BABYMETAL - Metal Resistance Album Review

It's finally here. The long-awaited follow-up to BABYMETAL's self-titled debut is upon us, for better or worse. "Metal Resistance" has been two years in the making and has kept fans anxiously jumping at every small scrap of news. The first single "KARATE" was incredible, and only left us wanting more. When they released the video for "THE ONE", though... It was pretty clear that BABYMETAL's new album would be a completely different experience this time around.

It's clear from the opening track that BABYMETAL is back and better than ever. "Road of Resistance" is a fantastic power metal piece which SCREAMS DragonForce (I only found out later that Herman Li and Sam Totman are actually playing on the song, which is probably why it screams DragonForce). The song was released as a single in 2015 and even featured on some re-releases of BABYMETAL's debut album, so the stylistic shift has clearly been in the works for a while. After a quick refresher of "KARATE", it's time for some new songs.

"Awadama Fever" is actually pretty classic BABYMETAL. It's got the metal flavor but is a heavily electronic song, being the most idol-like thing on the album so far. The chorus is super catchy in true idol form. It's maybe a little TOO similar to songs like "Gimme Choko!!" in a way that makes it hard to differentiate from anything off the first album, but it's catchy and I love it just the same. "YAVA!" is pretty unique and one of the most stand-out tracks on the first half of the album. It's just a little bit of flamenco ska with awesome vocals I can't get enough of. A little later we get "Amore", which has some more DragonForce-esque guitars (though probably not actually DragonForce this time) and even another slight hint of flamenco metal influence. The vocals are great, and I'm sure this would be really good in a live setting. "Meta Taro" is a bit of an odd one, with its childlike melody. It's somewhere between a kids lullaby and a military march. I'm into it, if only for the novelty. It's another one I think would translate much better live. It's actually really catchy too.

At this point listeners may become pretty divided: the Japanese edition of the album features "Syncopation", but the "Out of Japan" edition replaces it with "From Dusk Till Dawn". The version I got comes with the latter track. "From Dusk Till Dawn" has these really soft yet high-pitched vocals on the verses, leading up to an explosive chorus. Still, I can't help but feel the production on this one is a little lacking. About halfway through the song there's a dubstep drop, because... well I don't know why. It adds nothing. Otherwise I do like the song, I'm just feeling extra-critical because they replaced an entire song for this release. I do like that BABYMETAL is taking a slightly different direction here; I'm all for a little bit of variance. "Syncopation", on the other hand, is a fantastic song. It's fast, heavy on the power metal guitars, and the vocals are incredible.

The next couple tracks are easily the heaviest. "GJ!" has these pounding drums and amelodic verses leading up to a cute idol chorus, because this is still BABYMETAL. "Sis. Anger" (a play on St. Anger, because duh) is a pretty heavy song compared to what we've had so far, probably the heaviest on the album. There's not really a sense of "anger" in the vocals, but this is BABYMETAL we're talking about. It's an awesome song either way. A song somebody could die to in the bit when it's played live. So far, the second half of the album is where the real appeal has been for me.

"No Rain, No Rainbow" is a BEAUTIFUL ballad and a great introduction to the "last three tracks" bit of the album where it seems every album this year is putting some of the best songs. "Tales of The Destinies" has a nice mix of styles going for it, and some of the most emotive vocals on the album up to now. It brings some much-needed character to the album. There's just so much going on! I love the solos and the instant changes in tone and tempo. Finally things come to an end with "THE ONE". This song is possibly perfect. The vocals on both the original and English versions are amazing, the composition is beautiful, there's just nothing wrong here. "THE ONE" serves to let you know that BABYMETAL has something really special going for them, even if they occasionally let you forget that with some of the less-memorable songs on this album.

I'm not sure what to say my overall opinion is on "Metal Resistance". There are some incredible songs here. There are some forgettable ones too. I think it sounds like a natural progression for the group, though. Even when things sound a little bit stale, there's a sense of maturity in the vocals and songwriting alike. It's like BABYMETAL is embracing the ability of fans to see them as legitimate artists rather than a meme, and I love that. Even if the structures are similar, there's a lot here to enjoy and there's definitely a sense of progression over what the group was at the time they first reached global fame. I'm hesitant to say it's better than their debut album, but I'm also hesitant to say it's not. I think "Metal Resistance" can stand on its own as an album without comparison to BABYMETAL's previous work. It's more of the same but it's a little bit new as well. It's a collections of strong songs with a couple less strong songs thrown into the mix. It's an enjoyable album, and really what else could you have wanted?

-Justin

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Metal Resistance:

Road of Resistance
KARATE
Awadama Fever
YAVA!
Amore
Meta Taro
Syncopation (Japanese exclusive)
From Dusk 'Til Dawn (Non-Japanese editions)
GJ!
Sis. Anger
No Rain, No Rainbow
Tales of The Destinies
THE ONE

BABYMETAL is:

Suzuka "Su-Metal" Nakamoto
Yui "Yuimetal" Mizuno
Moa "Moametal" Kikuchi

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