Poll: Babymetal

[Blood Brain Barrier]

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.

Welcome to modern music. I was going to say I don't see how there's a market for garbage like this, but then there's the OP so maybe I should ask him.

In brief: this stuff is music, taken and beaten to a pulp, flattened and mauled then shoved down a tube and left for dead in an alleyway, then picked up in a fancy limo and dressed up to look like something of actual substance by people who can't tell the difference and can't look past surface appearances.

 

[the December King]

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

Oh, now those ladies have my respect. THAT is metal(to me)! Girls roaring in metal is pretty hot... combining that with the melodic singing is wonderful. And they can play their instruments. Not that I dislike the Babymetal in the op, but I'd rather this.

 

[kasperbbs]

Not really my thing, i don't like pop music very much and this looks like pop music thats pretending to be something else. Then again i'm not a big fan of metal and i never even considered listening to Japanese music so what do i know.. Maximum the hormone is actually pretty good, wouldn't put their songs on my playlist, but they rocked the intro for 'Death note'.

 

[x EvilErmine x]

Nopes no a fan at all...i just can't even comprehend what makes this stuff good, but if it floats your boat mate then you rock on regardless dude.

 

[mitchell271]

Seems like everyone's reaction is, "WTF did I just watch?"
Which seems a little weird to me because on the Guitar World, Metal Hammer and Metal Injection facebook posts about it, the feedback has been overwhelmingly positive. And yeah, a lot of the "WTF did I just watch?" stuff too.

 

[MeTalHeD]

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

It's not pure trash, but if you want to hear a Japanese band do metal better, try Blood Stain Child. Their album, Epsilon, was quite good. Screaming vocals mixed with clean vocals. This is quite similar except Blood Stain Child does the Melodic Death Metal/Electronic Death Metal (yes they are considered that) a bit better. They sound similar to In Flames, but I dig the fact that they have a mix of heavy and beautiful vocals.

Oh, and I am traditionally a death metal fan. Love Cryptopsy, Fleshgod Apocalypse, Bloodbath and other stuff like Meshuggah and Strapping Young Lad.

Here's a link to a Blood Stain Child track: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=djLJt_HFfX4

Here it is for the lazy folk not willing to open another tab...

Spoiler: Sirius VI

 

[Olas]

Sounds like something from the soundtrack of No More Heroes or something.

I'm not really much a fan of JPop or Metal, but I think I like them merged more than I like them separate for what it's worth.

 

[Sacman]

Well that was a thing... but like literally the only thing I even thought twice about was the Serial Experiment Lain reference? in the beginning of the first song... like a completely pointless reference...<.>

 

[Vicarious Reality]

I have probably disliked 95% of all japanese bands i have ever heard
Japanese is a horrible language for singing, more so if you pandemically try to sound like children because OMIGOD SO CUTE

 

[Dirty Hipsters]

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

It's not pure trash, but if you want to hear a Japanese band do metal better, try Blood Stain Child. Their album, Epsilon, was quite good. Screaming vocals mixed with clean vocals. This is quite similar except Blood Stain Child does the Melodic Death Metal/Electronic Death Metal (yes they are considered that) a bit better. They sound similar to In Flames, but I dig the fact that they have a mix of heavy and beautiful vocals.

Oh, and I am traditionally a death metal fan. Love Cryptopsy, Fleshgod Apocalypse, Bloodbath and other stuff like Meshuggah and Strapping Young Lad.

Here's a link to a Blood Stain Child track: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=djLJt_HFfX4

Here it is for the lazy folk not willing to open another tab...

Spoiler: Sirius VI

Now that's not bad. Definitely something I could listen to, unlike the band in the OP.

 

[Panthera]

Would anyone be offended if I described the quality of this as an avalanche of ass? No? Good

Generic paint by numbers metal with the least fitting vocals imaginable is not a good combination. There's way too much love for taking some small element of metal and then coating it with ideas from other genres that do not mesh in the slightest (see also: 99% of the folk metal genre). In this case it's pretty much just trying to be "surprising" and hopefully garner a fanbase by appealing to people who think women in metal bands is some sort of shocking new thing that has never been done before (spoilers: it's not). Or maybe to people who think that women in extreme metal is shocking and new (spoilers: it's not either)

Also, I will ask this, and this is a serious question for the metal heads: why in hell do you actually like the gravelly incoherent lyric style? I was looking at the video for Galmet and it reminded me of a lot of metal bands popping up in the mid to late '90's and which have appeared to have assumed the primary definition of "metal" now. Even Dethklok is more coherent than a lot of this.

Not criticizing, asking honestly because I don't get it. I always enjoy having good singers with actual tone and melodies, which used to be a part of the metal scene (no, I'm not referencing glamhairshit from the '80s), but this seems to be the accepted go-to norm now?

First of all, there isn't exactly any sort of "accepted norm". Metal of all kinds has continued to be produced through the 90s and 2000s. If you want clean vocals, there's no lack of it to be found.

Second, coherent vocals are not exactly important. Most lyrics in metal (and music in general really) aren't all that great anyway, so it's not like you're missing out on much, and the actual sound is far more important than the clarity of the words being said. Harsh vocals (obviously) sound entirely different than conventional singing, so they bring a different sound to the table. Something that works with one vocal style is probably not going to work with another. The analogy people often use is that in most genres, the vocals are playing a role similar to a guitar, while harsh vocals are playing a role more similar to the drums. I don't know how accurate that really is but a lot of people like looking at it that way. In any event, when your music is trying to be rough and abrasive, you want vocals that are like that as well. There's certainly a ton of music I love that could never have had the same intensity, impact or emotional appeal had it not used harsh vocal styles.

 

[Alarien]

First of all, there isn't exactly any sort of "accepted norm". Metal of all kinds has continued to be produced through the 90s and 2000s. If you want clean vocals, there's no lack of it to be found.

Second, coherent vocals are not exactly important. Most lyrics in metal (and music in general really) aren't all that great anyway, so it's not like you're missing out on much, and the actual sound is far more important than the clarity of the words being said. Harsh vocals (obviously) sound entirely different than conventional singing, so they bring a different sound to the table. Something that works with one vocal style is probably not going to work with another. The analogy people often use is that in most genres, the vocals are playing a role similar to a guitar, while harsh vocals are playing a role more similar to the drums. I don't know how accurate that really is but a lot of people like looking at it that way. In any event, when your music is trying to be rough and abrasive, you want vocals that are like that as well. There's certainly a ton of music I love that could never have had the same intensity, impact or emotional appeal had it not used harsh vocal styles.

Of course there is not an accepted norm. I think you missed the point that I wasn't really being critical, I was asking an honest question. I am aware that there is still clean vocal metal, it's just that a lot of what I run across being trumpeted by the fans (fans, not fanboys) is usually often stuff like this:


I can't understand it. Literally, I have no idea what (she... apparently) is saying. So, the idea of emotional appeal or impact is lost on me, completely. I understand that it isn't on others, but what I'm asking is it about this that speaks to you?

I don't mind harsh or gravelly, so long as I can understand it. One of the responses to my previous post gave a great list of gravelly screamers that were also actually coherent. Since I have always liked Dave Draiman since I first listened to Disturbed (a long time ago when I was in the army), he's a good example, for me, of shouty/screamy gravelly.

I get him. I don't get Abnormality or Galmat. Not saying they are bad, but sorta wondering what it is that drives people to like this vocal style... if anything specific or that can be articulated.

Also, you can save the lectures on how good lyrics are. I came back from an extended break in the 80s on classical and jazz during the post-punk and grunge. Except for Pearl Jam and Eddie's need to be politically relevant (other than wimping out on Yellow Ledbetter), no one ever really accused grunge of having coherent, intelligent lyrics.

 

[CelestDaer]

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

I got as far as the words in the Give me Choco one, and literally the only thing I cared about was Calvin and Hobbes in your avatar moving in perfect synch with the beat.

 

[TBman]

I was expecting a genre of metal aimed towards babies, like Little Einstein but with Ozzy

 

[Madame_Lawliet]

I like their dresses, gothic lolita fashion has always been an interest of mine, and as everyone else seems to be echoing the dancing and choreography is very good as well.

The music... uh... it's certainly original... just not my cup of tea, then again I am an electro head so I'm not really qualified to discuss metal or J-pop with any kind of insight.

 

[MisterGobbles]

I got a chance to listen to the entire album (read: bought it), and it's certainly interesting. They don't stick with one form of metal; they merge all different types of it with JPop. Still, it's obvious where the brunt of the effort is going (the pop stuff) and I really wish they had done something more interesting with the metal elements.

Still, for what this is - a theatrically minded talent agency-created Internet-ready you'd-have-to-be-fucking-insane-to-try-this mashup - it's pretty great, and most of it is pretty catchy, especially when they stick to the Jpop stuf and not the genericish metal bits.

 

[NortherWolf]

46 seconds into the first song. Then i called it quits. That's the sort of shit you find in when a show like CSI Miami decides to have "Metal" as it's weird shit of the week episode.
You know, I can see how bands like Alestorm, Dragon Force or Rhapsody have their fans, even Gloryhammer...But this? How the hell is this on anyone's list of things they like? This is metal for weeaboo hipsters!

 

[Defective Shade]

Fish Metal... Hmmmm( and yes i looked the Japanese kawaii on wikipedia lol)

 

[Zanderinfal]

As somewhat of a metal connoisseur, I have to say, I laughed. Then I cried.

Instrumentally, the music is alright The drummer kicks ass and the riffs are chunky. Vocally however... well, I'll just say I wont be listening to them ever again for so long as I live. Past a gimmick and beyond a joke.

 

[Arina Love]

amazing! They make metal listenable!