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BABYMETAL

When BABYMETAL released their first single "Doki・Doki☆Morning" a little over two and a half years ago, it left many people confused. A song that combines pop and heavy metal was bound to confuse and stun anyone, and confuse it did with many people asking themselves "what did I just listen to?" When they first debuted, many people took BABYMETAL as nothing more than a joke band that would not be around for long. But after two years of hard work, these three students have proven that they are much more than a joke. Within in two years and before having even released a full length album, BABYMETAL soared to fame in both Japan and internationally.

In recent in years in Japan, idol record labels have been realizing something: people are bored. Both Japanese fans and foreign fans are becoming less interested in idols that continue to do the same thing over and over again. These record labels have begun experimenting and breaking away from the typical sugary sweet idol. BABYMETAL is one of those experiments and it’s been a very successful one.

BABYMETAL is a three piece idol group that consists of leader Su-metal (16), Moametal (14), and Yuimetal (14). Both Moametal and Yuimetal are junior high students while Su-metal is high school so BABYMETAL’s activities are limited to weekends and school holidays but that certainly has not stopped or slowed down these three. This group is one that boldly combines J-pop with heavy metal to create, as their management calls it, "kawaii metal". These two genres should theoretically not work well together with how different they are but BABYMETAL makes them work excellently. And people are loving it.

The first two years of BABYMETAL’s career were spent releasing singles, something common for Japanese musicians. Most Japanese artists will release singles until they are popular enough for a full album. On February 26, 2014, BABYMETAL released their first album self-titled as BABYMETAL. This album has proven their popularity by creating long lines at stores in Japan and hitting the charts both domestically and internationally. BABYMETAL not only reached the front page of the U.S iTunes store but also reached #7 on the U.S iTunes Rock chart and #1 on the U.S iTunes Metal chart all within its first day of release.

BABYMETAL is a 13 track album that contains BABYMETAL’s singles such as "Headbanger!!" and their B-side singles such as "U・ki・U・Ki★Midnight". The album also contains brand new, never before heard songs like "4 no Uta". The Limited Edition version of the album will also come with a DVD featuring some live performance clips.

This album is one that contains many different genres; it is sure to find a place in nearly anyone’s music collection. Whether you’re a fan of pop, metal, synth, or hip hop, this album might have a song on it that you could really love and adore. BABYMETAL contains traditional sounding songs like "Megitsune" to heavy metal/pop songs like "Doki・Doki☆Morning" to heavy metal songs like "Catch Me If You Can". The album also includes dosages of hip hop in songs such as "Ii ne!" and "Onedari Daisakusen", all along combined with the metal and pop sounds people have come to love so much about BABYMETAL.

Every track on the album contains metal riffs played by the talented band that accompanies the three singer/dancers. Despite all containing metal riffs, no one song is the same as the next. Each song has its unique qualities about it that will make you remember it. The songs have perfect placement on the album, all flowing together almost like a story of sorts.

BABYMETAL showcases all three of the girls’ talents, giving them each a chance to shine on the album. "Akumu no Rinbukyoku" is a solo song for Su-metal where her strong vocal talents shine. "Onedari Daisakusen" is a song where Moametal and Yuimetal take center stage with their own vocal talents.

With strong riffs and strong vocals, it’s no surprise why these three heavy metal idols have captured the hearts of people around the world. They’re a young and talented group of students with the potential to go far and BABYMETAL showcases just the potential these girls really have.

BABYMETAL is an album that any metal fan and any J-pop fan can appreciate and love.