Babymetal (album)

Babymetal
Standard edition cover
Studio album by Babymetal
Released	February 26, 2014
Recorded	2011–2014
Genre	J-pop[1] heavy metal[1]
Length	54:55
Label	BMD Fox Toy's Factory
Producer	Kobametal (exec.) Yuyoyuppe Takeshi Ueda Daiki Kasho Kyōtō SOH Motonari Murakawa Tatsuo Kxbxmetal Narametal
Babymetal chronology
BABYMETAL (2014) Live at Budokan: Red Night (2015) Live at Budokan: Black Night (2015)
Singles from Babymetal
"Doki Doki ☆ Morning" Released: October 24, 2011 "Babymetal × Kiba of Akiba" Released: March 7, 2012 "Headbanger" Released: July 4, 2012 "Ijime, Dame, Zettai" Released: January 9, 2013 "Megitsune" Released: June 19, 2013
Live music video from the album
Babymetal "Gimme Chocolate!!"
Alternative cover
Limited edition cover

Babymetal (stylized as BABYMETAL) is the debut studio album by Japanese metal idol group Babymetal.^[2][3]

The album was first released on February 26, 2014 under Toy's Factory in Japan, in several editions, regular and limited.^[4] The limited edition comes with a bonus DVD containing video clips and live footage from Summer Sonic Festival 2013.^[5] It reached the 4th place on Oricon Weekly Charts and sold 37,463 copies during the first week.

Several singles were released for the album, including the commercially successful songs "Ijime, Dame, Zettai", "Megitsune", and "Gimme Chocolate!!".

The album had a physical release internationally mid-2015.^[6][7]

Background

On February 5, 2014, Babymetal was announced on the official website with a release date in Japan for February 26, 2014, the artwork for both editions revealed, and a promotional video featuring five songs from the album.^[8]

Release and promotion

The album was released in a regular edition, a standard limited edition, and a special limited edition for members of the group's special "Apocalypse Web" site. The limited edition, originally released in Japan, has an identical track listing on the CD to that of the regular edition; however, it also includes includes a DVD containing the group's music videos with commentary by the three members, a live music video of "Gimme Chocolate!!", and footage of the group's performance at Summer Sonic 2013. An encore pressing of the limited edition version of the album was released on July 26, 2014 with a special cover to commemorate the band's 2014 world tour.^[9]

The Apocalypse limited edition of the album is solely a CD release; its track listing is revised to have alternate versions of "Akatsuki" and "Song 4"; the former was performed live at Legend "1997" Su-metal Seitansai. It was only made available to people who had previously signed up for the group's "Apocalypse Web" site.

In mid-2015, the album was re-released worldwide under different record labels with two bonus tracks: the new song "Road of Resistance" and a live performance of "Gimme Chocolate!!". The limited edition of the album also had its first international release in Europe. A live music clip of the song "Road of Resistance" from the live concert at the Saitama Super Arena was released May 2015.

Singles and other songs

Prior to the release of the album, Babymetal had released five singles, ranging from 2010 to 2013. The first single, "Doki Doki ☆ Morning", initially appeared on the Sakura Gakuin debut album Sakura Gakuin 2010 Nendo: Message, before being released independently on October 24, 2011. "Babymetal × Kiba of Akiba", a joint single with the band Kiba of Akiba, was released on March 7, 2012, featuring the Babymetal song "Iine!". "Headbanger" was released on July 4, 2012 and included a neck corset on the limited editions. "Ijime, Dame, Zettai" was the first major label single released on January 7, 2013, but did not appear in the annually released Sakura Gakuin albums. "Megitsune" was released as the second major label single on June 19, 2013, and is the first song released after the split from Sakura Gakuin. The five songs, as well as five B-sides, are featured on the album.

Two songs from the album, "Akatsuki" and "Rondo of Nightmare", are performed solely by Su-metal. Two other songs from the album, "Onedari Daisakusen" and "Song 4", are performed mainly by Yuimetal and Moametal, under the stage name Black Babymetal; the latter of which was written by the two.

Prior to the international release of the album, a sixth single, "Road of Resistance", was released digitally on February 1, 2015. "Gimme Chocolate!!", although not initially released as a single, brought the band and the album to international success; the song peaked at number 5 on the Billboard World Digital Songs chart and its live music video performance at the concert Legend "1997" Su-metal Seitansai has garnered more than 45 million views as of April 9, 2016.^[10][11] The song later served as a digital single on the United Kingdom iTunes Store on May 31, 2015.^[12][13]

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[1]
CD Journal	Positive[14]
The Japan Times	Positive[15]
Music Magazine	Positive[16]
Music Magazine	[17]
Rolling Stone Japan	[18]
What's In?	Positive[19]
Rossiyskaya Gazeta	Positive[20]

Critical reception

Babymetal received critical acclaim from critics both in Japan and worldwide. Tim Sendra from Allmusic gave the album four and a half stars out of five stating: "It's clearly not an album for metalheads who like to follow the clear definitions of what makes metal metal, or one for J-pop fans who are scared of huge guitar riffs. But those who don't really care about rules and just want to jump around like idiots to the brightest, silliest music imaginable will find exactly what they never dreamed about asking for in Babymetal's brilliant debut."^[1] Nanba Kazumi from Rolling Stone Japan praised the album, saying its "humor, cuteness to the quality, does not allow any other following. It would be a masterpiece made in one piece to be representative of the 2014 definitely."^[18]

Commercial performance

The album quickly rose to number 1 on both the US and UK iTunes Metal charts. The album also received attention from western journalists like Brian Mansfield of USA Today.^[21] It reached number 1 on the Japanese Oricon Daily Chart and peaked at number 4 on the U.S. Billboard Heatseekers chart as well as 187 on the Billboard 200.^[22][23][24] In December 2014, Babymetal was certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of Japan for more than 100,000 physical copies shipped to stores.^[25]

Track listing

No.	Title	Lyrics	Music	Arrangement	Length
1.	"Babymetal Death" ("We Are Babymetal")	Kitsune of Metal God (KITSUNE of METAL GOD)^[A]	Kitsune of Metal God	Yuyoyuppe	5:46
2.	"Megitsune" (メギツネ, "Vixen")	Mk-metal (MK-METAL) Norimetal (NORiMETAL)	Norimetal	Yuyoyuppe	4:07
3.	"Gimme Chocolate!!" (ギミチョコ！！ Gimi Choko!!)	Mk-metal Kxbxmetal (KxBxMETAL)	Takeshi Ueda (TAKESHI UEDA)	Ueda	3:50
4.	"Iine!" (いいね！, "So Good!")	Chaos Nakata (中田カオス)	Mish-Mosh (Mish-Mosh)	Daiki Kasho (daiki kasho)	4:08
5.	"Akatsuki" (紅月-アカツキ-, "Crimson Moon")	Nakametal (NAKAMETAL) Tsubometal (TSUBOMETAL)	Tsubometal	Kyōtō (教頭)	5:25
6.	"Doki Doki ☆ Morning" (ド・キ・ド・キ☆モーニング, "Heart-Pounding Morning")	Nakametal (ナカメタル)	Norizō (のりぞー) Motonari Murakawa (村カワ基成)	SOH (Oh! S-D) Murakawa	3:44
7.	"Onedari Daisakusen" (おねだり大作戦, "Begging Operation")	Nakata Ryu-metal (RYU-METAL) Fuji-metal (FUJI-METAL)	Team-K (TEAM-K)	Tatsuo (tatsuo) Kxbxmetal	3:15
8.	"Song 4" (4の歌 Yon no Uta)	Black Babymetal (BLACK BABYMETAL)	Black Babymetal	Tatsuo Kxbxmetal	4:01
9.	"Uki Uki ★ Midnight" (ウ・キ・ウ・キ★ミッドナイト, "Exhilarating Midnight")	Ryu-metal Fuji-metal Nakata	Team-K	Yuyoyuppe	3:17
10.	"Catch Me If You Can" (Catch me if you can)	Edometal (EDOMETAL)	Narasaki (NARASAKI)	Narametal (NARAMETAL)	3:53
11.	"Rondo of Nightmare" (悪夢の輪舞曲 Akumu no Rondo^[B])	Yuyoyuppe	Yuyoyuppe	Yuyoyuppe	3:33
12.	"Headbanger" (ヘドバンギャー！！ Hedobangyā!!)	Edometal (江戸メタル) Nakametal (ナカメタル)	Narasaki	Narametal	3:59
13.	"Ijime, Dame, Zettai" (イジメ、ダメ、ゼッタイ, "No More Bullying")	Nakametal (NAKAMETAL) Tsubometal	Kxbxmetal Tsubometal Takemetal (TAKEMETAL)	Kyōtō	6:04
Total length:					54:55

International bonus tracks[26]
No.	Title	Lyrics	Music	Arrangement	Length
14.	"Road of Resistance"	Kitsune of Metal God^[A] Mk-metal Kxbxmetal	Mish-Mosh Norimetal Kyt-metal (KYT-METAL)	Kyōtō	5:20
15.	"Gimme Chocolate!!" (live at O2 Academy, Brixton^[B])	Mk-metal Kxbxmetal	Ueda	Ueda	5:04
Total length:					65:19

Babymetal Apocalypse limited edition – CD only
No.	Title	Lyrics	Music	Arrangement	Length
1.	"Babymetal Death"	Kitsune of Metal God	Kitsune of Metal God	Yuyoyuppe	5:48
2.	"Megitsune" (メギツネ)	Mk-metal Norimetal	Norimetal	Yuyoyuppe	4:09
3.	"Gimme Chocolate!!" (ギミチョコ！！)	Mk-metal Kxbxmetal	Ueda	Ueda	3:53
4.	"Iine!" (いいね！)	Nakata	Mish-Mosh	Kasho	4:10
5.	"Akatsuki" (Unfinished Ver.) (紅月-アカツキ-（Unfinished ver.）)	Nakametal Tsubometal	Tsubometal	Kyōtō	3:55
6.	"Doki Doki ☆ Morning" (ド・キ・ド・キ☆モーニング)	Nakametal	Norizō Murakawa	SOH Murakawa	3:45
7.	"Onedari Daisakusen" (おねだり大作戦)	Nakata Ryu-metal Fuji-metal	Team-K	Tatsuo Kxbxmetal	3:17
8.	"Song 4" (444 Ver.) (4の歌（444 ver.）)	Black Babymetal	Black Babymetal	Tatsuo Kxbxmetal	4:04
9.	"Uki Uki ★ Midnight" (ウ・キ・ウ・キ★ミッドナイト)	Ryu-metal Fuji-metal Nakata	Team-K	Yuyoyuppe	3:20
10.	"Catch Me If You Can" (Catch me if you can)	Edometal	Narasaki	Narametal	3:57
11.	"Rondo of Nightmare" (悪夢の輪舞曲)	Yuyoyuppe	Yuyoyuppe	Yuyoyuppe	3:37
12.	"Head Bangya!!" (ヘドバンギャー！！)	Edometal Nakametal	Narasaki	Narametal	4:02
13.	"Ijime, Dame, Zettai" (イジメ、ダメ、ゼッタイ)	Nakametal Tsubometal	Kxbxmetal Tsubometal Takemetal	Kyōtō	6:06
Total length:					53:58

Limited edition DVD
No.	Title	Length
1.	"Doki Doki ☆ Morning" (ド・キ・ド・キ☆モーニング) (music video commentary)	3:54
2.	"Iine!" (いいね！) (music video commentary)	4:16
3.	"Head Bangya!!" (ヘドバンギャー！！) (music video commentary)	4:54
4.	"Ijime, Dame, Zettai" (イジメ、ダメ、ゼッタイ) (music video commentary)	6:10
5.	"Megitsune" (メギツネ) (music video commentary)	4:11
6.	"Gimme Chocolate!!" (ギミチョコ！！) (from Legend "1997" Su-metal Seitansai at Makuhari Messe Event Hall Dec/21/2013) (live music video)	4:04
7.	"Babymetal Death" (Summer Sonic 2013^[C])	6:01
8.	"Megitsune" (メギツネ) (Summer Sonic 2013^[C])	4:27
9.	"Catch Me If You Can" (Catch me if you can) (Summer Sonic 2013^[C])	4:50
10.	"Head Bangya!!" (ヘドバンギャー！！) (Summer Sonic 2013^[C])	5:06
11.	"Ijime, Dame, Zettai" (イジメ、ダメ、ゼッタイ) (Summer Sonic 2013^[C])	8:10
Total length:		56:03

Notes

A. ^{^} "Kitsune of Metal God" refers not to an actual contributor, but instead to a god figure frequently mentioned in band materials and interviews (often as "Kitsune-sama", or "the Fox God" and "the Big Fox" in English media).^[27]

B. ^{^} Although 輪舞曲 is normally read as rinbukyoku, the booklet contains a note that the word is to be read as rondo.

C. ^{^} This is a live performance.

• "Babymetal Death" is stylized as "BABYMETAL DEATH".
• "Song 4" lists its credits for lyrics and music as Black Babymetal, the stage name for the duo of Yuimetal and Moametal without Su-metal.
• "Head Bangya!!" is titled "Headbangeeeeerrrrr!!!!!" for the physical release.
• Herman Li and Sam Totman had uncredited collaborations on "Road of Resistance", but are featured artists on the iTunes release in the United Kingdom.

Credits and personnel

Recording and management

• Recorded at S.O.L.I.D. Sound Lab, Heartbeat Recording Studio, MukuStudio, Sound Arts Studio, Wacken Open Studio, and ABS Recording
• Mixed at S.O.L.I.D. Sound Lab, Heartbeat Recording Studio, Art Pop Entertainment, Hama Shobo Studio (濱書房スタジオ), and King Sekiguchidai Studio
• Mastered at Form the Master and Parasight Mastering

Personnel

Su-metal – vocals Yuimetal – vocals, lyricist, composer Moametal – vocals, lyricist, composer Kobametal – executive producer Millennium Japan – producer Kitsune of Metal God – lyricist, composer Mk-metal – lyricist Norimetal – lyricist, composer Kxbxmetal – lyricist, arrangement Chaos Nakata – lyricist Nakametal – lyricist, composer Tsubometal – lyricist, composer Ryu-metal – lyricist Fuji-metal – lyricist Edometal – lyricist Yuyoyuppe – lyricist, arrangement, audio mixing Takeshi Ueda – composer, arrangement Mish-Mosh – composer Norizo – composer Motonari Murakawa – composer, arrangement

Team-K – composer Narasaki – composer Takemetal – composer Kyt-metal – composer Daiki Kasho – arrangement, audio engineer Kyoto – arrangement SOH (O! S-D) – arrangement, guitar Tatsuo – arrangement, programming, guitar, bass[28] Narametal – arrangement Herman Li – guitar Sam Totman – guitar Leda – bass Seiji Toda – recording and audio mixing Masatake Osato – recording Naoki Ibaraki – recording Hironobu Takikawa – audio mixing Yasuhisa Kataoka – audio engineer Motohiro Tsuji – mastering Tucky – mastering Yuji Nakamura – assistant engineer

Credits adapted from Babymetal album liner notes, Sakura Gakuin 2010 Nendo: Message album liner notes, "Babymetal × Kiba of Akiba" single cover notes, "Head Bangya!!" single liner notes, "Ijime, Dame, Zettai" standard and limited "I" single liner notes, and "Megitsune" standard and limited "Tsu" single liner notes.^[29]

Charts and certifications

Weekly charts Chart (2014–15) Peak position Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[30] 69 Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[30] 181 Dutch Albums (MegaCharts)[30] 90 German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[30] 95 Japanese Albums (Oricon)[31][32] 4 Japanese Albums (Billboard)[33] 2 UK Albums Sales (OCC)[34] 86 UK Independent Albums Breakers (OCC)[35] 7 UK Rock & Metal Albums (OCC)[36] 7 US Billboard 200[24] 187 US Heatseekers Albums (Billboard)[23] 4 US Top Rock Albums (Billboard)[37] 50 US Hard Rock Albums (Billboard)[38] 12 US World Albums (Billboard)[39] 1 US Independent Albums (Billboard)[40] 32

Year-end charts Chart (2014–15) Peak position Japanese Albums (Oricon)[41] 52 Japanese Albums (Billboard)[42] 57 2014 World Albums (Billboard)[43] 7 2015 World Albums (Billboard)[44] 5 Certifications Region Certification Sales/shipments Japan (RIAJ)[45] Gold 100,000 ^^shipments figures based on certification alone

Awards and nominations

Year	Award	Category	Result
2015	CD Shop Awards	Grand Prix[46]	Won

References

1. Tim Sendra. "BABYMETAL – BABYMETAL". Allmusic. Retrieved 2014-03-23.
2. "BABYMETAL、1stアルバムの世界最速販売"25の祭" タワレコ新宿で開催決定" (in Japanese). February 21, 2014.
3. "BABYMETAL初アルバムをタワー新宿店で世界最速販売!　スペシャル衣装＆パネル展も". Tower Records (in Japanese).
4. "BABYMETAL To Release Debut Album This Month". Blabbermouth.net. 4 February 2014. Retrieved 16 February 2014.
5. "Details on BABYMETAL's first album revealed". Tokyo Hive. 26 January 2014. Retrieved 16 February 2014.
6. "BABYMETAL’s 1st Album will be released via their US and EU labels!!". BABYMETAL OFFICIAL WEB SITE. April 9, 2015.
7. "BABYMETAL’s 1st Album will be released via their US and EU labels!!". BABYMETAL official FACEBOOK. April 9, 2015.
8. "BABYMETAL". 5 February 2015. Retrieved 28 June 2015.
9. "BABYMETALのアルバム初回盤が限定仕様でアンコールプレス" [Limited Edition of Babymetal Album Second Press]. Tower Records Online (in Japanese). Tower Records Japan. Retrieved 27 July 2014.
10. "World Digital Songs". Billboard.biz. Retrieved 2015-01-16. Billboard.biz charts are only accessible by subscription; searching "Babymetal" on "Charts", their performance can be found.
11. "BABYMETAL – ギミチョコ！！- Gimme chocolate!! – Live Music Video – YouTube". 2014-02-25. Retrieved 2015-06-28.
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13. "Gimme Chocolate!! - Single by BABYMETAL". iTunes IE (Apple). Retrieved 2015-07-16.
14. Ken'ichi Yasuda (2014-02-20). "NEW DISCS 今月の推薦盤 BABYMETAL BABYMETAL". CD Journal (March 2014): 67.
15. Patrick St. Michel. "Babymetal "Babymetal"". The Japan Times. Retrieved 2014-03-29.
16. Akimasa Munekata (2014-02-20). "アルバム・ピックアップ BABYMETAL Babymetal". Music Magazine (March 2014): 124.
17. Kazunori Harada. "アルバム・レヴュー 歌謡曲/JPOP 原田和典 BABYMETAL『Babymetal』". Music Magazine (March 2014): 145.
18. Kazumi Namba (2014-02-10). "BABYMETAL". Rolling Stone Japan Edition (Atomics Media) (March 2014): 103.
19. Tetsuya Yamamura. "タモリもニヤッ、ロック・ファンタジー・ワールドの入り口". What's In? Web. M-ON! Entertainment Inc. Retrieved 2014-02-28.
20. Alexander Alexeyev (2016-01-28). "Японки выступят в жанре хэви-метал // BabyMetal (CD). Edel Germany GmbH/ "Союз Мьюзик". 2015 г.". Rossiyskaya Gazeta (in Russian) (federal issue No. 6886 (18)). Retrieved 2016-02-09.
21. http://www.usatoday.com/story/life/music/2014/03/06/babymetal-video-give-me-choco/6115605/
22. "ＢＡＢＹＭＥＴＡＬのCDアルバムランキング │オリコン芸能人事典" [BABYMETAL Album Rankings]. Oricon Style (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved 2014-03-15.
23. "Heatseekers Albums". Billboard. 2014-03-13. Archived from the original on 2014-03-16. Retrieved 2014-03-16.
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27. Babymetal (2013). LIVE～LEGEND I、D、Z APOCALYPSE～ [Live: Legend I, D, Z Apocalypse] (Blu-ray) (in Japanese). Legend "I" 2012/10/6 at Shibuya O-EAST. Japan: Toy's Factory, Amuse. Event occurs at 58 seconds. JAN 4988061781129. キツネ様は、SU-METAL，YUIMETAL　MOAMETALの三人を「新しいメタルの誕生」を意味する"BABYMETAL"と名付け [Translation: "The Fox God named 3 girls, Su-Metal, Yuimetal, and Moametal, 'Babymetal' meaning 'the birth of a new metal'..."].
28. "tatsuo 参加作品　その他アーティスト" (in Japanese). Retrieved 2015-08-23.
29. Babymetal (limited edition) (CD liner notes). Babymetal. BMD Fox. 2014. p. 15.
    Sakura Gakuin 2010 Nendo: Message (CD liner notes). Sakura Gakuin. Toy's Factory. 2010. p. 26.
    Babymetal × Kiba of Akiba (CD cover notes). Babymetal and Kiba of Akiba. Toy's Factory. 2012. p. 2.
    Head Bangya!! (CD liner notes). Babymetal. Toy's Factory. 2012.
    Ijime, Dame, Zettai (CD liner notes). Babymetal. Toy's Factory. 2013. p. 2.
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31. 「ＢＡＢＹＭＥＴＡＬ」 ＢＡＢＹＭＥＴＡＬ. Oricon (in Japanese). Retrieved 2014-03-17.
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    "週間アルバムチャートでうたプリ1位に、武道館実現のBABYMETALも善戦". Billboard Japan. Retrieved 2014-03-06.
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36. "Official Rock & Metal Albums Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 2015-06-15.
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39. "World Albums". Billboard. 2014-09-11. Archived from the original on 2014-09-11. Retrieved 2014-09-11.
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41. "CDアルバムランキング – 2014年度". Oricon.co.jp. Retrieved 10 January 2015.
42. "Billboard Japan Top Albums Sales Year End". Billboard Japan. Retrieved 2014-12-26.
43. "2014 Year End: World Albums Charts│Billboard". Billboard. Retrieved 2015-01-28.
44. "2015 Year End: World Albums Charts│Billboard". Billboard. Retrieved 2015-12-12.
45. "Japanese album certifications – Babymetal – Babymetal" (in Japanese). Recording Industry Association of Japan. Select 2014年月 on the drop-down menu
46. Oricon (2015-03-09). "「BABYMETALがCDショップ大賞". Oricon.

External links

• Regular edition profile on Oricon website (Japanese)
• BABYMETAL on iTunes
• BABYMETAL at MusicBrainz
• BABYMETAL – BABYMETAL at Discogs