BabyMetal - "Metal Resistance"

BabyMetal - Metal Resistance
2016, Amuse

1. Road of Resistance
2. Karate
3. Awadama Fever
4. Yava!
5. Amore
6. Meta Taro
7. From Dusk Til Dawn
8. GJ!
9. Sis. Anger
10. No Rain, No Rainbow
11. Tales of the Destinies
12. The One (English Version)

I was a big fan of BabyMetal's debut because it was just so catchy and weird. I was a little nervous about this one because the first seemed like lightning in a bottle. I wasn't sure they could capture the magic a second time. Metal Resistance finds the band jettisoning some of the oddball things of the past (dub-step, gangsta rap interludes, etc.) and focusing more on metal. This is both good and bad - bad because it's not quite "Kawaii" enough, but good because overall the songs are more mature and more...well...metal. It's not the cute bouncy girls singing cute songs anymore, they are really trying to grow as artists and as a band. That's pretty admirable considering everyone probably thinks of this group as a novelty. They've even folded in some progressive metal tendencies on songs like "Tales of the Destinies." "No Rain, No Rainbow" channels eighties power ballads and sounds like something you'd hear on an anime soundtrack. It's a good album though I'm not sure I like it as much as the first one. It will be interesting to see what they do in the future.

Useless Fact: "The One" as the title says, is sung in English, though the lyrics are definitely by someone whose first language is Japanese.

BabyMetal - "BabyMetal"

BabyMetal - BabyMetal
2013, Toy's Factory

1. BabyMetal Death
2. Megitsune
3. Gimmie Chocolate!!
4. Iine!
5. Akatsuki
6. Doki Doki Morning
7. Onedari Daisakusen
8. Song 4
9. Uki Uki Midnight
10. Catch Me If You Can
11. Rondo of Nightmare
12. Headbangya!!
13. Ijime Dame Zettai

BabyMetal is quite the oddity. It's a mix of Japanese pop and metal. Don't know what Japanese pop sounds like? Well, go to your nearest arcade or Chuck-E-Cheese. Go to the Dance Dance Revolution game. Whatever music you hear pouring out of that cabinet is J-pop. Now put metal with it. You'd think that would be awful but, against all odds, it works. The songs themselves are catchy as heck - and heavy. The people responsible for the music know metal. They know how to write a riff and you can tell that they have been longtime fans of metal just by how quality the music is. The girls singing are well... totes adorbs. Also, the lead singer is fantastic - she's got the chops to handle both the pop aspects and the metal crunch. She's only sixteen (the other girls are twelve, I think), so it will be interesting to see where her career goes from here. This album also qualifies as "instant good mood" music.

Useless Fact: The girls didn't know anything about metal when they were told about the band.