The Explosive "METAL FORTH": BABYMETAL Aiming Higher Than Ever

BABYMETAL are back with their most ambitious, most diverse and multifaceted album yet: METAL FORTH is a magnificent collection of music that blends modern metal, J-pop, deathcore, power metal and even trap metal to pull the listener into a world of sonic excitement, boldness and raw power; all while maintaining the signature sound that they have developed over the years.

With features from Bloodywood, Poppy, Electric Callboy, Slaughter to Prevail and more, the album is incredibly inclusive, diversified, and absolutely mesmerizing in its practice of combining genres and musical elements that just work so well together and bring an inspiring freshness to the world of metal music.

BABYMETAL was formed in 2010, and their self-titled debut album was released in 2014. Since, the band has released 3 more studio albums, marking METAL FORTH the 5th studio album in their discography.

The album begins with "from me to u" featuring Poppy. A catchy chorus, blood curdling screams from Poppy and short but effective breakdowns make the track memorable as the opener. The song is oozing with strength and is very empowering, both lyrically and musically, covered in rage and revenge.

"RATATATA" comes next, featuring Electric Callboy. It is fundamentally a party anthem, very well-executed and an absolute earworm. It could easily shake arenas and blur the lines between the moshpit and the dance floor. Easily my 2nd favorite song from the album.

The third track, rightfully named "Song 3", is practically a deathcore song with a classic BABYMETAL "kawaii" twist. It is the heaviest song on the album, which is not surprising, considering the fact that it features Slaughter to Prevail. I suppose it is a collaboration that nobody saw coming, yet it works surprisingly well. With bone-crushing drums and vocals that potentially turn your brain to mush, "Song 3" is not for those with weak nerves.

The Bloodywood feature, "Kon! Kon!," comes right after, expanding the soundscape of the album with influences from Indian music and vocals that are reminiscent of traditional Indian singing, showing off the girls' versatility and vocal ability. Of course, nu-metal influences are also present, as expected with what Bloodywood brings to the table.

The next track is "KxAxWxAxIxI," which is essentially BABYMETAL's statement and reclamation of their "kawaii metal" sound. The song could roughly be categorized as trap metal, albeit with the band's signature kawaii-ness. The track is self-aware and very meta within the BABYMETAL universe, and an absolute banger.

"Sunset Kiss" is the 6th track on the album, featuring Polyphia. It is technically the "softest" track of the record, but of course no less hypnotizing than the rest. In fact, it is possibly my number one favorite song off the whole album, and it sounds like a very expensive, very "champagne" anime opening, and I mean that as the highest praise possible. Having Polyphia in the mix adds a very beautiful, never-heard-before dimension to the BABYMETAL soundscape that is worth a thousand listens in my opinion.

The second heaviest track on the album is "My Queen," featuring Spiritbox. It is a modern metal gem that keeps you on your toes for the entire song. The vocal performance is simply stellar and the production is plain amazing while the chorus soars and truly lifts your soul into the atmosphere.

"Algorism" is another song that sounds like an anime opening, and one of the few songs on the album that doesn't include a feature artist, which doesn't take anything away from how wonderful the track is. If anything, it gives BABYMETAL the space to fully and truly be themselves and it is my third favorite song on the record. Su-metal's vocal performance is possibly the best it's ever been and sends chills down your spine.

The next track on the album is the Tom Morello feature, "METALI!!", which also includes Indian music themes and the performance is absolutely superb. You can tell they really put heart and soul into this song and the whole album in general.

The final song is "White Flame -白炎-", heavily influenced by power metal and speed metal with symphonic elements thrown in the mix. Notably, Su-metal wrote the lyrics for this song, which makes it a possible fan-favorite.

It's worth noting that the entire album is mixed and mastered to perfection, sharp and digital, and as modern as it gets.

All in all, METAL FORTH is a masterful work of art that can and most likely will satisfy both old fans and new, while extending and expanding BABYMETAL further out into the world. I invite you to listen to the album for yourself once it's officially released on 8th August, and enjoy the variety and the energy packed into this monster of a record.