2019 – Babymetal/BMD Fox/Toy’s Factory/Amuse
Album Month - August 2022 Day 15 has materialized, and the feature shall be the incredibly fun and awesome BABYMETAL and their 2019 release, METAL GALAXY.
How did I discover BABYMETAL… *ponders* The exact specifics of how I came to the video are a little hazy, but it was for their song, “Gimme Chocolate!!”. As it began and went on I had no freakin’ clue what I was hearing. It was heavy but… now there are little girls singing? What were they saying?? I was positively floored, and, to my total surprise, I was loving it!! Whatever this was, I was all for it and shared it to Facebook so others could see this bizarre yet really cool thing I found. And then I went down the rabbit hole. Had I had a YouTube reaction channel, I would have recorded it all and gotten a lot of viewers because my reactions had to have been hilarious! As time went by, I loved this mix of metal and J-pop more and more, my favorite of the 3 girls being the adorable Yui Metal (I was so sad when she left the band for health reasons, and I hope she is doing well). I couldn’t get enough of BABYMETAL in that period, learning about the origins and how they went from an idol band to a full fledged real band, the lore… I still love them. I’m enjoying the overall growth of the band, and I am looking forward to seeing where it all goes. I hope to see them live one day as well.
I had heard METAL GALAXY a few times before (the international version, which does NOT include the super interesting and unique “BxMxC” and one other track *sigh*), and certain songs many times, before sitting down to really give it a focused listen for this Album Month feature. I enjoyed it a bit in those early listens, and, honestly, it gets better the more I listen. And that last half (tracks 8-14) is just… *chefs kiss* The songs I adore most all come from that last half, this is true, but the first half is pretty darn great, too! I mean… This whole album stretches out the Kami band in fantastic ways, and the growth in Su-Metal’s lead vocals as well as Moametal’s is evident and wonderful throughout. (And all the guests!) It all just makes me so happy! I could honestly gush about this album like I did Ghost’s latest, IMPERA, at the start of this Album Month, but I will try to restrain myself. Or not…
From the intro of “FUTURE METAL” into the peppy “DA DA DANCE” and to “Elevator Girl”, which has some hella awesome guitar, I must say. And that bass!!! Their bassist, Boh, is fire on this whole album, and “Elevator Girl” one of many tracks where it really shines. BABYMETAL also explore music from around the world throughout various tracks, from India to Ireland, to Latin America, doing a wonderful job blending it all with their signature yet maturing brand of kawaii metal. It’s most obvious in tracks like “Shanti Shanti Shanti” (Indian), “Oh! MAJINAI” (Irish), and “Night Night Burn!” (Latin American). All of them get me bopping about, going Bollywood one moment to Irish jigs the next. Just hard-edged booty shaking, and I’m here for it, yessir. “Brand New Day” is full of great vocals, excellent guitar, an unconventional structure, and great groove over a fluttering underbelly of fantastic bass. A solid track for sure. So far, this album has some great hooks and has definitely caught me.
The Latin feel (although more tribal to me) comes back in when we hit in the awesome nearly instrumental interlude that kicks off the second half: “IN THE NAME OF”. This track is a big stand out to me not just because the ladies aren’t present in it, but because it’s seriously a heavy track that shows how tight the band really is and its incredible musicianship. It sounds like this one was super fun to record, and they must have a blast playing it live. I just love it! (Seriously… Kudos!) “Distortion” was the first single, and I was floored at first listen. I love it as much now as before, with the awesomely heavy intro and fantastic drums (the drums on this entire album are wonderful, honestly). It’s damn catchy, like most BABYMETAL tracks, and feels oddly hopeful to me. “Distortion” leads perfectly into “PA PA YA!!”, which brings back some of the tribal feel with some great driving beats and guitars while setting up for “Kagerou”, one of the best of the more poppy tracks on the second half (in my humble opinion). It’s so damn catchy with that heavy driving underbelly… Such a fine track.
And then we reach the ‘trilogy of lights’, “Starlight”, “Shine”, and “Arkadia”. What a way to end an album! I adored “Starlight” when the single first came out, and it still can make me cry like it did then. There is some incredibly heavy bass in bits on this track, and the music is fantastic, but it’s those vocals... A chorus of angels and lovely lead vocals just make this track for me. I feel like these songs (especially “Starlight” and “Shine”), although likely part of the lore/story narrative, are a tribute to former Kami band member, guitarist Mikio Fujioka, who passed away from injuries resulting from a fall in 2018. “Startlight” into “Shine” just feels so heartfelt and hopeful that it’s hard to not feel it in my heart, even if I can’t understand most of what is being sung. Su’s vocal seems to hold so much emotion in the biggest vocal parts of “Shine”, which is truly a gorgeous song, the angelic backing chorus carrying it through into the last track. “Arkadia” is really a fantastic way to end an album. Truly. The drums are incredible, the bass is stellar, AND THOSE DUAL GUITARS!! Thanks to my childhood musical listenings, I am a complete sucker for dual guitars, playing harmoniously over an amazing rhythm section. This song has it in spades, each playing so gorgeously off of each other. It just enhances the epic feel of the song and its big chorus and sound, lifting it up and up into the Metal Galaxy. *applause*
As you can tell, I am in adoration of METAL GALAXY. Like I said, the more I listen, the more I love it. I think it’s so much fun and rather exciting to watch these young women and their Kami army grow as a band, and I feel they just get better and better. I know BABYMETAL may not be everyone’s thing, but, as is obvious, it’s definitely mine. I feel it takes an open musical mind to allow things like this to catch, and, for some, that may happen years from now while for others it may never catch at all. And that’s okay. Music, like all art, is a subjective thing (which is why awards for it are strange things, truth be told), and there is so much out there for everyone to enjoy. I, for one, am glad BABYMETAL became a thing. I love being part of the fun, and I hope the story continues for a very long time.
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