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Babymetal - Metal Resistance review



Reviewer:
9.0

175 users:
6.35
Band: Babymetal
Album: Metal Resistance
Release date: April 2016


01. Road Of Resistance
02. Karate
03. あわだまフィーバー
04. ヤバッ!
05. Amore -蒼星-
06. メタ太郎
07. シンコペーション
08. GJ!
09. Sis. Anger
10. No Rain, No Rainbow
11. Tales Of The Destinies
12. The One

Is it possible to review a band like this without becoming mired interminably in the comically astronomical depths of controversy that dog any and all assessments of them? No, I suppose it isn't. Babymetal are not reviled - they are super infinity-plus-one polarizing to a degree that defies precedent, enough to make dimethyl sulfoxide look like hexane. But now that we've acknowledged as much, let's discuss this album like adults, shall we?

I'll admit that when I first heard "Karate" I laughed like a maniac for the entire four minutes and 25 seconds - not out of derision, but because I could actually feel the fabric of reality tearing itself to shreds around my very being, and in spite of myself I couldn't stop listening to the song. As if Babymetal's very existence weren't cognitively dissonant enough, the psychonauts brought djent into the picture - and, more than that, thrashy djent. Many observers balk at the prospect of crediting Babymetal with anything remotely positive, but Babymetal have a tendency towards cross-genre experimentation that, though more the result of faceless songwriters than an artistic vision of the band itself, nonetheless keeps their albums alive and engaging in unexpected ways.

With the debut behind them as a solid proof-of-concept, Babymetal push themselves into heavier, faster, and more expansive territory on Metal Resistance. The J-pop and metal aspects feel much more complementary and better-integrated this time around; in addition, Su-metal, Moametal, and Yuimetal have become not only much stronger vocalists, but also more comfortable with their unusual mélange of styles. Overall, Metal Resistance boasts catchier, more consistent songwriting than its predecessor, and when paired with bolder performances and a more focused sense of direction, these songs take metal to its most unapologetically melodic fringes. Some of those who derided Babymetal may find Metal Resistance a lot more palatable due to the maturation of sound.

Anyone who can stomach DragonForce should have no objections to the opener, "Road Of Resistance," previously released as a collaboration with Herman Li and Sam Totman of said epic power-slingers; "Road Of Resistance" perfectly mirrors DragonForce at every turn, with the ironic twist that these three teenage Japanese girls have deeper voices than both of DragonForce's vocalists. "Amore" continues in the same lightning-power vein, while "GJ" echoes the fantastic djent of "Karate." The vaguely atmospheric djentronica of "From Dusk Till Dawn" desperately demands some explanation, but the song succeeds to a much greater degree than it should. "Meta Taro" sounds like a cross between Viking Sabaton and a First World War marching song; "Tales Of The Destinies" employs nonstandard time signatures and dueling keyboards and guitars to effectively capture the sound of anime-soundtrack- Haken (with some occasional Gloryhammer-ing splashed in for good measure).

I have to exercise an exorbitant degree of self-restraint so as not to detail the entire album song-by-song, but each individual work has its own personality and reflects another subgenre of metal that no one would have expected to hear in such an ineffable context. I hear Slipknot, Dream Theater, Gojira, and others inexplicably reflected here. Babymetal was a novelty - a highly enjoyable novelty, but a novelty nonetheless; Metal Resistance is a much more serious work, and a much more successful one. I certainly never thought in a million years that I'd ever say that the new Babymetal is better than the new Amon Amarth, much less that the new Babymetal is currently my album of the year, but this is the world we live in now.


Rating breakdown
Performance: 10
Songwriting: 9
Originality: 10
Production: 8





Written on 01.04.2016 by I'm the reviewer, and that means my opinion is correct.


Comments page 2 / 4

Comments: 120   Visited by: 942 users
01.04.2016 - 20:27
Rating: 8
PocketMetal

Yeah honestly I think this album is pretty fun. Gets a bit boring towards the end but otherwise it's solid. Already heard a ton of this kinda vocals in anime soundtracks, so I don't have difficulty listening to it.
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01.04.2016 - 22:27
qlacs
"The Quaker"
SSUS you are ballsy.
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02.04.2016 - 00:37
Kub

Yep, the album is pretty good. I also love how it makes all the "real" metalheads angry. Hard to accept the postmodern world, huh.
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02.04.2016 - 00:53
Rating: 8
Spawdophonik

Holy shiz this album's cool as F. Fuckin drum and bass on track 3 blew my mind.
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02.04.2016 - 01:19
SoUnDs LiKe PoP

I am literally bathing in the tears of all the raging angry metalheads in here.

Literally.
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I lift weights and listen to metal
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02.04.2016 - 02:07
Fearmeister
Account deleted
No robes or wizard hats


0/10 not kvlt enough

Seriously though, I had Karate stuck in my head all day. Fucking love this band
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02.04.2016 - 18:08
Rating: 10
Andrew_Deer
None,really
It's kinda funny how Babymetal started as a band on blacklist here... lol
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02.04.2016 - 18:36
Vittra

Written by SoUnDs LiKe PoP on 02.04.2016 at 01:19

I am literally bathing in the tears of all the raging angry metalheads in here.

Literally.


No one is angry in here, just saying that the music sucks. This is a very pointless discussion though
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02.04.2016 - 18:41
Rating: 9
Karlabos
Meat and Potatos
No one needs to chill down, then.
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"Aah! The cat turned into a cat!"
- Reimu Hakurei
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02.04.2016 - 18:52
musclassia

Written by SoUnDs LiKe PoP on 02.04.2016 at 01:19

I am literally bathing in the tears of all the raging angry metalheads in here.

Literally.


What tears? No-one has responded to this review in a butthurt, offended or angry manner - a couple of people have been negative about the album but that's hardly surprising (haven't heard the album but the previous stuff I heard from them was pretty rubbish, as was when I saw them live). 3 people commented on here about all the butthurt raging metalheads getting offended by this review. Which one do people think contributes more to discussion?
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02.04.2016 - 19:25
Belegûr
Arise In Might!
Written by SoUnDs LiKe PoP on 02.04.2016 at 01:19

I am literally bathing in the tears of all the raging angry metalheads in here.

Literally.


Literally? No you're not
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02.04.2016 - 23:51
Rating: 8
CoolNameGuy91

I wouldn't give it a 9, but this doesn't have to be a joke. I didn't care for their earlier stuff, though it takes a special kind of elitism to hate them like people did. However, a lot of the music contained in this album ranges from good to bouts of outstanding. The vocals work surprisingly well in many parts, though sometimes it can take away from the music, and some songs definitely stand out more than others. Overall it's a damn good Metal album that happens to have an Asian girl singing similarly to an Anime theme song over it, which as an Anime fan, is really awesome when it works and I'm in the right mood.
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03.04.2016 - 00:09
Rating: 5
Diverge

Great review. I don't have significant difficulties listening to this, but the album bores me at nearly every turn.
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03.04.2016 - 02:52
MyStErIa

What kind of messed up world are we living in when BabyMetal gets 9.0 & Moonsorrow gets 8.8 Are you fucking kidding me, it better be an April Fools joke
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03.04.2016 - 06:33
SoUnDs LiKe PoP

Written by musclassia on 02.04.2016 at 18:52

Written by SoUnDs LiKe PoP on 02.04.2016 at 01:19

I am literally bathing in the tears of all the raging angry metalheads in here.

Literally.


What tears? No-one has responded to this review in a butthurt, offended or angry manner - a couple of people have been negative about the album but that's hardly surprising (haven't heard the album but the previous stuff I heard from them was pretty rubbish, as was when I saw them live). 3 people commented on here about all the butthurt raging metalheads getting offended by this review. Which one do people think contributes more to discussion?


Bathing in your tears as I read this. And the guy who posted above me.
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I lift weights and listen to metal
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03.04.2016 - 18:46
RobRadcliffe
Account deleted
9/10 to that shit? Are you fuckin' insane?
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03.04.2016 - 22:15
Rating: 8
FYA
Destroyer
Written by Guest on 03.04.2016 at 18:46

9/10 to that shit? Are you fuckin' insane?



This is the essence of thoose "to trve to be regular metalhead". Guys, wtf is wrong with you? xD
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04.04.2016 - 00:06
cossaisVendeurs

To be fair, the parts in Road to Resistance where Dragonnonce aren't doing their generic guitar wanking is actually quite good.
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04.04.2016 - 22:03
blackmamba

You really outdid yourselves with this one Metal Storm, you really did. You know? the biggest Aprils fool joke was a friend of mine telling me Metal Storm was a serious Metal site. That was hilarious.
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04.04.2016 - 22:11
Zap
Guest
What was that about no one in this thread being butthurt?
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04.04.2016 - 23:09
Vombatus
Potorro
Written by Zap on 04.04.2016 at 22:11

What was that about no one in this thread being butthurt?


He didn't seem too butthurt
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05.04.2016 - 01:23
no one
Account deleted
Written by Zap on 04.04.2016 at 22:11

What was that about no one in this thread being butthurt?

I gotta change my name
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05.04.2016 - 02:45
Jaeryd
Nihil's Maw
Still can't tell if this is an April Fools joke or not. I really don't care much about Baby Metal one way or the other. From what I've heard of it, their music is okay-ish, though not something I'd willfully listen to all that often. Still, never expected to see one of their albums get a 9.0 review on Metalstorm. Kind of surreal, actually.
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05.04.2016 - 09:32
Daniell
_爱情_
Written by Jaeryd on 05.04.2016 at 02:45

From what I've heard of it, their music is okay-ish, though not something I'd willfully listen to all that often.

So you are wondering about the rating of an album by a band you haven't listened to? On what grounds?
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05.04.2016 - 13:15
M C Vice
ex-polydactyl
(radio station) Triple J's played them the last 2 days, so I guess they appeal to the hipster crowd. Could definitly hear Li and Totman in Road Of Resistance (they played that one today). Karate (the other one they played, yesterday) sounds a bit like something Blood Stain Child might do these days.
----
"Another day, another Doug."
"I'll fight you on one condition. That you lower your nipples."
" 'Tis a lie! Thy backside is whole and ungobbled, thou ungrateful whelp!"
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05.04.2016 - 13:18
Marcel Hubregtse
Grumpy Old Fuck
Written by Daniell on 05.04.2016 at 09:32

Written by Jaeryd on 05.04.2016 at 02:45

From what I've heard of it, their music is okay-ish, though not something I'd willfully listen to all that often.

So you are wondering about the rating of an album by a band you haven't listened to? On what grounds?


He doesn't say he hasn't listened to the album.
He says he would not listen to it willfully, all that often.
----
Member of the true crusade against European Flower Metal

Yesterday is dead and gone, tomorrow is out of sight
Dawn Crosby (r.i.p.)
05.04.1963 - 15.12.1996

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05.04.2016 - 15:26
Daniell
_爱情_
Written by Marcel Hubregtse on 05.04.2016 at 13:18

He doesn't say he hasn't listened to the album.
He says he would not listen to it willfully, all that often.

From what I've heard of it
You'll probably agree that this part of his post is ambiguous
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05.04.2016 - 16:03
Marcel Hubregtse
Grumpy Old Fuck
Written by Daniell on 05.04.2016 at 15:26

Written by Marcel Hubregtse on 05.04.2016 at 13:18

He doesn't say he hasn't listened to the album.
He says he would not listen to it willfully, all that often.

From what I've heard of it
You'll probably agree that this part of his post is ambiguous



Apparently he has heard parts of it
But he is right though about Babymetal's music
----
Member of the true crusade against European Flower Metal

Yesterday is dead and gone, tomorrow is out of sight
Dawn Crosby (r.i.p.)
05.04.1963 - 15.12.1996

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05.04.2016 - 17:19
mariano

I listened a few songs and well... the music is some times quite elaborated and heavy, but then it's really difficult to take it seriously with those "Sailor Moon" vocals

Not my coup of tea
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05.04.2016 - 19:14
Jaeryd
Nihil's Maw
Written by Daniell on 05.04.2016 at 09:32

So you are wondering about the rating of an album by a band you haven't listened to? On what grounds?

You'll note that I said nothing about how good or bad the album is. I've never claimed to know the band very well, though I've heard a few songs from the first album and one or two from the newest one (my daughter really likes them, actually). To quote part of what I said

Quote:
...never expected to see one of their albums get a 9.0 review on Metalstorm.


As you can see, I was simply remarking on how surprised I was to see a 9.0 review for this band on Metalstorm, since it's something I never thought would happen. With all the hate and controversy, I expected most Metalstorm people to be elitist and give it a 3.0 rating, or even if they were more open-minded, give their stuff a 7.0 rating at most. Remember, this is simple expectation, and not exactly what I think the album deserves (since I haven't listened to it, I wouldn't know). Doesn't mean I'm saying the album is good or bad, nor am I saying that the rating should necessarily be lower--I'm just surprised.

I find it funny that, rather than being upset at someone hating on their favorite band, people on Metalstorm are now upset because someone is surprised about a rating and has a neutral opinion about a band. Yet another thing I didn't expect to see happen.

Anyway, I'm not really a hater. If anything, this rating has just made me curious enough to maybe listen to the album for myself to see whether or not there's any merit to this review.
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