The Babymetal Album has been out for almost a year now. Have you listed to Kawaii Metal yet?
The self-titled album, Babymetal, released on February 26, 2014, almost an entire year ago. This is the first full album by Babymetal, even though they started back in 2011.
This album has a total of 13 songs of various genres. Their officially made-up genre is called “Kawaii Metal,” Kawaii being the Japanese word for Cute. But that’s just a made up genre, sort of like how the band H.I.M. claim their genre is “Love Metal.” The genres seem to mix well enough, for most of the songs at least, which could be why it appeals to so many people.
The three singers of Babymetal are Su-Metal, Yui-Metal, and Moa-Metal. The lead singer, Su-Metal, is two years older than the other two who mainly provide back up vocals in the majority of songs. However, there are a couple of songs that are only performed by Yui-Metal and Moa-Metal. I’m usually against young singers because their voices will undoubtedly change as they reach their 20s (especially for men), but Su-Metal sings beautifully and her voice has hardly changed over the past three years.
Each song is a little different from the last. Below is a list of all 13 songs with their translations and my general opinion of the song. At this time, there are six music videos on the official Babymetal YouTube channel. I will also include links to all six music videos below.
The first song is Babymetal Death. No translation needed since it’s already in English. I think the song title is sort of a Japanese pun. There is no TH sound in Japanese, so they use an S sound, more specifically su. So the word Death becomes Desu, which is also a Japanese word for is or am. So when people introduce themselves, they use Desu after their name. So Babymetal Desu is also like saying I am (or we are) Babymetal. The song itself is all metal. The only lyrics are the three girls introducing themselves, scream vocals spelling out Babymetal, and scream vocals yelling desu/death.
The second song is Megitsune, which means female fox. This is probably my favorite song because the lead singer really sings hard in this one. Of course, the music is great too. It’s sort of a classic Asian-style sound mixed with metal. This is one of six songs that has its own music video.
The third song is titled Gimme Choco. Choco is the shortened word for chocolate. It’s pretty common to say or write choco instead of chocolate in Japan. This song is a little bit more Jpop mixed with Metal. It’s very catchy, but the lyrics are a bit unusual. This song has a music video that was actually taken from one of their live concert performances. I think it’s the most popular of all their music videos.
The fourth song is Iine, which basically means good, or I like it, or it’s nice. This song is pretty crazy when it comes to the genre fusion. It’s metal, then goes to Jpop, then has a little hip-hop in there, and then goes back to metal and Jpop. Still, it’s a pretty cool song that will keep you on your toes. This song also has its own music video.
The fifth song is usually listed as Aka tsuki, which can mean red moon or dawn, but the Kanji before Akatsuki means crimson moon, then it has akatsuki in katakana. Wikipedia says the translation for the song is “Crimson Moon – Dawn.” This song is all metal, and even has a section with dueling guitars.
The sixth song is Doki Doki Morning. Doki Doki is basically the Japanese word for heart beat. This song is a mix of metal and Jpop. This is another one of the six songs that has its own music video.
The seventh song is Onedari Daisakusen, which is means the Begging Plan or Begging Operation. This song is only sung by the two younger members of Babymetal. When it’s just Moa-Metal and Yui-Metal singing without Su-Metal, they call themselves Black BabyMetal. The song itself is like a mix of metal and hip-hop. Not everyone enjoys Black Babymetal.
The eighth song is shi no uta, which means Song 4, even though it’s the eighth song. Again, this song is only performed by Black Babymetal. The song has a mix of metal, jpop, and even a small section where it sounds sort of like Reggae. It might catch you off guard if you don’t know it’s coming.
The ninth song is Uki Uki Midnight, which means Cheerful Midnight. This song has a mix of metal, Jpop, and a little electronica (or whatever you wish to call it). It’s not the best song on the album, but it’s definitely not the worst.
The tenth song is Catch Me if You Can. No translation needed. This song is mostly metal with a tiny bit of Jpop mixed in. This is a nice, upbeat song. It’s not too serious or hard like a few others.
The eleventh song is Akumu no Rondo, which means Rondo of Nightmare. This song is sort of a metal ballad. It’s a little slow at some parts, but that doesn’t mean it’s a bad song.
The twelfth song is spelled heado bangya, which is their way of spelling head banger, although I wonder why they use gya instead of just ga. This song is all metal, and is usually their go to metal song. It’s a great song, but I personally get tired of the songs that repeat a line over and over. They say “heado bang” like 30 times in the song. This is another one of the six songs that has its own music video.
The thirteenth, and final, song is Ijime, Dame, Zettai, which means No More Bullying. This is another one of my favorite songs. It starts of slow and then really takes off with a solid metal sound throughout the entire song. This is another one of the six songs that has its own music video.
Babymetal has become incredibly popular over the years. This album even reached #1 on the Billboard 200 US World Albums Chart. It only reached #2 on the Japanese Billboard chart for some reason. You can buy the BabyMetal MP3s here from Amazon or the iTunes store, or you can import the high quality BabyMetal CD here from Amazon.