Brought high-kicking, screaming and singing to life by the mysterious Fox God, Babymetal crashed into the metal world and immediately divided opinion. While some loved their approach of welding Kawaii to kick drums, others felt Su-Metal, Moametal and former member Yuimetal were making a mockery of the very scene they purported to love.
Still, it turned out no amount of scepticism could stop them. Now a global phenomenon, Babymetal have endured and they’ve won the hearts and horns of millions of metalheads.
Now we’ve arrived at album number three. Metal Galaxy has a new, typically absurd narrative for fans to decipher, and makes reference to a legend of seven metal spirits and something to do with a category four typhoon called Typhoon Moon.
So far, so Babymetal. But what marks Metal Galaxy out from Babymetal's previous albums is its attempts to push the band's sound in exciting new directions.
Here, the Babymetal camp take us through new album Metal Galaxy, one track at a time.
Future Metal
This song is the album’s opening track and only a computer was used instead of instruments. We would love for the listener to imagine himself/herself about to board a spaceship ready to travel the Metal Galaxy.
Da Da Dance
This dance metal song is a mixture of future music sounds crossed with Japanese 90s dance music. The guitar is played by Tak Matsumoto who is a very famous guitarist from a Japanese band called B’z.
Elevator Girl
Just like an elevator moving up and down, this song expresses the emotional ups and downs teenagers go through as they mature. Sound-wise, there are elements of jazz as well as a metallic riff and rhythm combined within the song. Because there are two versions (Japanese and English version) of the song, we hope that fans enjoy both versions.
Shanti Shanti Shanti
Because this third album Metal Galaxy portrays an odyssey to the different metal stars, we wanted to also include Asian sound essences into the album as if the listener has visited this territory while on their journey.
Oh! MAJINAI
This song is inspired by Scandinavian folk metal so we asked Joakim Broden from Sabaton to appear as a guest vocalist when he and his band Sabaton joined Babymetal for Babymetal’s Japan shows in fall of 2018.
Brand New Day
Sound wise, this song was a new approach for Babymetal. Polyphia appeared as guest guitarists in the song and we feel that their sound has made the song even better.
Night Night Burn!
This song has actually existed approximately the same period as Megitsune so it’s been around for a long time. Sound-wise, there are elements of Latin music which has added more energy into the song.
In The Name Of
This song also is an opener and if Future Metal represents the light side, In The Name Of represents the dark side. With a tribal sound base and with a heavy rhythm, the song is introduces the beginning of the dark side to the listener.
Distortion
Distortion is a song that illustrates a human with a two faced personality who exists in dystopia. We wanted to find someone whose voice would best represent the opposite of Su-Metal’s character. Arch Enemy’s Alissa White-Gluz was perfect for this role as her vocals/growls are amazing and we are so lucky to have her involved in this song.
Pa Pa Ya!!
Pa Pa Ya!! has a tropical/Asian sound element within the song and was created because we wanted to create a party metal song. To add more of an Asian essence to the song, we had Thai rapper F.Hero collaborate with us.
Kagerou
This track shows a different aspect of Babymetal as the song has both a heavy and middle tempo sound. The song and choreography is different than what we’re used to so we definitely explored a new territory for this song.
Starlight
Elements of djent and a melodious heavy sound are combined in this track. When you hear the track, it’s as if Su-Metal’s powerful vocals shines light on an eternal path.
Shine
The acoustic guitar and the choir in the intro and outro are the highlights of the track. The song portrays life and depicts the ups and downs we all experience through life.
Arkadia
This song concludes the album and portrays a new departure. Sound-wise, it’s a cross between a fast-paced rhythm with a melodious sound.
