year ago as part of the debut album overseas? In my opinion "NO", but considering the theme of this album and World Tour, is just perfect because the Album opens and ends with with the same feeling.
KARATE: It's not my favorite song, but I really think is the best option to be selected as Single. The song touch different edges, has metal parts, pop parts, melodic parts, something of this song will catch your attention. My favorite part is the chorus, has a very good vibe and sonic power, power of will.
Awadama Fever: Is obviously the criminal intent from Koba to resemble "Gimme Chocolate", and with pain in my heart, they fail. The song is really catch and beautiful, but is very far from "Gimme Chocolate". It's just a very friendly song to new fans but there is a lack of intensity, guitar solos and a clear abuse of electronics. If they wanted to create a new Gimme Choko, wasn't a good choice, but at the end of the day the song is very good and very fun, it's Kawaii. The very little Kawaii of this album.
YAVA!: This is probably the oldest after RoR. There are several changes from the live version at Makuhari in 2015. Another song full of electronic parts but this time are smartly used and not abused. The Punk-Ska side of BABYMETAL is new to all, and sounds perfect, one of the best of the album.
Amore: First Su-Metal solo. It's this the best song of the album? Probably yes, but will never get the attention of fans or media. This is a great musical effort. The virtuoso sound from guitars at the best level plus the speed metal from the drums and the incredible bass solo makes it already the best song of the Album so far. Please don't forget that Su-Metal san is singing this song with all sentiments, the lyrics are beautiful too. It's Amore the best song of the album?
META! Taro: I never went overseas, but this song delivers my mind to North of Europe, feeling like a Viking drinking huge cups of beer, hitting the table "I want more beer!!" (Laughs). It's strange that BABYMETAL makes you feel like a Viking, but in a good way, I don't want to behead people or bring fish to my community. But I want to follow the band through the world with BABYMETAL flags in the air showing our "Metal Resistance". This song is beautiful, and obviously mentalized to get younger fans.
Syncopation: It's this now the best song of the album? It's better than Amore? This is another song that will never get the attention from fans or media. Syncopation is probably the song will be only played in Japan, and thanks Kitsune Sama for this, this song is incredible. I was talking with Maik (the editor in Newswire) and he said something that to me makes sense "This song sounds like a future Su-Metal project as solo artist". Makes sense, this song has null participation from Yuimetal or Moametal, there are a few backing vocals but is almost a solo song, they are totally secondary in Syncopation. It's not heavy, but it's not pop, it's the mix of what Su-Metal likes from metal/rock music. Beautiful song.
GJ!: First Black Babymetal song, a resemblance to Onedari Daisakusen but heavier, stronger, faster and better. The riff is great, the rhythm of the drums followed by rapping of the girls is perfect. Surpassed Onedari with honors.
Sis.Anger: If 4no Uta had a "Metallica" riff, this is obviously another reference to Metallica. But that's all, the music is obviously different to Metallica, it's heavier and faster. Lars Ulrich could die playing this (Laughs) but thankfully Hideki Aoyama is healthy to play it. The lyrics are funny but I can't feel the song as I was expecting. I'm not saying the song is bad, no, but it's too heavy to be a tribute of Metallica. I can't wait to headbang live with this one.
No Rain, No Rainbow: Finally this song has a Studio recording. I had the chance to see its debut at NHK Hall in 2013, cried, also cried at Budokan, cried listening the song on March 29 and I will cry this year when they play it again live. Thank you for adding this song to the new album!! Thank you Su-Metal for singing with your feelings again.
Tales Of The Destinies: E!? That is my review of the song (Laughs). Sadly I'm not in conditions to review this song since I never heard something like this. People says "Dream Theater", I don't know. It's not my style of music but I will search in order to learn more of this genre thanks to BABYMETAL. I really like the song and its vertigo, the crazy change of genres, music, rhythms, even vocals, the piano in the middle is great.
THE ONE: To be a closing song is perfect, but I feel with honesty that this song is very far to reach the level of "Ijime, Dame, Zettai" as anthem. Has the message they want to spread, but it's not a message that would help you to overcome from problems, the meaning is limited to BABYMETAL. I also think that Su-Metal singing in English is beautiful but I'm very scare about the future for the same reason, what if they start to sing more and more in this foreing language? I honestly say that I don't listen the English version, and the Japanese Version is more English than Japanese. I love the song, please don't misunderstand, but is very far from "IDZ", even far from the opening track. Like the vocals not very the lyrics, like the intention not the final score. Somehow I feel the song was written to be played at Wembley, having us watching them in a screen. It's true we enjoyed but watching in a screen as many other fans in the world, like a good friend of me from other continent. Going back to the beginning of the review. THE ONE should be the opening song in place of Road Of Resistance, and another song more deep in lyrics should be the closing song.
Summary:
The album features awesome tracks, all of them, aside my critics from my sentiments and taste in music, the songs are over the top compared with most of the Japanese artists of this era and probably over most of the artist overseas. My critics are coming from a fan who had the chance to listen an incredible Debut Album, followed by a mature effort called "Metal Resistance". It's not better, it's not worse, it's different, I like that. My favorites are: "YAVA!", "Amore", "META! Taro", "Syncopation" and "GJ!"
Andrew Goodhew from Margate, Kent, England.
Well after a week in and Babymetal's Metal Resistance has taken over the UK by storm with a spot at No15 in the UK Album Chart the highest for a Japanese band ever and sold out UK show at Wembley Arena the day after the album was realised. Here is my review on Metal Resistance:
1.Road of Resistance
I remember this all to well when the 1st time it was played at Brixton back in 2014 and was 1 of the re-releases on their debut album.
Its the 1st track off of Metal Resistance is a crowd favourite. When you hear it 1st you can hear Dragonforce Herman Li and Sam Totman doing what they do best with their power metal elements and very quick, I always get goosebumps when it comes to the 'Whoa' chants in the song and what a great way to start off the album.
2. Karate
The 1st single released back in February for the album and it sounds huge. with the Nu Metal sound with the good old Karate moves that appear on the video and its great all with the crowd getting into it at live shows
3. Awadama Fever
To put it this with this song it reminds of Gimme Choco of Metal Resistance as its all album bubble gum in the song and very catchy with the chorus with plenty of drum 'n bass at 1st then the metal kicks.
4. YAVA!
Great track again with plenty of Ska in the mists of this song and catchy again with a great metal breakdown in the middle of the song too.
5. Amore
Here is the 1st of Su-Metal's solo of this album and it packs a punch as soon you hear, the Dragonforce-ques style power metal at the start and its 1 of my favourites of this album and a really great bass riff in the middle to boot and its great and technical at the same time.
6. Meta! Taro
Another very catchy begining and chorus with crowd singing and has plenty of folk metal in this a great battle cry in the middle. Also I found in the guitar riffs not only Amon Amarth but also some Symphonic Metal Within Temptation style sound in this too. Great for a live show too.
7. From Dusk Till Dawn
In my opinion a very instrumental track to be honest, yes you can hear Su-metal in this is majority is really instrumental. Plenty of electronica going on this as I can sense not only Skrillex feel to it but its more of Bring Me The Horizon feel to it from Bring Back My Heart feel into this song but another 1 of my favorite tracks.
8. GJ!
Here we go, its Black Babymetal time with this and I have been hearing that it means Good Job! another awesome track and very Nu Metal too in this and a catchy moment with the 'Motto' chants that go on in this.A track to hear too
9. Sis. Anger
Quite alot of Death Metal in this and the last of Black Babymetal in this and it pretty damn rocks, thats all I can think of in this, sorry.
10. No Rain No Rainbow
The last of the Su-Metal solo and a great power ballad in this too. A unreleased track when the debut came out and I am happy that this is in the album. A great emotional track too but in a great way with a great piano moments in the song too.
11. Tales Of The Destinies
This has a great Dream Theatre feel to this if you like Progressive Metal and it works great with plenty of technicabilities in this with the guitar work. This song is a great intro to the last song called The One of the album to this too.
12. The One (English Version)
The climax of the album and this is my number 1 favorite song of the album. Its great that the song is sung in English by the girls and plenty of Progressive Metal in this too. This song is mainly about them and the fans coming together no matter what music you listen too you are united as 1 which a great track too. its great for a live show and sometimes makes me all teary eyed too in the process.
This album blew my expectations away and its heavier than their debut and I am giving it a 9 out of 10
Daniel Fuentes from Mexico City, Mexico. Newswire's collaborator, part of Babymetal Fans Mexico
While 2 years are a rather standard waiting time for most bands, this short period seemed almost eternal to most of their fans, especially those who became accustomed to the almost regular string of singles that preceded (and later composed) their first album.
While the benefits of waiting are clearly a better, more dedicated composition period, for such a shockingly original band as BABYMETAL this can usually lead to unrealistic expectations, which turn into disappointment from fans when the product is finally released. Add to that the unlikely mix of genres the band manages and what you have is an almost certain mediocre reception from fans and critics alike.
It is because of this that ‘Metal Resistance’s final execution is so intriguing to me. The album manages to deliver every expectation people could have had about it. The album continues the path of combining impossible genres in unbelievable sequences without actually sounding like a copycat of its predecessor. From Power Metal, Djent, Nü Metal and a touch of Folk/Viking Metal, to remnants of 80’s power ballads and Kiss-styled stadium pop operas, all of them mixed with undeniably Idol/Jpop tunes.
I will not bore you with a detailed analysis of each song, which you can probably find anywhere else anyway. The album as a whole works in the same mysterious
way one expects from BABYMETAL, except this time the whole thing sounds much tighter that the first album. For those who are fans of the band, the first 4 songs had previously
been released in some way or another, so for many of the fans the new album officially starts with “Amore”. However, the first arc of the album are four single-worthy songs that carry the spirit
of what we are most accustomed abut Babymetal. Starting with “Amore”, ‘Metal Resistance’ deeps dive into its essence with more mature, experimental and crazy
tunes that go all over the place through every genre possible. While most of the tracks are heavily focused on Su-metal’s voice, Yui and Moa
have great opportunities to shine in songs like ‘Meta Taro’ and their own Black Babymetal songs ‘GJ!’ and ‘Sis Anger’. These 3 tunes are the liveliest of the album and really
help shape the whole composition to a less serious tone without compromising the complexity of the whole. While the power ballad “No Rain No Rainbow” feels a little bit
anticlimactic after the heaviest song of the album, it really helps shape up the final arc of the album, becoming a somewhat weird yet functional transition from the most classically
Babymetal side of the album to the more serious, experimental ending of it.
The tone of the album feels much more mature than the first one, surpassing it in technicality, production, depth and structure, as this feels more like an actual presentation album that the
“Greatest Hits” feel of the first production. The album has also seems to have been engineered to be played live, and probably many of the chants and tunes in it will fill
Babymetal concerts for years to come.
As I mentioned at the start of the article, expectations for this album were almost unreachably high, and yet it has managed to please both critics and fans alike, while giving detractors of the band even less reasons to question the ‘trueness’ of the Babymetal project. Under these conditions, ‘Metal Resistance’ could have only been a complete failure or a massive success, and it seems everything points to the latter, and probably we will only be able to appreciate the real magnitude of its quality as years go by.
‘Metal Resistance’ solidness makes it stand as one serious competitor for best metal album of the year and it is already becoming a new favorite for many new and seasoned fans. It is difficult to know if after this there will be any room in the idol world for Babymetal after this, but they for sure have earned their place in heavy metal, kawaii metal or not.
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Anonymous (Monday, 18 April 2016 06:23)
The BMTH song is Can you feel my heart?, please fix it.