Warthur J-Pop/metal mashup act Babymetal get a lot of needless flack. Yes, they're three singers who work with session musicians and were assembled as a unit by their record label; those are the conventions of the idol genre they hail from. But they had adapted quite admirably to those conventions of the metal genre compatible with their schtick - for instance, they shifted quite early on from having prerecorded backing tracks to actual backing musicians for their live appearances, which shows a decent level of respect for how things are done in the metal sphere, and they genuinely seem to enjoy metal at that. (Yes, their label probably encourage them to put across the right image... but their label has literally dozens of idol singers to choose from, they wouldn't have picked Su-metal, Moametal and Yuimetal if they didn't figure the trio had at least some affinity for the genre.)

And the fact is, the musical package delivered on this second album is actually pretty good! Their compositional team manage to skillfully work in a range of nods to different metal subgenres over the course of the album - power metal and symphonic metal tend to be especially prominent, but there's also the odd prog metal twist, and Sis. Anger is actually a pretty brutal Babymetal take on black metal, which is taken on by Yuimetal and Moametal as a duo (tagged "Black Babymetal") in a fairly wise choice, given that Sui-metal's more gentle vocal style wouldn't be right for it.

But what really makes Babymetal's act stand out is the vocals themselves, and I genuinely think that Metal Resistance accomplishes a really interesting adaptation of the J-pop idol singing style to this context. Yes, it's not what metal fans are used to, and some purists may gripe about it - but purists who insist on metal staying within strict pre-existing boundaries aren't going to like an awful lot of more widely-accepted bands either. The fact is that metal has always had a certain flair for diverse styles, experimentation, and genre-blending. Nobody thought you could mix jazz and metal until Cynic, Atheist and the like did it, for instance, and I don't think incorporating a particular vocal style which is unusual for metal is any less worthwhile an experiment than that.

In short, I'm on the Babymetal bandwagon and there isn't a gosh-darn thing any of you can do about it. And after their time in the spotlight is over, once their finely-choreographed routines are no longer performed, and once everyone moves on, this will still stand as a genuinely interesting album which did a little something to expand the boundaries of metal, and we should be grateful to them for doing that, just as we should be grateful to everyone who succeeds at creating something genuinely musically novel.

Vim Fuego Babymetal caused something of a shitstorm when they dropped their self-titled debut album on an unsuspecting metal world in 2014. Imagine anyone having the audacity to mix metal with a Japanese girl band!

It shouldn’t be allowed to happen. Metal is supposed to be a grass roots form of music, created by fans of the music for the music’s sake. J-Pop is supposed to be the exact opposite, a cynical construction of fiendish big-business record companies trying to screw stupid people out of their money by making music to the lowest common denominator. Combining the two could only be a flash-in-the-pan gimmick. Metal fans the world over were outraged at the manipulation of the music they hold so dear! The protests fell on deaf ears, and Babymetal’s music did not.

Gimmick or not, there’s a huge audience for this band now, and the fad has yet to run its course. The singers Su-metal, Yuimetal and Moametal are all former members of Japanese idol group Sakura Gakuin, which was further subdivided into sub-groups, or clubs, which eventually led to the formation of Babymetal. Babymetal’s music is fairly straight forward. It’s mostly standard melodic death/power metal, in the vein of Children of Bodom, with emphasis on strong pop melodies, spiced up with metallic riffs and double kick drums, all overlaid with pop vocals. These ingredients led to the self-titled debut album charting well all over the world.

And “Metal Resistance” is more of the same. The album kicks off with “Road of Resistance”, a collaboration with Sam Totman and Herman Li from DragonForce. As you’d expect from any track featuring Totman and Li, it’s hyperspeed shred with the three girls’ cutesy vocals over it, not far removed from DragonForce at all.

Second track “KARATE” is familiar, sounding like a heavier version of such European female fronted metal as Lacuna Coil, Nightwish or Within Temptation, although with the teen trio’s shrill vocals. On the track “Meta Taro”, the vocal melodies are infectious, and the harmonies are chanted. “From Dusk Til Dawn” features dub step breakdowns, which are a little distracting, but give the song some variety. “Sis.Anger” is one of the most metallic sounding songs the band has ever played, almost veering into full on death metal, with a growled backing vocal and blast beats. In the end though, this album starts to drag. Power ballad “No Rain, No Rainbow” is generic and dull. Closing track “THE ONE (English Version)” is an endurance test, which can’t finish soon enough.

Babymetal really makes so much more sense in a live setting. The live show the band puts on is visually impressive, with the three girls highly choreographed, and the focal point of the show. The metal musicians are deliberately masked and anonymous, and no one really pays much attention to them anyway. Compared to the live show, this whole album is a little deflating, and just a bit too slick. There are a few highlights, the DragonForce collaboration being one, but for serious metal fans, this is just a bit too thin on really gripping content.

Babymetal is neither the death of metal, nor it’s saviour. Love it or hate it, “Metal Resistance” is still going to sell truckloads.