By Jonny Bakes
As a pretty keen martial artist, the Nippon Budokan holds a special place of reverence as a venue that is somewhere I must visit at some point. Now, many of you are probably more familiar with the Budokan in its alternative guise as a music venue that has hosted many of the biggest acts over the years, including The Beatles, Judas Priest, ABBA and many more. Seven years ago, though, Babymetal became the youngest female artist to headline the prestigious venue so it is only fitting that they chose to celebrate their tenth anniversary with a mammoth ten show run in the same place.
That’s right, we’re talking about Babymetal. The band who are guaranteed to invoke some form of reaction from any metalhead that hears their name. Many of you love them and completely buy into their blend of kawaii j-pop and crushing metal while an equal number absolutely despise them. In fact, Andy Copping (Mr Download Fest) once stated “Yep, it’s a no from me…another Japanese novelty fad.” before eventually caving into the lure of the Fox God and booking them to play in 2016… after they had gatecrashed the festival to play with Dragonforce unannounced the year before.
Whether you love or loathe Babymetal, this anniversary performance is testament to their undeniable popularity, so it’s only fair that we give it a listen to experience this landmark performance. Naturally, all of the big hits are here (it wouldn’t be a proper celebration without them!), so we’re in for some big performances of ‘Gimme Chocolate’, ‘KARATE’, ‘Megitsune’ and plenty of others recorded over the course of the ten dates at the Budokan.
One thing that stands out throughout the album is the monstrous roar of the crowd that adds to the atmosphere. Often the songs have extended introductions as well to really whip the crowd up into a frenzy before it really kicks in, it must have been one hell of an experience to be there! Each song is performed flawlessly too and is near album-perfect which is impressive for a band with such young frontwomen, the only thing you miss from the audio versions of this performance is the impeccable choreography that is standard for a Babymetal performance.
It’s difficult to pick out any particular stand out tracks from this album though, as everyone will naturally gear towards their favourite tracks which for me are ‘Megitsune’ and ‘Road of Resistance’. The latter of which has been extended into a 15-minute performance of epic proportions! There’s even some spontaneous additional solos and instrumentals thrown into the mix to bring the set, and the album, to a close with as much energy and enthusiasm as shown in the opening track, ‘BABYMETAL DEATH’.
So, if you like Babymetal, you’re going to love this! It’s a fantastic homage to the last ten years of success for the band that many love to hate. There is simply no denying that they’ve had a significant impact on the metal world over the last decade, and their live performances have played a large part in that. If recent posts from the band are anything to go by, ‘10 Babymetal Budokan’ could mark the final chapter of the Babymetal legend as they promise to “disappear from our sight” which will be received with mixed response, I’m sure! So that makes this album the potential last chance to celebrate Babymetal and, to be honest, it’s a very fitting celebration of everything they’ve achieved in the last decade!
- ‘10 Babymetal Budokan’ is released on Wednesday (29 September). You can get your copy HERE.
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