METAL FORTH
Kawaii metal superstars BABYMETAL have pulled out all the stops for their sensory-overloading fifth album. It’s their first with new member Momometal (Momoko Okazaki), who joins original vocalists Su-metal (Suzuka Nakamoto) and Moametal (Moa Kikuchi) under the auspices of producer/Svengali Kobametal (Key Kobayashi). *METAL FORTH* is packed with globe-trotting guest appearances from artists as varied as Poppy (“from me to u”), German electronicore group Electric Callboy (“RATATATA”), Russian deathcore dealers Slaughter to Prevail (“Song 3”), and New Delhi metal crew Bloodywood (“Kon! Kon!”). Elsewhere, the young Japanese trio are joined by Canadian metalcore group Spiritbox (“My Queen”), Texas prog instrumentalists Polyphia (“Sunset Kiss”), and Rage Against the Machine guitarist Tom Morello (“METALI!!”).
BABYMETAL bring in the big names and push their sound further, but sometimes at the expense of their signature charm on 'Metal Forth'.
BABYMETAL's fifth record is a statement about metal as an aesthetic rife with individualism; “metal” is not a monolith, and what it is to be “metal” varies from country to country, language to language, band to band.
It’s been a while since this writer last covered BABYMETAL, but I leapt at the chance to review their incoming fifth album, ‘METAL FORTH’. Why? Because
A great symbol of our polarized times, BABYMETAL emerged in 2014 to a huge amount of excited hyperbole and a similar amount of vitriolic disdain. More than a decade on, the kawaii-metal genre-busters have defied the odds and become part of the furniture. "Metal Forth" is their fifth album, and a noi...
Sash Vee reviews the new album from Japanese metallers BABYMETAL! Read her review of 'METAL FORTH' here on Distorted Sound!