It's been a while (Ecliptica Revisited) since I was pissed while unpacking the album. I actually think I was ripped off. The fuck is this shit, absolute no artwork on the cd, broken jewelcase, shitty album cover, fuck.. Oh well, let's check the insides. WITH A KNIFE. (it's written during my first listen through this so expect a lazily put words)
Road of Resistance, from the album Metal Resistance, by Babymetal.
So we open with Dragonforce. Or not, I have no idea if they were included on the album. But hey, the backup band also isn't included, again, so why should we bother. The intro is solid, very power metallish in both vocals, background, tempo and composition, much better opener than Death from album I. Without any longer moments it's definitely my favourite so far. Oh wait, we are on track 1 -_- But considering how poorly delivered was this album when it comes to package and artwork I stay calm, Babymetal gimmick was putting many hit songs in one very well composed product, so let's see how it goes with song nr 2.
Karate, not unknown to me, as it was a second single. Less power, more reminds me of some metalcore song, but not in a bad way (more like Dreamshade). Backing vocals are a bit annoying after a while, but chorus comes fast enough to save the song. It's extremely catchy and soft compared to the rest of the song. While the main riff isn't something complex, the song has it's moments with rich drums and softer part in 2/3 of the song. Really, remove vocals and you have a Dreamshade song (with slightly poor guitars). Well done, I see diversity in Babymetal's songs is still surprising, as well as the outro guitar solo.
Track nr 3 is finally something I didn't know, Awadama Fever. And holy fucking shit what is that. I lack the knowledge to tell which genre of music is this supposed to mock/immitate. I don't like the way in which the guitars are distorted (if that's even a correct term). The catchyness is still there, and drums , while sounding weird, are still top notch. I have to say I am surprised, even while I might not dig it now it's definitely interesting.
Yava! is another one on the record, and another weird one. This sounds like an opening to some weird anime, and I think I will leave the genre classification to someone more competent. Very solid vocals here, it's not easy to sing short, explosive sounds, but the girl can do it. And vocals are less enchanced than in Ladybaby (at least in the first half of the song). I give it a pass, far from being my favourite on the album, but still interesting and surprising.
Amore starts slower, and thank god for that. We had an opening to an anime, now I would say we have an outro, before the guitars enter and speed up the song to Dragonforce levels. But holy shit this is one good solo. Back to more power metallish sound, the genre at which Babymetal is better than many power metal bands. Considering how mediocre was last Hammerfall album.. Oh, a bass solo. Pathfinder be jelly. If we add that both Babymetal albums were released since the last Pathfinder album we have more power metal songs than in the last Pathfinder.. Oh, wot? Right, a review to finish, I'm so distracted
Thanks Palpatine cat. Oh, the song ended. It was good, power metal without many distractions. With like 4 guitar solos.
Meta Taro gets us back to weird stuff, most sing-along,clap-along,march-along song yet, to some absurd levels. Sabaton take notes. Or don't, keep sucking and making bad rep for the whole subgenre. Swedish cunts #hailFinland. Actually pretty boring song, but not in a bad way, I bet some people enjoy it.
From Dusk Till Dawn is an epic name for a song that starts pretty serious and quite in a Stratovarius way. And I'm amazed again, with soft echo vocals and the style change. Oh my god. It's fucking awesome! Like a mix between Stratovarius, Melodic ... Fuck. I can't type while it's going. Imagine soft, melodic dubstep mixed with Stratovarius, Mera (cyberpunk progressive metal) with amazing vocals. Absolutely my favourite track since first listen, love at the first sight/hearing.
JESUS FUCKING CHRIST! Final score: 87253633/apple * banana^(zombie-table)
GJ! Is the next track. Back to the weird stuff, this time main vocals are delivered by 2 girls, not Su. And they have improved as well since the first record, nice to hear. Track reminds me of Onedari daisakusen, maybe a little bit less catchy but still solid, I give it a pass. GJ indeed.
Sis. Anger (another weird title, angry sister?) is more extreme than any previous track, but that's still pretty soft. While Babymetal vocals are often soft and put to heavier tracks, here it really is a mix between funny,annoying and disturbing. It's a sin that the drummer isn't listed in album credits, what the fuck. Guy can really immitate a washing machine perfectly.
No rain, No Rainbow starts slow, but I'm not gonna fall for it again. But I think we have a first slow ballad from Babymetal. It's quite amazing to hear how Su has improved since 2010. 6 years of Babymetal and people still bash them for ruining metal world, pathetic. Amazing, soft song, definitely gonna join my favourites from the band. The band is also staying on my favourite 14 list, maybe not all tracks are flawless but the diversity and craftmanship is there. Galneryus-like guitar solo is fitting perfectly, drums are still very complex even in the slower tempo. Background is rich and refreshing, but not sleep-inducing, more like a morning song. Add a perfectly sung outro and outro solo and now I don't know if that isn't my favourite from the album. Solid, very fucking solid, outro violin (?) is just softness overload.
Tales of the Destinies comes back to more weird and extreme sound, includes a bit of "The One" melody, but stays as a progressive mess, weird song that sums up the band perfectly. We are weird, we are different, but there's something for everyone here, we are welcome towards everyone, enjoy this journey called life with us, with our music. Holy shit the song is fucking weird, I love it. It's tiring, a lot, I bet there are some very hateful comments under this song on Youtube or somewhere. Composer of this probably invented some new drugs, that make you taste the rainbow, literally. And I feel bad that I can relate my music taste to this song. It's a mess, but in a good way.
The One is an album outro song, that was very surprising and impacting towards the general audience, but I can't actually see anything special in the song, it's too long for my taste, too repetitive and only guitar solos help me stay awake during this. It's not a bad track, but not for me. A big hugs towards Su for singing in English, she still has a long way to sing in English perfectly but a very solid performance anyway.
So that's the new Babymetal album, I expected something great, and I was both disappointed and surprised while going through this. As with the first album some songs are definitely not for me (Sis Anger and Meta Taro are the worst for me), some are extremely solid (Karate, Amore) and some are just brainwashing (From Dusk Till Dawn, No Rain, No Rainbow). The diversity is still there, also it's very positive in mood. It's obvious they had a lot of fun making this album, and inventing more stuff to shock the audience. Compared to the first album it's almost the same, the element of surprise is not gone, and the progress the band made through this years is obvious.
But the greatest flaw is still the album package in the EU/US version. It's lazy, it's awful, absolutely worst possible, even Ecliptica's remake had a better artwork. There is absolutely no artwork, death of creativity. One fucking logo, no booklet, no pictures. FUCKING LAZY. I'm gonna buy a not-retarded version soon.. Also not mentioning the people behind the instruments was a sin on the first album, but here it's just insulting.
SO, the final summary:
Vocals: 10+/10
Bass: 11/10
Guitars: 11-/10
Drums: 11/10
Additional:
++diversity
++ability to play absolutely every genre of music and mix it with metal
+ backing vocals deserve an additional mention
++catchyness overload
--- "artwork", package, cover, booklet. A big fuck you.
++ for no rain, no rainbow from dusk till dawn.. <3
Total score: 122,5% , a serious contestant to the album of the year
Somehow I can't put the video of "From Dusk Till Dawn" here, so please look for it and listen to it.
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