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BABYMETAL releases full album, metalheads and idol fans headbang in unison

Preston Phro Feb 27, 2014
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After years of boggling the minds of metalheads and J-pop fans around the world with their idiosyncratic music videos, BABYMETAL have finally released their first full-length album. Of course, we got our hands on a copy as soon as we could, and we are happy to report that it is everything we’d expected it to be!

With the album now available world-wide, you too can turn your day from “average” to “dangerously kawaii” with this soundtrack to the adorable apocalypse. And if you’re on the fence about picking the album up, check out some of these reviews found on the Japanese side of the Internet.

When we got the chance to talk to BABYMETAL last year, we were more than excited and immediately jumped at the opportunity. This writer is personally a huge fan of both metal in general and the cute-but-heavy music of BABYMETAL. Their music is just so much…fun! Nothing makes a morning commute on a packed Tokyo subway as tolerable as a few BABYMETAL track. And it looks like the famous Ladybeard agrees with me, too!

The disturbingly cute singer tweeted the following picture and message this afternoon.

I really love BABYMETAL! I think it would be like a dream to share the stage with them.

Even if you’re not really into heavy music, there’s still lots to be enjoyed about BABYMETAL’s album–they are, after all, as much about pop music as they are heavy metal. Though the riffs and drums are clearly inspired by everything from X Japan to death metal, there’s no doubt that the girls are as capable of singing and dancing as they are at headbanging.

▼Fans lined up for at the album midnight release

Amazon Japan already has a few customer reviews up–each of them ranking the album with a full five stars. Here are some of the highlights from the reviews.

My general comments on the album (so far) is that the music and the mastering seem like they have been fine-tuned, and each sound is clearer and more distinct. Perhaps that is why songs like “Megitsune” that use traditional Japanese instruments sound better than the singles. At any rate, my impression is that they’ve created a really fun album that will prove to be a classic!

Also worth mentioning is the song order. Listening all the way through from the first track “BABYMETAL DEATH” to the last “Ijime, Dame, Zettai,” it feels like all 13 songs together create a series of stories. […] In addition, the new songs like “Akuma no Rinbukyoku,” SU-METAL’s solo song where the power of her singing really shines, allow us to glimpse the member’s individual personalities.

Listening to this music, which takes a metal base and mixes it with everything from grindcore to dubstep to hip-hop, is really amazing.

Of course, anonymous Internet users aren’t the only ones commenting on the album. Rolling Stone Japan Edition gave the album 4.5 stars and said, “Without a doubt, this is a masterpiece that will become one of the representative albums of 2014.”

We have to agree with Rolling Stone on this one. The album is definitely a fun ride, from the silly pun lyrics of “4 no Uta,” one of the four completely new songs, to the driving intensity of “Megitsune,” this is an album that can safely find a home in nearly anyone’s collection!

The self-titled BABYMETAL is currently available world-wide via iTunes. For those of you residing in Japan, there are two versions available: A standard edition and a collector’s edition with a DVD compiling their music videos and some live performances. The CDs are available from a number of different retailers, including Tsutaya, HMV, Tower Records, Rakuten, and Amazon Japan.

If you’ve gotten the album already, be sure to let us know which track is your favorite!

Sources: Rolling Stone Japan Edition, Amazon Japan
Images: Twitter (1, 2), Amazon Japan (1, 2)

▼For my money, the best song on the album is “Megitsune.”