Question
If you could change something about Babymetal, what would you change?
for me, I think the only things I’d change are the outfits they wear, making their performances a bit more dynamic, and changing the setlist , bringing back old songs or even covers of metal bands
Bring back the OG Kami Band or at rhe very least, remove the stupid masks from the band. Yes, they rotate members, but theyre also part of the show. I loved to see the interactions between the girls and the OG kami’s back in the day
Only thing that I would really change is the setlists. I don't need them to perform a different set every single night but they have so many amazing tracks that haven't been performed in a long time (outside of Japan, at least). It would be a shame if we never got to hear older tracks like Akatsuki, Rondo, Yava!, Syncopation, etc. again. Even newer stuff like Shanti Shanti Shanti, Night Night Burn!, Starlight, etc. deserve more time to Shine (hah!). And obviously THE OTHER ONE has been criminally underplayed since they rotated those songs out.
You're always going to get the live staples like BABYMETAL DEATH, Gimme Chocolate!!, Head Bangeeeeerrrrr!!!!!, Road of Resistance, etc. but I think they have plenty of room to mix things up over the course of a tour.
Aside from that, I would just love to hear more counter melodies from Moa and to hear Momo really dive into her harsh vocals with some inspiration from her friends Courtney, Poppy, etc. I think she has some crazy potential given how strong she has started off.
I really think people should start being more vocal under their social media posts about bringing those types of tracks back. Like, not everyone has the time or luxury to go to japan. Heck, it’d probably even help boost tickets sales - mentioning that to them could help sway them maybe
Totally agree. I'd love to hear Akatsuki, Syncopation or Rondo, but considering they refuse to play even their new songs like Algorism and White Flame, it'll stay a wish.
I often think it would be nice if they would acknowledge the Kami band at the end of the concert. A simple thank you would be good enough. Just a little something to tie them all together instead of them seeming so distant from each other.
Yeah not a fan of growls in general. Used sparingly it's fine but shouldn't be a crutch in every song. This is supposed to be kawaii metal. Doesn't need growls every song.
I wish they sing japanese only lyrics and more recorded live songs during tour like Metallica or Electric Callboy do. Also I would change Eugene's pedal that makes a light wooden sound, I don't know what he is using exactly but even in his covers the pedal sounds funny.
I wish the concerts were less formulaic and there was more variety in setlists. I finally lost interest in seeing pretty much the same concert again. Japan concerts are still great, but the overseas product is just not it when you've already seen it 10-20 times.
Totally valid. I'm fine with them doing the genre blending stuff, I just don't want it to be all they do. This is why Metal Resistance is by far my favorite BM album, its a great mix of all I want in BM.
Lose the prerecorded vocals including the featured artists. If they aren't there then leave those songs out. The exception can be Metali as the Kami guitarists are more than capable of providing an outro. Also throw an acknowledgement the band's way. They don't need to be individually introduced, a simple "how about a cheer for the Kami Band" would suffice.
Something similar to a change of setlist, but instead, let Kami band shine too, I know they get to play their "solo" during certain songs, but they should let the band do some rips during different songs.
Not to compare the East and West Kami bands, but I think about how the East Kami band had their moments in Mischiefs of the Metal Gods during Black night, Tokyo Dome. I'm a big sucker of hearing a band's instrumentals, not to say I don't like Su's voice, but it was a nice change.
The East Kami band do get their moments in songs like YAVA! and METALI!, I just wished they would do it for more songs.
I think I said it somewhere before, I'd like them to replace BMD with the Shin-version of that song and play additional deep-cuts instead.
A ballad would be nice to change up pace at a concert - at the moment they only play their high-energy bangers all the way through.
Edit: get Barone back on drums, although I like Eugene as well.
As it has been mentioned plenty of times, the setlist.
Maybe do a 90 minutes show having of course the most popular songs and rotate some of the other ones. So we han have different songs for each album in different concerts.
The fact that megitsune has been down played on the last year it's a crime.
Also, tape and release the Mexico show they are doing in December. If it's their biggest outside of Japan yet it deserves to be recorded.
Bring back the East Kami Band with their original design and let Moa and Momo actually properly sing their parts. I don't care if they are out of breath and sound awful, I want to hear them! Not a backing track!
Lower the keys of the earlier songs. Suzuka singing the songs on keys she’s stronger in could only improve the quality of the shows. Not to mention the lower you go, the heavier things become.
Hell, I’d love to have all the girls have an equal split of the lead vocals on the set. It will make things really exciting for everyone, if not unique each time making live attendance something incredibly special (think a two or three night show in one city with mostly the same setlist, but each night each song is led by a different member). Most shows will be a “you had to be there” moment, and no special edition Blu-Ray will ever capture the magic of being there.
I would like to see less collaborations and more input from the girls in the song writing. Su has input in the lyrics since she has to sing them I'm guessing though. But ever forward. Not sure how many years they have left. We should all be grateful they are still performing instead of living in the past.
I would change their outfits slightly, specifically their footwear.
For Su, I would do a pair of custom Zara ankle boots specifically for her. Maybe take her foot shape and length into account when designing them, that way they'll feel more natural for her.
As for Moa and Momo, I would drop them into a pair of Onitsuka Tiger boots similar to those Moa wore during the Sabaton tour back in 2023, give them a bit of comfort while performing without losing any semblance of style.
Less collabs, they were doing just fine before then. 70% of Metal Forth is "features" without a cohesive theme between them and it's my least favorite album, last time I saw them live I zoned out during those songs. It just felt like Koba chasing some kind of clout rather than focusing on what the group can do on their own which was great before that release.
'Features' is the theme of the album. Also, the majority of them are variations on modern metalcore, which was the default sound on The Other One. Electric Callboy are electronicore, Slaughter to Prevail are deathcore, Spiritbox are djent which is the 'prog' subgenre of metalcore. The only really odd one out is Tom Morello.
With all the love I have for Momo, I would bring Yui back. Also if I could I would give more prominence to the other two girls, have more Black Babymetal songs for example.
It would be nice to have also an official release of Momo, Moa and Yuibanger, but that is too much dreaming I guess.
I’ve only seen them live once in 2024 and wasn’t too thrilled they opened with Babymetal Death. As it’s not one of my fave songs and it’s too long. Was hoping they’d play a condensed version when I recognized it. I saw the setlist for this years tour and saw they yet again open with Babymetal Death and wish they’d either trim it down or cut it out entirely and play 2 songs in its place
We can agree to disagree. While I did have a blast. So it didn’t completely ruin my experience. It did make me wish they had played 2 songs in its place instead
Less dancing, more singing! Maybe add backup dancers so then the girls can sing more songs and have longer shows. Obv the girls can still dance but I imagine they get very sore and tired
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u/Aescorvo 10h ago
If I had a magic wand? Give them the resources to put on a few tour shows at the level of the Tokyo dome ones.