Review: Babymetal X Kiba of Akiba – EP
Doki Doki Panic
In just under 15 minutes, this EP represents Japanese rock at its most awesome, nerdy, and insane. The two bands (Babymetal and Kiba of Akiba) alternate tracks on the split, resulting in a record that’s incredibly fun and entertaining.
If early 2000s tween J-Pop group Mini Moni were possessed by Satan, it would probably result in something not entirely unlike Babymetal. If you can’t seem to imagine that unholy union, check out this video of Babymetal’s first single, 2011′s Doki Doki Morning:
The J-Pop/death metal ensemble kicks off the EP with Iine,” which blends their combination of pop and technical death metal even more seamlessly than their debut release. Oh, and there is a rap breakdown in the track as well. And quite a bit of electronica. Yet somehow, it works.
The next track, by Kiba of Akiba (whose name references Tokyo geek-Mecca, Akihabara), is an excellent melodic death metal song about, I think, having an awesome time on message boards. It’s called Party @ The BBS” and is extremely tight, high-quality stuff, with some ridiculous riffs and rad dueling vocals.
The third track is Babymetal ”answering” Kiba of Akiba’s Animation With You” (a song about watching anime). The interpretation is pretty spot-on, with a few endearing added tweaks.
Kiba of Akiba closes things out with an ultra-bizarre cover of Doki Doki Morning. The vocals are all over the place, and while it’s a pretty tongue-in-cheek cover, it’s also tight, excellently produced, and even pretty intense at times.
Although this four-song release may appear completely unapproachable and too bizarre and gimmicky to be worth your time, I implore courageous and curious music fans to check it out anyway. Even if you despise J-Pop and loathe technical, melodic metal, you may still find yourself enjoying this infectious combination.
Babymetal X Kiba of Akiba – EP is available exclusively on iTunes in the U.S. for a way-less-than-import price of $3.99. Get it here.
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Babymetal is pretty much the most Japan thing ever (minus the samurai Gundam model I saw in a hobby shop once), so your mileage may vary depending on how amused you are by this sort of thing. I agree that Babymetal’s “metal” vocals are merely functional, but I think the total package works (again, if you’re into that sort of thing). Thanks for checking out the review, guys!
I thought the vocals were week but it’s a good stage act
I got about halfway through Doki Doki Morning before my brain really started to hurt. Apparently it’s just too awesome for me to handle.
obiviously you are correct sir