BABYMETAL - Metal Forth
BABYMETAL
Metal Forth
Release Date: August 8th, 2025
Label: Capitol Records
It’s rather stunning to me that a band like BABYMETAL has infiltrated the ranks of heavy metal. Not to say that they’re not performers or fun to watch live - but there is an irony to a band rising to prominence amongst a genre that practically crucifies (or at least says it does) any artist who doesn’t write their own songs. Every element of BABYMETAL - from their music to their stage show - is precisely manufactured down to the nth degree. I have not seen them perform in person, but I have heard they are entertaining, so I can’t dispute that. But there is an inherent irony here from a genre fanbase that has traditionally eschewed these principles of what makes an “authentic” artist for as long as I can remember.
When it comes to the release of Metal Forth, BABYMETAL’s fifth full-length studio album, it’s hard to really call it a BABYMETAL record other than the fact that they’re singing on it. Nearly every song, except three, is written with other artists, ranging from Poppy, Slaughter To Prevail (who also included their collaboration on their most recent album), Polyphia, and Spiritbox. There are undoubtedly fun moments on it, most notably the Electric Callboy collaboration “RATATATA”, a song that would fit in amongst the crowds at both a major rave and metail festival. However, Metal Forth seems to intentionally not sound like a BABYMETAL album - it sounds like the three vocalists (talented, there’s no debating that) feature on songs from some of the scene's biggest stars and rising acts, their vocals being directly inserted into Electric Callboy or Spiritbox tracks. The vocal performances from members Su-metal, Moametal, and Momometal are fun and well-performed, but it feels more like a showcase of other artists than a true BABYMETAL album.
While there are some enjoyable moments on Metal Forth, it feels like an odd entry in their catalog. I don’t know. Maybe I’m being too harsh about this. Maybe the point of acts like BABYMETAL is to poke fun at the hierarchy of heavy metal culture that has risen over the decades and take itself too seriously. Regardless, I think there have been better BABYMETAL collaborations in years past, and I think we’ll get better performances in years to come.
