LIVE(STREAM) REVIEW: BABYMETAL @ 10 BABYMETAL BUDOKAN Encore Global Stream

Difficult as it might be to believe, it’s actually been a whole decade now since the world-conquering kawaii-metal juggernaut that is BABYMETAL first emerged in their native Japan, unleashing their bubblegum-J-pop-meets-metal debut single Doki Doki ☆ Morning and kickstarting what would go on to become one of the most intriguing musical projects of the 2010s. A series of acclaimed albums clashing pop vocals with heavy musical backing would quickly take the band to stages across the world, turning them into a global talking point bigger than anyone could have imagined. Now, to celebrate their ten years preaching the gospel of the Fox God, the band are presenting a special “director’s cut” livestreamed concert film shot during their 10 BABYMETAL BUDOKAN run of shows at the legendary Nippon Budokan in Tokyo.

Before we get properly underway though, there’s a few safety precautions to go through (the COVID-19 pandemic of course continuing to disrupt the world), courtesy of the band’s elusive skeleton-masked mastermind Kobametal. Long story short, everyone in the venue is double-masked, including with BABYMETAL-branded ‘Saviour masks” – allowing the still somewhat novel sight of a  capacity crowd in this most iconic of Japanese venues. One “headbanging wave” later (yes, really), and ten minutes from the start of the broadcast we’re off, with a typically grandiose introductory lore video giving way to the Kami Band and opening number BABYMETAL DEATH (Shin ver.), a slightly more power-metal inflected take on the normally brutal opening track of the band’s self-titled debut that whips the crowd to a fever-pitch almost instantaneously in one hell of an introduction.

Given that some of their previous larger-scale shows to date have included such sights as mock crucifixions, you’d expect BABYMETAL to pull something rather spectacular out of the bag for their 10th anniversary, and even despite the restrictions imposed upon them by the current global situation, the staging for this show is a joy to behold. With an enormous round stage set in the centre of the venue, a floor made of screens and a video wall raised above, and the Kami Band placed around an outer ring, the core duo of Su-metal and Moametal (joined on this occasion by “CHOSEN DANCER” Momoko Okazaki) are given ample space in which to run through some of their greatest hits, to a positively electric crowd.

Early deployment of fan-favourites like the anti-bullying speed-metal anthem Ijime, Dame, Zettai, breakout hit Gimme Chocolate!! and the aforementioned cutesy pop bounce of Doki Doki ☆ Morning all go down an absolute storm; their impossibly-polished choreography and tight riffing both given ample opportunity to shine via stunning visual direction and arguably some of the best sound mixing the band have had on a live release to date here. Elsewhere, the likes of GJ! sees a group of skeletal-hoodie-wearing “Sisterbones” dancers added to the rap-metal track’s choreography, PA PA YA!! features a video guest spot from rapper F.HERO, and in perhaps the entire show’s most striking showcase of Su-metal’s talent, her solo turn on the stunning power-ballad NO RAIN, NO RAINBOW not only features the show’s best vocal moments, but a so-called “METAL PIANO” given its own lore video introduction before being raised onto the fog-coated stage for Su to play a few bars on before the song’s conclusion. Is it perhaps a little cheesy? Maybe. Does it matter? Not in the slightest.

Picking the pace back up significantly as time runs down, a trio of three of the band’s biggest songs; Megitsune, KARATE and Headbangeeeeerrrrr!!!!! return viewers back to a much more metal tone. “Hey Budokan, I wanna see a big wave”, bellows Su right before the former’s “Name tara i kanzeyo” breakdown is projected onto stage floor and audience necks right across Budokan are presumably headbanged to pieces. One quick encore break break later, and the girls are back, clothed in golden capes for a final one-two punch of sweeping orchestral ballad THE ONE and the DRAGONFORCE co-written pyro-filled closer of Road of Resistance; the latter being perhaps the most unexpectedly “sod it, we’ll finish at full pace” thing seen in a show so filled with exhausting-looking choreography. By the time Su and Moa are running around the outer rings of the stage, striking an array of gongs, before signing off with a quick word to the crowd in Japanese and their typical “We are BABYMETAL!” audience call-and-response, and leaving another video package to play out suggesting the end of the band’s Metal Galaxy-era, you’re almost left too frazzled to cope with the genre-bending insanity of what you’ve just witnessed, but perhaps that’s the point.

With a gloriously huge sound mix and dazzling visuals, 10 BABYMETAL BUDOKAN – Encore Global Stream STREAM is a fantastically-crafted celebration of all things BABYMETAL, and a near-perfect celebration of the brilliantly bizarre world they’ve crafted for their fans over the last decade, and one staged to an amazing degree given the constraints of the world at this current point in time. As for what’s next for the duo though…well – only the Fox God knows!

Rating: 9/10