Seeking reassurance in 'Believing'

Doesn't seem to be an official video for 'Believing', so I've linked fancam footage (hope they don't mind) of the performance I was at in KL. I'm standing slightly left and back of where this cam is, FYI.

The evening started strong, and now, we're pacing. 'Believing' is a lyrical number with complex rhythms that give SU's vocals a chance to stretch and soar, while MOA and MOMO provide supporting harmonies which we can now hear and appreciate. This one is for the ears to savour, so the lighting and colours on the Jumbotron/cyclorama are more muted, while the choreography has slowed down a notch. Focus. Listen.

The verses are electronically enhanced, though I'm not sure 'enhanced' is the right vocab. Rather, SU's voice is suppressed with an echo-y, reverb-y effect. The individual words are delivered more mechanically than normal speech. Perhaps the verses represent internal monologues, the subject being 'I', who does not want to be 'confused' and 'afraid anymore'. The chorus restores SU's natural voice as she is now consciously engaging her Other, the one who, like the seasons has changed and is 'not the same' anymore. And as such, 'we are not the same' either. So when she says, 'believing you', she is seeking some reassurance of stability and consistency despite these changes.

Perhaps this song is meant to reassure us that despite the changes the band has undergone in terms of composition, style, aesthetic, and obviously age, they're still the same BABYMETAL that we remember from 13 years ago.

The lyrics of this song are entirely in English, so I hope nothing's been lost in translation.

In the meantime, is SU actually singing 'live'? I am pretty reassured that she is. At the end of this rendition, the mic picks up an uncharacteristic vibrato in SU's usually clean, spot-on vocals. It's this tiny imperfection that proves that what we are getting is the real deal.

Mesmerizing masterpiece

Iine was fan service, reassuring us that the band they used to be over 10 years ago is still more or less the band performing for us today, although MOMO has since officially replaced* YUI. The remaining songs in this KL set list feature their more grown up aesthetic, starting with 'Shanti Shanti Shanti' in which BABYMETAL goes Bollywood.

Right from the beginning, the melody and rhythm are identifiable as classical Indian. SU's vocals kick in, singing of love (or the feeling of being in love?) from the perspective of concepts from Hindu philosophy, according to these translated lyrics. The way SU vocalizes certain inflections without breaking into an accent suggests she's had some training in this type of traditional singing as well.

The dance is also inspired from classical Indian dance, and perhaps more than inspired, they have probably received some very professional training in executing the movements just right. Just look at the fine detail, like finger placement to make specific hand shapes, and the intricate footwork. It takes a lot of study and practice to get that confident and precise. Still, I've watched clips of these girls at dance practice, and they learn incredibly fast, like music is hard-coded in their DNA.

This performance isn't just a tip of the hat to Indian culture. It shows a deep appreciation for a culture they took effort to understand, and repay with a tribute of a respectful, beautiful piece of art done in their own unique style. And a mesmerizing masterpiece it is too.

*Disclaimer: That's not MOMO in the video, though. YUI had a rotation of replacements before one was finally made permanent.

Iine -- how many songs can we squeeze into one?

Iine was the third song on the KL playlist. It is both a throwback to the band's earliest days, and also to immediately bring the party to us as soon as the intros are out of the way. It's not canon, but I like to think this dance club is where the girls emerged out of the pit in 'Doki Doki Morning', explaining their difficulty waking up for school. They are, after all wearing the same clothes from the rave the night before.

Early BABYMETAL -- free from constraints of expectation -- experimented like crazy with a variety of sound mixes, styles, and instrumentation. Crude, compared to the band's current genre-blending sophistication, Iine mixes specific genres sequentially, beginning with a manic electronica rave, transitioning to 80's hip hop, then reminding us that death metal is still at the core of its music, and back to the rave party we started with. It's like listening to several different songs one after another, though it's really just one song. That's one way to get value for money, I guess.

More importantly, this performance shows how versatile the girls and the band are in owning each genre in terms of vocal quality, body language, and choreography (behind the scenes too, with camera work, and lighting) like they actually belong. Already we see full and total commitment to their craft even in these early stages. I can only imagine how much work they had put in to develop this level of confidence and stage presence at this young age.

And can I say that, normally, kids irritate the heck out of me? Playing and pretending are what they do, and they do it so badly! I'm like ewww... get them away from me! Not these kids. They aren't playing. They are absolutely respectable artists in their field and this, to me, is what makes them truly adorable. This is also why I don't and never will have kids of my own. My standards are too high.

Megitsune: BABYMETAL is Borg

For want of anything better to write about, I'll be running through the BABYMETAL setlist as performed 'live' @ZEPP KL, 4 June 2023. I already reviewed the opening number, 'Death' in an earlier post, so I'll skip it and go into 'Megitsune', which is an apt follow up.

Where 'Death' is a statement of identity for the band, and its members, 'Megitsune' details its purpose, like its corporate statement.

The song pays homage to the trickster fox of Japanese mythology, whose totem the band has adopted. Behind the fox mask, nothing is as it appears. The mask is the stage on which the girls and the band perform in front of their audience. The band dresses as spooks, possibly ancestral spirits, and as the Kami band, they are almost gods of their craft -- although in this MV, the band is very enthusiastically played by actors wielding traditional Japanese musical instruments which obviously could not make the metal backing music we are hearing. The presence of spirits in this Japanese house(?) brings a spooky vibe, but YUI and MOA are clearly having so much fun in this haunted house, like it's Halloween. Meanwhile, SU, who is older, is pensively preparing for her transition into womanhood, which is yet another mask protecting her private self from her public facade. Even the microphone SU holds is a mask hiding another surprise.

So what exactly are we looking at in this MV? Well, it's a metal band wearing an idol-pop face. Or is it the other way around? The integration is so tight, we can't tell. It's metal, but the band will assimilate any genre it can wrap its musicality around. Here, it's incorporated 'Sakura', a popular Japanese folk song, and metallized it with repurposed lyrics. The band will go on to assimilate music from many other cultures worldwide in their later tracks, giving the band constantly fresh material, and an unpredictable repertoire of things that should not go together, but somehow they do, and you'll love it! BABYMETAL is Borg at their most delightful. Resistance is futile!

BABYMETAL is itself an impenetrable mask as the girls are only seen in public in their METAL (and their earlier SG) personas. Their private lives are intensely private, which is as it should be.

Jumping with them at the concert, yelling sore together with the crowd was something I never thought I'd enjoy up to a couple of months ago, but

Check-it-out BABYMETAL. I can have a bit of BABYMETAL, can’t I?

But my dignity worries me a bit these days

However, BABYMETAL. I can have a bit of BABYMETAL, can’t I?

Such guilty pleasure.