Poll: Babymetal

[mitchell271]

Considering that we're all a bunch of nerds here, a lot of us are metalheads and a good chunk of us also watch anime or listen to JPop, I have to ask everyone, what do you think of the band Babymetal? For the uninitiated, they're a metal band made of 3 teenage girls that are also Japanese models/idols and they make something they coined as "kawaii metal". Yes, this is a real thing.

Here are a few songs to show what kind of stuff they do.

Spoiler: Give Me Choco!! (also my favourite)

Spoiler: Megistune

Spoiler: Head Bangya!!

If you can't tell, I really like them! I heard of them a couple of months ago but they never really grabbed my attention. Now that I've actually listened to a couple of songs, I'm completely hooked. Hell, I already bought their album on iTunes and it was only released today. And now it's top of the Canadian iTunes metal chart! HOLY SHIT

EDIT: If you're worried about their metal "credibility", here's some footage of them playing with Chthonic, the Taiwanese symphonic death/black metal band. [sub][sub][sub]It's a good video, even though I originally watched it because of Chthonic's bassist...[/sub][/sub][/sub]

Spoiler: Chthonic and Babymetal

 

[Elfgore]

Besides some spectacular dancing going on, it's alright. High-pitch Japanese women and music that sounds like death metal just don't go well together. The chorus for the first song was really awesome though.

 

[Queen Michael]

Never been a fan of metal, but I like the choreography and dancing well enough.

 

[Kenbo Slice]

And I don't like it. I mean, it's cool if you do, but it just isn't for me.

 

[BathorysGraveland2]

Pretty fucking terrible by my reckoning. Absolutely bog-standard boring riffs with a generic, lifeless tone and the vocals were... yeah, not my thing at all, though they're probably good as far as pop goes. It seems the band is more about it's live performance than the music, which is something I can't really respect.

As far as metal is concerned, if your riffs aren't good, something is wrong. Very, terribly wrong.

 

[Weaver]

Ehhhhh. I'd probably rather just listen to Maximum the Hormone because they're actually a band. I kind of like it for what it is I suppose, but it sounds just a little too "overproduced".

I don't generally like pop music because the people who actually make and play the music are shoved into the background in the dark, while the icons who are singing auto-tuned, pre-recorded voices get all the fame for being pretty. I realize this isn't a thing isolated to Japan, but it's one reason I don't really dig this.

That said, it's an alright idea but I feel "Chū Chū Lovely Muni Muni Mura Mura Purin Purin Boron Nururu Rerorero" (yes, that's the full name of the song) did it better.

Tangentially: I despise that "choreographed idol dancing" that Japan pours out. I think it looks really stupid. There is WAY Too much emphasis on bizarre arm movements and not enough legwork. If your legs are basically glued to the floor, you're not dancing. If you're going to dance, dance; don't be a cheerleader about it. I feel like the average raver around here can bust out better moves.

 

[MysticSlayer]

Couldn't stand the first song, especially after the vocals started. The third song showed promise, but it wasn't long before it fell apart. The second song was sort of OK, but I still couldn't finish it. I mean, I've certainly heard worse than that, but they just don't really seem to be that good to me. It really just feels like a bad marketing ploy.

 

[prowll]

Absolutely LOVED it until I turned my speakers on.

 

[Dirty Hipsters]

Um...yeah, so that was a thing.

I only listened to the first song, but yeah, really didn't like it much.

The music isn't great, it just sounds really generic. The vocals are a total mess. It really sounds like someone took some random japanese pop song and superimposed it over a really generic metal track. The two just don't flow together, and the high pitched voices of the girls really don't complement the music whatsoever.

It's one of those things that I probably would have actually liked if I was coming from a pop background and this was my introduction to metal, but considering I've been a metal-head for a long while now, and have heard much MUCH better bands with much MUCH better vocals, this just does nothing for me.

 

[BathorysGraveland2]

It's one of those things that I probably would have actually liked if I was coming from a pop background and this was my introduction to metal, but considering I've been a metal-head for a long while now, and have heard much MUCH better bands with much MUCH better vocals, this just does nothing for me.

This is a good point. I maybe would have eaten this up back when Mushroomhead and Rammstein were my go-to bands. As a transitioning band, this could actually be somewhat successful in getting people into heavier music, much like Limp Bizkit (as bad as they are) got a lot of people, including myself, into heavier music many years ago. From that stand point, then hey, good luck to 'em, I guess. But when you've heard even a fraction of the thousands of bands out there, ranging from obscure early 90's demos to massive 20 albums-a-year discographies and everything in between, it's hard to be impressed or even intrigued by this.

 

[O maestre]

the third song actually sounded like they sat down and wrote something that wasn't just generic riffing. as others have mentioned, there is better metal out there especially from Japan.

In short this metal is not for me, then again I've been stuck in a black metal and post metal phase for almost a year now.

 

[Elementary - Dear Watson]

However old they tell you they are... it's a lie...

They can't be any older than 12-13! :S They look like damn kids!

Also... as I am at work I can't actually hear it, but I will give it a go later!

Edit: Looked it up... 16, 14, 14... :S
Also, seems the entire band is just an exploitation of kids who just want to be famous any way possible. The fact that none of the members knew any metal music before being assigned to the band (from another j-pop band that they grew too old for) just irks me.

I prefer to listen to music where you can hear the passion of the writers in it... this sounds like a quick way of making money through 'novelty'.

 

[Megalodon]

The vocals are a total mess. It really sounds like someone took some random japanese pop song and superimposed it over a really generic metal track. The two just don't flow together, and the high pitched voices of the girls really don't complement the music whatsoever.

This, so much this. I only lasted 46 seconds into the first video before the god awful vocals made me stop.

The poll really needs a 'bloody awful' option.

 

[Esotera]

It all sounds pretty manufactured. Sort of like someone figured out a relatively metal riff but then repeated it twenty times instead of altering it, and shoved some pop-singing on top. It seems to be focused a lot on image as well, watching the video they sound pretty good but if you scroll down so you can't see it, not so good.

The first song was ok, mostly because of the wtf moment where it quickly transitioned into a pop chorus. Not particularly my cup of tea though

 

[barbzilla]

I think you may be targeting the wrong audience asking for Metalheads to review their work. Without any power in the vocals there isn't likely to be any real takers. The third song you posted was the best, but even then it was pretty meh and very overdone. I'm guessing this has more to do with some form of exploitation than any real love of metal.

 

[theseworlds]

I only listened to the first song, and thought it was pretty terrible. The cynic in me thinks it's just a marketing ploy for their modelling... maybe... somehow...?

I mean, they can't really be aiming this at people that actually appreciate metal, right?

Honestly, I just feel bad for that drummer - Do you reckon he could have picked a worst gig? "Play this bar of music. Good. Now repeat it for 4 minutes".

 

[O maestre]

I only listened to the first song, and thought it was pretty terrible. The cynic in me thinks it's just a marketing ploy for their modelling... maybe... somehow...?

I mean, they can't really be aiming this at people that actually appreciate metal, right?

Honestly, I just feel bad for that drummer - Do you reckon he could have picked a worst gig? "Play this bar of music. Good. Now repeat it for 4 minutes".

Probably why the musicians are wearing masks \snark

If only there was any soul to this, it might make for an interesting combo

 

[[Kira Must Die]]

Um... okay...

I mean, it's interesting. I find the idea humorous, which I think is the intent, the dancing is actually pretty good, and the songs aren't that bad considering the silly concept, but it just makes me wanna listen to Maximum the Hormone. I like it better than most visual kei music, I suppose (Not a big visual kei fan, or death metal for that matter), but I wouldn't really give it more than one listen.

 

[13e thr33]

Whoah... strangely enough it's pretty damn good.

They seem like the vocal antithesis of Rammstein.
And liking Rammstein without knowing German was once considered gimmicky, hopefully babymetal break the mold again.
Thanks alot for this. XD

 

[Cerebrawl]

Funny but bad... now if they'd had the voices to pull it off, it would've been a different story. There's several genuinely good japanese female metal vocalists, these are just annoying.

Spoiler: Compare with MELL (Judge by the chorus, not the disted singing in the rest).

Spoiler: EDIT: Oh and found this, Babymetal concept done right!