What some people miss about the story of the crucifixion of Jesus is that it doesn't just symbolizes death, but also rebirth. This is a rebirth ceremony, not an execution :D. This is BABYMETAL's "this is who we are" and "deal with it" :D
You have to remember this is Japan not a western country where Christianity makes up maybe 1% or less of the population so there's no religious context to this at all other than just a visual or vehicle to move their story along in which Su was transformed into a metal goddess Plus it looks cool 😊
I was going to say something similar. You have to remember where this is being performed and the audience watching. The cross and pentagram are just 'cool' symbols to most of these people. No deep thinking needed this time.
Yep - think of how many times you've seen American bands (or other creators) use Shinto symbolism and it didn't even faze you. Babymetal used Christian symbolism simply because it's "a cool thing metal bands do" (at least, from an outsider's perspective). No blasphemy intended 😁
@@Daniel_Colavecchio Cmon, the pentagram is used in every videogame possible like Final Fantasy where there is character that launches magic attacks. In myths is associated to black magic and by opposition to white magic, in Japan as in the West.
Like in Evangelion, the anime. Or Xenogears, the PSX game.. But yes, Christmas in Tokio is basically go to a KFC to buy chicken and put Christmas lights all around.
@@Haegemon That's a Western interpretation, who are the games writtern for, a global market. In actually the pentagram has been used in Japanese religions and symbolizes the five basic elements - tree, fire, soil, gold and water and is not inherently evil. Last, a symbol only has as much meaning and power to you as you allow it, to me it's all theater. Peace.
There is (virtually) no Christianity in Japan. Babymetal would never do anything deliberately controversial. You're viewing this from an American perspective that they don't understand.
12:18 those in hoods are something which came from a Christian tradition (possibly more specifically Protestant ?), it's definitely not just the KKK which did that.
Don't take it too seriously, japanese usually don't take western culture "that serious". They admire some of our mithology, but more for the ambience and aesthetic, that for the profund vision we have. They don't perform the sacrifice anymore because they know is sensitive to the western audience, but it doesn't mean that much to them. This is the intro song for all their concertes, except that time when Yuri leave until Momo became an official member (2018 to early 2023). So they open with this song, but they perform some moves instead all the sacrifice thing. What a way to start hehehe
These 3 girls got bigger balls than me to pull this show off the way they do. Pure respect. The visuals are something else. What a impact though am i right?
Just to be clear, song title is "Babymetal Death" not "Death" alone, it's usually a common mistake due to the title of the uploader. This is another song they brought back to live concerts in this World Tour 2023 as an opener after 2017 (when YuiMetal was still in the group) and fans are really glad with this come back, although here they're using as an ender as part of this special event. Song is heavy but wait until you hear Babymetal Death Shin Ver. from Budokan 2021 or "Sis Anger" to decide which one is heavier. You can find the kamishibai (narrated intro) translated in the description box if you're watching GuilhermeCait clip. If you're a Metallica fan you can spot the beggining riffs of _"One"_ song (just like you did right from the get go), as well of the -"virgen mary"- image behind (it's not, it's SuMetal resembles and Lady Justice Metallica tribute, even statue crumbling down is an homage) they're truly BM sensei and they support the group too. Our girls said this is one of the most physical demanding song, and you can see the reason why, they normally used this song as an opener and a way to warm up for next performances, in this rare exception this was at the end of the show, an epic finale. This was during SuMetal 16th birthday, the same place you probably saw at Gimme Chocolate!! MV and she was sacrificed as a j-pop idol and reborn as a metal goddess queen, the Fox God has bless all of us. -NotACult- 👀 The neckbrace is part of BM lore and you can see it first during Headbanger!! official MV, Yoshiki (pianist and drummer on X-Japan) suffer serious injuries during a live concert while headbanging so hard (this was way back before BabyMetal was even created), after that he needs to use neckbrace to avoid doing that movement, he still playing and being active, he's a living legend. They are singing their names as a way to introduce themselves in japanese way but with the pun intended play of words: "SuMetal desu" means "I'm SuMetal" but she is trying to say "SuMetal death", same for the rest of girls with their respective names, and the rest of the song is: "B - A - B -Y - M - E - T - A - L DEATH! DEATH! DEATH! DEATH!" Back then when doing promotional, TV interviews and introducing they did it the same way, you can look for a long vid with all these clips of them saying this kawaii introduction. They were taught to say "th" of "death" word by bitting their tonges at the end to pronounce this the right way, but they added a wink looking like this 😜 You'll see many Japanese fans ended their sentences and comments with "death" to remember this, unlike western fans like me. Btw it's been long since they didn't that introduction and during recent interview at "Fox 5" we saw the intro once again and with MomoMetal this time During an interview KobaMetal (the producer behind BM) said that when he was travelling for concerts abroads around 2015 he came to know a band like Ghosts and he was interested in discover that band doing the almost same thing they're were doing theatrically and artistically, so anyone thinking those bands are satanic and such they're just saying nonsenses, they're just doing a show in which they're playing a role, and in order to be convincent (like an actor in a movie film) they need to perform their part like they're mean it, and the audience must be part of it and they're an important ingredient because other way it wouldn't work. That's why we said all the time "notacult", unless you actually are or want to feel part of it. ;) Oh and just a note aside for anyone thinking this is disrespectful to western religion and whatnot, is not! KobaMetal explained he needed to make a bridge between fans and them so they can familiarizing with the BM concept with images the fans already knew, in this case he used the Neon Genesis Evangelion anime series as a drive vehicule which is heavily influenced by christianity, kabbalah, gnosticism and even islam symbolism, imagery and iconography, the plot on this was never took as a blasphemy for any religion and it was mostly used for aesthetic reasons, same for BabyMetal, it was used to represent the "Death and Rebirth" concept of SuMetal own role persona while having a bridge between fantasy and reality, the reality is she decided to end up her idol career (death) with Sakura Gakuin and commit herself to this new rol (rebirth) as a metal queen for BabyMetal. Sorry if this sound as a rant but i just keep seeing BM fans and general people who still don't get it, of course it's understandable if this is your first time and without any content but now you know. Like i said they brought back this song at PIA Arena MM and now with MomoMetal being officially part of the group and also was the intro for every setlist at the Babyklok Tour in the US and now with the EU and UK Tour. You can enjoy tons of fancams around or the live proshot at PIA Arena MM, i think NLMetal got that clip. Anyway thanks for sharing this and see you next time 🦊🤘💀
@@jakemuller8626lol sorry Jake, but I wouldn't call that a rant at all. That was sn amazing description. I saw your initial comment and I was thinking how... "unJake-like" that comment was! Was do SHORT with no description! So I figured I would attempt at describing it for the offset Era guys, but then saw THIS comment and thought, "now THAT is the Jake I know!" Lol
Great reaction ... but read that translation for the introduction again that you read right at the start, I don't think that sank in when you read it. I won't repeat all the explanations you already have in the comments, you have more than enough to read already (that won't stop me writing too much of course😝). 'BABYMETAL Death' was the first song on the first album and, as you have been told, the few lyrics there are are simply them introducing themselves and BABYMETAL by name. Normally they would open concerts with this song - on special occasions like this it might be used later in the concert. The whole of the Legend 1997 concert was telling the tale of the girl and her two lieutenants who had infiltrated the JPop Idol world as part of the Metal Resistance with a view to fighting from within to rejuvenate rock and metal music, bringing it to a new audience who had been denied the chance to hear it. Legend 1997 was all about the transition - culminating in JPop Idol Suzuka Nakamoto finally giving up her life as a JPop Idol who performs to pre-recorded instrumental music - even deliberately and very obviously lip-syncing the very first song of the show - 'The Night of 15 Headbanger Remix'. The show continues with them singing and dancing while the Babybones guys mimed the instruments and finally the Kami Band come on for the last 5 songs as they near the end of the transformation and it all culminates with Suzuka Nakamoto being gifted the sacred neck brace (an homage to X Japan's founder, drummer, pianist and main composer Yoshiki) and sacrificing her human existence to be reborn as the Metal Goddess Su-metal, chosen to lead the Metal Resistance. The crucifixion - this was all about the imagery of sacrifice, death and rebirth. They simply borrowed the best known imagery that people might recognise as representing that idea. The Babybones guys coming back with the black costumes - yes, more like executioners (you do know the kkk is - I believe - an exclusively American thing? No idea what they would be doing in Japan and dressed in black instead of white). They actually appeared at the start of the concert where Yui and Moa made offerings of neck braces to the statue (representing the God of Metal). Here they were again at the end to conclude the ceremonies at the end of the concert. You heard the first nod to Metallica with the drum riff from 'One'. The last nod was the statue crumbling at the end, just as Metallica's Lady Justice did on their 1989 'Justice For All' tour. They only crucify Su on special occasions. The last time they did it with this degree of theatrics was at Legend S for her 20th birthday in 2017 .... and that one had extra flames.🔥🦊🔥 Nothing here could be mistaken for being anything to do with a cult of course - the Frog Pit is being made ready for anybody suggesting it is.🐸
It's a bit sad to realize that religion keeps your perception within its dark box that you live in and prevents you from enjoying the stage performance... It's just music, it's just a performance... As it was at the concerts like Alice Cooper or David Bowie - that's all. Do you really need to explain such simple and obvious things?! Sadly...
To be completely fair it was Christians that appropriated the crucifix as the symbol for their religion from the Romans who actually came up with the idea, just as America appropriated gunpowder from the Chinese and now accuse the Chinese of stealing their tech
It's kinda weird at first tho, it's also their first time seeing this performance. For someone that is religious and don't has an elaborate context of the song then it can be confusing and a bit uncomfortable, I think this is pretty resonable, it makes sense why some people would take it as disrespect even tho it's not, with respect for both sides we can come across in a good manner. My family for example, most of them are Christians including me and after I showed and explained this performance to them they got into BABYMETAL with no problem at all. Ofc this also depends on the person.
@@BeccaVinesz absolutely, but of course respect goes both ways, do you believe that Americans are generally respectful of other cultures and non Christian religions within American pop culture?
@@BeccaVinesz I agree and press 👍. That is why I compared the influence of religion to the walls of a dark box. A person needs to take his head out of its limited context every time. No offense, but this is the sad truth.
@@charleslatora5750 I mean that is literally what it's meant to represent. That's what the whole intro spiel with the animation is about. Lore about kitsune-sama and how sumetal was destined to be reborn as a metal goddess. But to be reborn you have to die to your old self
Before Yui left, this song was the usual opener for their shows. Obviously without the extra show in the middle. It's a great song live to just get everyone going for a metal show.
@@plickerticker8754 They stopped it for a long time and really they shouldn't have brought it back. The song is a tone setter for the shows which is extremely light on the lyrics. You're literally cutting a full 3rd of the lyrics out of the song to keep it, and it just feels awkward rather than hype to plenty of people.
they still do it as an opener, they just had "in the name of" for a while as an opener which is nice yeah but doesn't come close to Babymetal Death. Besides..."Momo metal desu!" lightens up my heart :D
Good one! This was a HELL of a 16th birthday party. I see it totally normal. I don't know why people freaks out on this. 🤣 I'm late, I know (I have a very good excuse haha...) and I'm not repeating all the story but basically she had to die as a human and idol to reborn as a metal Goddess. 🤘🦊
Love watching you all thanks for doing this one! A couple of things that I don't see mentioned in other comments. Legend 1997 concert is an old-school rock opera, with setlist and dramatics from the opening of the show to this (finale) all part of telling the story of their lead singer sacrifice as a J-Pop star to become a metal goddess. The setlist starts pure house/pop after an actual operatic opening, slowly transitions from pop to metal, the song before this is a lament from Su-Metal, then this ending where she transforms (that is the basic story told by the show). It's unique as a concert. Secondly, keep in mind this is from a different culture, some of the references you note are really not the intent - they frequently in their 10+ years as a band use cultural references from other areas of the world that are meant for basic symbology rather than something more direct and sinister interpretation. The crucifiction reference for example is to denote rebirth, they have used it for this purpose a half dozen times or so in different shows, often on one of the singer's birthdays. There are other different cultural references used as symbolism in other concerts and shows (though this one is probably the most dramatic), I guess I'm saying the intent is not as dark as is easily interpreted from a US viewer.
I think if you want to make a religious connotation with the cross then it's the concept of rebirth - Su's young self died and she is "reborn" as a metal goddess. But as others have said Japan isn't a Christian country so the religious parallel wouldn't really land with their audience at this show anyway. They specifically use the word "reborn" in the intro so I can't imagine that the religious link isn't intentional from someone in the production team, possibly aimed at more Western audiences, but how many of the performers and audience actually present realise this is questionable.. so the cross is mainly for theatrics. Also remember that crucifixion was a method of execution long before and long after that one bloke from that old book!
There's is a "reborn" theme in the anime Evangelion which is more specifically referenced a year earlier at the 'LEGEND D' concert, which celebrates Su's 15th birthday. The crucifixion takes place during 'Tsubasa wo Kudasai' instead of 'BABYMETAL Death' though.
The song needs to be viewed in context to the show. It is part of what fans have coined "Trilogy of death". The song Headbangggggeeeeerrrrr (a 15 year old girl attends her first metal show), Akatsuki unfinished* (she is summoned by the fox god to save metal from the idol industry, thus needing to be sacrificed and reborn a goddess. . .thus must say goodbye to her old life and everything she loved) and then. . the ritual of Babymetal Death. . The shows were performed adjacent to Su's 16th B day! Imagine 16 year old Su at school on Monday . . . Friends: "What did you for your birthday this weekend?" Su: "Nothing much. . . My two best friends helped crucify me on stage in front of 9000 people who were jumping up and down shouting DEATH DEATH DEATH. . .it was kinda fun cause I was reborn as the goddess of Metal and then the big statue behind me fell over but nobody got hurt. . . . .so I guess it was fun. . .but by the time I got backstage Moa-Chan had eaten the last piece of my B-day cake! How was yours?" Japan is not a Christian nation, but the cycle of death and rebirth is part of their culture in Shinto and certain sects of Buddhism. The show was in Japan and they were just starting to gain popularity in the west. The story of the crucifixion supposedly (to best of my knowledge) pre dates Christianity by several (app 800) years. So I don't think they were fully aware how it may be viewed offensively by Christians in the west. That may explain why the cross imagery was absent from the sacrifice at the legend S show for her 20th b-day in Hiroshima (as by then they were on the radar in the west). That show also further clarifies the lore of how Su was chosen to use her voice to bring light to the heavens in the form of stars, and the light would rain down on the people, who would become "The One". The band is very much about unity and inclusion. After all they are a product of Amuse inc. . lol. . .and divisiveness is bad business. (Yet a little controversy is great advertising) They are masters of this! . . ..Also, the group was being criticized for not being "Metal". In typical Fox God response. . .oh really? . . . . . Let's see you crucify your teenage lead singer? . . THE MOST METAL THING EVER! !!!!! Similar to what they did with the song Awadama Fever. They were called bubble gum metal. . . . . .Really? OK. They then wrote and performed "Bubble Ball Fever" (translation), a song with heavy and very poppy influence about a mint flavored time machine that will take you anywhere (and when) and everywhere! So basically a metal song about Bubble Gum!!!! The most polite middle finger to their critics. There credo is very much, we do what we want, we break barriers, and stodgy gatekeepers be damned. . . . .very metal if you ask me. Kitsunes Up!🤘🦊🤘 PS If I may suggest, it is really time you did one of the guides to better understand their origin etc. . . . you are getting pretty far down the Foxhole now and I really think some background will greatly enhance your enjoyment of future reactions. Thank you for your musician based banter and I really enjoy your channel!!!!😎 This is the most recent: ua-cam.com/video/Wg2czdgQclA/v-deo.html
Great answer with humor, and extensive historical info.It's as if asking super man what he did last weekend, "frankly, nothing much, just wearing some funny looking costume, uses a codename, and fights evil with the aid of extraordinary abilities, hence saving the entire humanity". 😎
Yes. This is Anti Idle, Anti Japaniease Idle. It is a ceremony where she breaks with the Japanese idol industry, once and for all dying and being reborn as a metal idol!
That show was on Su‘s birthday, and this marks the day when she leaves her normal live behind and is reborn as the Metal Goddess. Knowing BABYMETAL, there was certainly no intention to be disrespectful towards any religion. I think the Japanese are a little more light-hearted with these things. The imagery seems cool and Metal, so they just borrow it. The lyrics are sparing, but quite interesting: In Japanese, the copula „to be“ is the word „desu“. In Tokio area Japanese (which can be considered something like „high“ Japanese), the u at the end is almost silent, so it sounds like „des“, which is remarkably close to the way foreigners (and Japanese in particular) pronounce the English word „death“. So in the end the lyrics are nothing more or less than an introduction: „Su-Metal desu, Yuimetal desu, Moametal desu, BABYMETAL desu“ simply means „I am Su-metal, I am Yuimetal, I am Moametal, we are BABYMETAL“. Accordingly, the song is usually played at the beginning of a show. This was a rare exception, where it was moved to the end, due to the special occasion around the extended middle part (which is not always included).
the first time I saw this vid, my catholic self was shock, lol, I would be lying if I didn't felt scared, especially if my parents saw it, lol. But, as a metal fan, it looked cool, XD. I tried seeing it in a non-religious way, and thought that not every cross is about Christianity, or not everything is about religion. It became my fave video and performance later.
This concert is also SuMetal's 16th birthday and she is becoming an adult (In Japan you graduate HS at age 15 or so) and moving on from the school they went to together. And there is no next song. This was the end of the show.
Such capricious hoods are common in European religious cults. The kkk just copied it for his sheets. There are many religions in Japan. Christianity is one of them. But there they do as with music, mixing it all up. They do not understand that religion as they do in countries with a Christian tradition. I don't think they intend to be blasphemous or provoke anyone. They simply take a number of religious elements and mix them together to tell a story.
This is how birthdays are usually celebrated in Japan🤪 This song has been played as the opener for all the shows that have taken place since MOMOMETAL joined the group in April of this year. Ten years after this performance, Su will celebrate her 26th birthday in 10 days.
You read the story at the start. They are sacrificing her human form to be reborn as the goddess. This is her 16th birthday celebration. Also the name of the song is a play on words. Desu means I am or we are. So to say BABYMETAL DESU is to say we are BABYMETAL They say their individual names too. Sumetal desu, yuimetal desu, moametal desu. When desu is pronounced it sounds like a lispy "death" They are literally introducing themselves in the most metal way possible. This song is almost always their opener. With BABYMETAL, dont be literal. There are a lot of double meanings and callbacks to other bands and their own lore. Also, this isnt the only time she gets crucified, nor is she the only one that does in the future. The whole theme of BABYMETAL is they are spirits that inhabit their human forms. They are reborn quite a few times after this. Oh and last thing... We are #NotACult
Prof AJ Hartley did a good break down of this and discusses the religious imagery. Essentially, Japan is a very secular country, and this isn't meant in an offensive way. It's just pure theatre/storytelling, and this is merely an extremely Metal aesthetic. Like others have mentioned, the context of the concert is important. This is Su's 16th birthday. As the concert progresses, you see them move away from their Idol origins and toward their Metal future. It opens with an entirely lip synced remix of Headbanger. The first few songs feature Baby Bones, calling back to their inception. Then the Kami Band comes in, nodding to their growing success and showing their progression into a proper band. This closing trilogy of songs is Su embracing her Metal destiny. In this song, the Idol is sacrificed and Su is reborn as a Metal Goddess. And there is no 'next one'. :p That was the finale of the concert. It's definitely a spectacle.🤘🦊🤘
Babymetal Death is normally how they start each concert, Dessu is an introduction word in Japanese basically we are or I am, it is also a play on words having no th sound in the Japanese language when they say death it sounds like des (dessu). This being her 16th birthday celebration and also the year Babymetal went from being an off shoot of their Idol group Sakura Gakuin to an independent band this performance symbolises the death of the Idol Suzuka and the birth of Su-metal the metal goddess hence the crucifixion. the other nod to Metallica (one of the first bands that befriended the girls and publicly endorsed them) was the breaking of the statue, Metallica did the same thing with a lady liberty statue, the neck brace is a nod to X Japan where their drummer/ piano player would wear a neck brace while performing after he damaged his neck headbanging.
A J-pop idol dies and a metal goddess is born - Crucifixion followed by Resurrection. If you go back to the start of the Legend 1997 show, you'll see them take the stage to Ave Maria (the Schubert piece) to set that 'religious' tone and drop directly into a techno remix of Headbanger, lip-sync'd to a backing track as if a traditional idol group were performing it. The real metal band arrived later in the show. BABYMETAL DEATH was used to close the show, completing the transformation to a metal group in a spectacular way.
I think people forget that Japan is not a "Christian" nation. In fact, less than 1% of Japan identify as Christian. It's all symbolism. As others here have already explained, it's not in a religious context. The whole concert was a story of a young girl leaving the "idol" industry and being reborn into a metal goddess. The concert starts with a very "club" edm version of Headbanger called Headbanger Night Of 15 Mix, and ends with this performance of DEATH and the original version of Headbanger. It's all just theatrics. #notacult 😅
I would think some of those paranoid anti-Christian people out there who are triggered by any religious symbolism would be the most likely to be offended by this song. 😆 For me, as a Catholic, I love it. As many have already pointed out, it really has nothing to do with religion in any way. They're just borrowing the imagery. Even if it were meant as a religious reference there is nothing offensive that I can see.
There may be no connotations of religion here. all of my Japanese friends said they didn't see one; Japan is 0% Christian after all. Crucifixion was the traditional method of execution in Japan. The cross also has other connotations; Okuni, the women who invented Kabuki theater, wore a cross, and it's common for female performers to wear a cross in her honor. Also reincarnation is a classic story line in Japan. I get the KKK reference, I lived in a town with a KKK store. I don't believe these hoods are meant to reference that, I believe it refers to classic Japanese priest outfits.
Thank you, nice reaction. Legend has it that Su dies to be reborn as a goddess and defender of metal. It's a simple and clean symbolism, more spectacular than a cup of poison, less bloody than a beheading, less dangerous than a hanging. These are Japanese codes, Christian bigotry is not their priority, their references are of course very far from the Klan...for Moa, fried chiken is an exotic dish and Jesus is a Spanish first name !🙏🦊🙏
It's a great show. Sadly if you try to upload or stream a video with the whole thing on youtube it'll get blocked, even though the individual songs don't.
Don't worry, bro, this song is not about making fun of other religions. This song tells the story of a girl who leaves the Japanese idol industry which begins with the EDM version of Headbanger Night of 15 Mix (Avamarie) and ends with Babymetal Death and the original version of Headbanger. and he was reborn as a metal idol on his birthday. and legend 1997 is a legend from SUu-metal which is celebrating its birthday at that time.
Suzuka Nakamoto, the j-pop idol died for us metalheads. She collapsed on the stage, ceased to exist as an idol, and then she was put on the cross not as a sacrifice but as an offering. And then the Fox God looked down, knew the truth, and resurrected her as Su-metal. It's simple as that.
people forget crucifixion has been around long before Jesus being crucified. this has nothing to do with religion. the beginning is basically translated into her having to die as a idol queen to be reborn as a metal queen. that is why the song before this was about. like someone has already said you need to react to the guide to Babymetal from Cryptic Misery, 44 minutes long and it explains alot of the lore of Babymetal. and the statue is not Mary but it was suppose to have a liking to Su.
Yeah as other people have commented you're looking a bit too deeply into the crucifixion bit. Christianity is barely a concept in Japan. It's like how they celebrate Christmas but only do so to boost consumerism. They don't acknowledge or care about the religious context of it.
If you want to know what the intro video was saying, look up the version on the channel 'ferr' - it has subtitles for that part. As others have mentioned, this was the last song of the show, but there was another song _before_ it that actually gives it a little more context. You saw them play Headbanger at this same show, which was the third-to-last song. Between that groovy jam and this cataclysmic ending, they did an acoustic rendition of Akatsuki, the normal version of which you've heard before. This "unfinished" version of it is definitely worth a separate reaction though, and as it also has an intro video in Japanese, I would recommend sourcing it from that 'ferr' channel as well. Cheers!
I know this is about 4 months late, but in terms of the hoods, most ppl in japan have no knowledge of the KKK. In this case it's more likely connected to vague impressions of cultist outfits, western executioner hoods, or perhaps a vague aesthetic connection to catholic semana santa clothing in Spain. Others have already explained the symbolism of dying to her idol self and being reborn as a metal goddess
i think ive heard the neck stabilizer is a whatever called to some japanese musician, iirc in maxium the hormone that hurt his neck and had 1 for awhile
That was fun to watch and don’t worry about tour confusion. That was a theatrical display of the story of Su-metal that you read before the reaction. She (as the J-pop idol) needed to be sacrificed in order to be reborn as the metal goddess Su-metal. All the crosses etc have no religious meaning, that’s all the just for the theatrics. Oh did someone mention yet #Notacult? 🤘🔥🦊
You should see the crucifixion from the legend S show way better than this one The opening "In The Name Of" was an amazing piece of showmanship Legend S was the first show without Yui
All the insightful comments a below are correct. Anothe thing to consider on the religion angle is that Japan is largely Buddhist. A Japanese band playing in Japan to a Japanese audience - the Christian references could be missed - so they elected to remove subtlety. This one is definitely my favorite!!
There are 8 million gods in Japan, so Japanese people don't really care about foreign beliefs. Now that they're so famous, they probably wouldn't be able to put on a show like this.
Su-Metal, The Legend of 1997 (1997 is Suzuka's year of birth) was performed on 21/12/2013. This performance represents the day she gave her life for us. This solemn moment shall forever go down in history. The fact that she has bestowed herself upon us, not only makes us grateful but should also make us remember our role... Our role as loyal subjects to our Queen. We are ready, at her call, we will make our stand. Honor to our Queen! Jordan - Royal Guard of Princess Moa-Metal, my Angel of Love. Long live My Princess Moa! Long live Princess Momo! Long live The Fallen Princess Yui! Long live The One! Long live The Queen!
As many others said its very small christian population in Japan/Korea etc. Im sure they did their research but all comes down to it this is Su's 16th birthday party. Weird to say now that shes 25. This is what she wanted to do to cement her legacy in JRock/JMetal and god damn did she
Imagine coming from a non-christian culture and seeing a montage of various christian worship services, asking about all the imagery of a dead man nailed to a cross and then having it explained to you as a celebration, not of death but of resurrection into a higher form. We all lack an understanding of the nuances of the religions of others.
There is nothing about this song, band or performance that is offensive. You read the explanation before watching , you know they are Japanese right? Alice Cooper is a devout Christian yet sings about the devil and murders a baby every night on stage. Context is everything. ………..BABYMETAL are awesome.
Now tell me, y'all still think Babymetal is all about cute little kids just dancing to metal music. Babymetal Death is about as dark and heavy a musical production ever put together. These three teeny tiny ladies in tutus are absolute legends.
"TH" is pronounced as "S[U]" in Japanese because dental fricative (th) does not exist in the language. "DEATH" therefore is pronounced as "DES[U]", having a dual meaning "death" (English) and "to be" (Japanese) . This gives the song title a dual meaning: "BABYMETAL DEATH" and "WE ARE BABYMETAL" The song is basically a mission statement of BABYMETAL: "We gave up normal human lives to dedicate our lives for Metal music. That's who we are. We are Babymetal." It is no accident that this is the very first song of their first album "Babymetal". It is also no accicent that this song is the first song of most live performances.
Mostly correct except that "desu" doesn't mean to be. It doesn't really have a translation in English, as it is a sentence ending which English doesn't have. Think of it more like someone asks "what's your name?" And you say "socrateos" as an answer and a sentence. The "I am" is simply implied here
Just another normal birthday celebration for your typical Japanese rock star. i do not think Manson would have the guts to crucify a teenage girl on stage in front of thousands of people.
they are not making a mockery they are just using these religious symbols to add to the theatrical effect to the show and blend it in with the fiction lore of BabyMetal. The symbols to them just make the show more cool. Not too mention in metal especially Death Metal symbols of Christianity and other religions have been used many times. This is BabyMetal's way of paying homage to that style.They have also done this with SU on a different emblem that was not a cross. They don't view religion like Christianity and Islam. The populations of those two in Japan is small. This is all pure theatrical and done to celebrate Su 16 bday. Just like the Statue crumbling in the end to pay homage to Metallica. It is a very awesome performance but still mild to what Ive seen from other Metal Bands over the years. Just a shock the first time to people who have never seen a BabyMetal performance like this. I love this performance. It is usually without the crucifixion at the beginning of the show. They are just introducing themselves with the lyrics which is Desu but sounds like death. When they sold out the Tokyo Dome two nights in a row one of the concerts open with this and all the girls rose out of the huge stage on crosses with the crowd chanting death. lol it was pretty cool. They are always some that will but nobody should be offended by this.
No no no guys you are watching the birth of the metal goddess the passage you read at the start tells you what is going on,the incredible thing about these girls is they have created a lore to go with Babymetal and this is all part of the story (think of it like a theatrical performance where Su gives up being a Jpop idol and becomes Su-Metal to lead the metal resistance).
This concert was held in 2012 and the "Legend 1997" refers to the birth year of Su-Metal (Suzuka Nakamoto) and this performance was for Su's 15th Birthday in December to effectively make her the "Queen of the Fox God" ...if i remember correctly.
What you are missing is that nobody on that stage had a Christian background. The cross doesn't really mean anything them.except that it looks cool. It has no real meaning in terms of the symbolism of Christianity.
Hi guys, I guessed you were going to be troubled with this one. Rest assured, Babymetal aren't a Satanist cult, they simply linked a resurrection story to a rebirth story. Su was being reborn as a Metal Goddess using a well-known phoenix story to add gravitas. The imagery is designed to capture the attention of the outside world, the images have no ingrained meaning to them apart from it looks great on camera. In Japan around 70% of people identify with the Shinto faith, around 65% of people identify with Buddhism, and about 1.5% identify as Christian (if you do the math on that, it's a bit confusing, but many Japanese identify with Shinto and Buddhism interchangeably). This is simply an Alice Cooper-like performance of the first song on their first album. On another tangent, I watched a couple of your videos, but I really liked Wrong With Me, the one at Ollie's Pub. It is so good to see a band still playing punk'ish' music. My nephew plays in a local band (really small) similar in style to Macc Lads (a 90's punk band from England). They just play for fun. My nephew is actually a drug councillor in real life, so it's an outlet for him. However, you guys are much, much tighter than them. Keep going. Also, in case you don't already know them, check out Amyl and the Sniffers. They are scorching it at the moment, they are so edgy.
As others have mentioned, the cross and crucifixion has a different context in Japan as their most popular religion is Buddhism. The meaning is much more basic in context of the stage story. Death of Su-Metals Idol persona to the Fox God in rebirth as a Metal Goddess. The whole Baby-Metal stage act is like an operatic play, even the new albums have themes to them. While it's not a cult, it is it's own unique 'world', like Star Wars, or Popular Anime, they have an alternate universe they sing in(and tell their story).
Not sure if you all will see this as this video is 3 months old, but will you be reacting to the 2023 PIA arena performance of Babymetal Death with Momometal?
She was 'sacrificed' in ther same way (not as elaborate though) at the end of the 'Legend D' concert which also represents her 'Death' and also 'Day of birth'
An interesting take posted on BABYMETAL REDDIT by VulpineDeity: Take it a step farther. Not only does 'SU-METAL DESU' mean she's introducing herself, it's also her super-hero transformation phrase. Like on Sailor Moon, Usagi says 'Moon Prism Power!' and turns into Sailor Moon, Suzuka Nakamoto shouts 'I AM SU-METAL' and becomes possessed by the spirit of the Fox God and transforms into the Metal Goddess SU-METAL. The magical girl who transforms into a hero is a huge trope in Japan, comparable to Disney princesses in the west. BABYMETAL DEATH! follows the trope and it's the moment that they all transform into their magical alter egos at the start of the show. 🦊 🖖 ❤
This is a song that is great when you see it live, but it isn't my favorite to just listen to. Like you said it is pretty light on vocals, it is basically just them introducing themselves and a lot of chanting DEATH. They have only done the crucifixion scene a few times live, the song is usually shorter than this when you see it live.
In Japanese culture Christianity is just mythology, like Greek or Nordic mythology. They use the symbols and references just because they look cool. There's no hidden antichristian message or anything like that. I've seen Japanese people wearing crosses or other Christian symbols in clothing or accessories and it doesn't necessarily mean they're Christian. Christianism and Catholicism exists in Japan, but it's definitely not as strong as it is in the west world. Even their own religion, Shintoism, is seen more as old tradition than as a cult.
Someone more qualified than me will be here soon to explain the meaning behind this specific performance of this song I'm sure. It's quite the theatrical performance, that's for sure.
What some people miss about the story of the crucifixion of Jesus is that it doesn't just symbolizes death, but also rebirth. This is a rebirth ceremony, not an execution :D.
This is BABYMETAL's "this is who we are" and "deal with it" :D
What a sixteenth birthday party! I just got a cake and some socks.
It is a play on words...death and desu. Babymetal Desu means, "We Are Babymetal."
You have to remember this is Japan not a western country where Christianity makes up maybe 1% or less of the population so there's no religious context to this at all other than just a visual or vehicle to move their story along in which Su was transformed into a metal goddess Plus it looks cool 😊
I was going to say something similar. You have to remember where this is being performed and the audience watching. The cross and pentagram are just 'cool' symbols to most of these people. No deep thinking needed this time.
Yep - think of how many times you've seen American bands (or other creators) use Shinto symbolism and it didn't even faze you. Babymetal used Christian symbolism simply because it's "a cool thing metal bands do" (at least, from an outsider's perspective). No blasphemy intended 😁
@@Daniel_Colavecchio Cmon, the pentagram is used in every videogame possible like Final Fantasy where there is character that launches magic attacks. In myths is associated to black magic and by opposition to white magic, in Japan as in the West.
Like in Evangelion, the anime. Or Xenogears, the PSX game.. But yes, Christmas in Tokio is basically go to a KFC to buy chicken and put Christmas lights all around.
@@Haegemon That's a Western interpretation, who are the games writtern for, a global market. In actually the pentagram has been used in Japanese religions and symbolizes the five basic elements - tree, fire, soil, gold and water and is not inherently evil. Last, a symbol only has as much meaning and power to you as you allow it, to me it's all theater. Peace.
There is (virtually) no Christianity in Japan. Babymetal would never do anything deliberately controversial. You're viewing this from an American perspective that they don't understand.
12:18 those in hoods are something which came from a Christian tradition (possibly more specifically Protestant ?), it's definitely not just the KKK which did that.
Orthodox
She dies as a girl to be reborn as a rock goddess
Don't take it too seriously, japanese usually don't take western culture "that serious". They admire some of our mithology, but more for the ambience and aesthetic, that for the profund vision we have. They don't perform the sacrifice anymore because they know is sensitive to the western audience, but it doesn't mean that much to them.
This is the intro song for all their concertes, except that time when Yuri leave until Momo became an official member (2018 to early 2023). So they open with this song, but they perform some moves instead all the sacrifice thing. What a way to start hehehe
These 3 girls got bigger balls than me to pull this show off the way they do. Pure respect. The visuals are something else. What a impact though am i right?
4:17 Reaction start
The Fox God has sacrificed a J-pop idol and reborn into a metal goddess queen. We've been blessed by Kitsune-sama.🙌
-NotACult- 🦊🤘💀
Just to be clear, song title is "Babymetal Death" not "Death" alone, it's usually a common mistake due to the title of the uploader.
This is another song they brought back to live concerts in this World Tour 2023 as an opener after 2017 (when YuiMetal was still in the group) and fans are really glad with this come back, although here they're using as an ender as part of this special event.
Song is heavy but wait until you hear Babymetal Death Shin Ver. from Budokan 2021 or "Sis Anger" to decide which one is heavier. You can find the kamishibai (narrated intro) translated in the description box if you're watching GuilhermeCait clip.
If you're a Metallica fan you can spot the beggining riffs of _"One"_ song (just like you did right from the get go), as well of the -"virgen mary"- image behind (it's not, it's SuMetal resembles and Lady Justice Metallica tribute, even statue crumbling down is an homage) they're truly BM sensei and they support the group too. Our girls said this is one of the most physical demanding song, and you can see the reason why, they normally used this song as an opener and a way to warm up for next performances, in this rare exception this was at the end of the show, an epic finale.
This was during SuMetal 16th birthday, the same place you probably saw at Gimme Chocolate!! MV and she was sacrificed as a j-pop idol and reborn as a metal goddess queen, the Fox God has bless all of us. -NotACult- 👀
The neckbrace is part of BM lore and you can see it first during Headbanger!! official MV, Yoshiki (pianist and drummer on X-Japan) suffer serious injuries during a live concert while headbanging so hard (this was way back before BabyMetal was even created), after that he needs to use neckbrace to avoid doing that movement, he still playing and being active, he's a living legend.
They are singing their names as a way to introduce themselves in japanese way but with the pun intended play of words: "SuMetal desu" means "I'm SuMetal" but she is trying to say "SuMetal death", same for the rest of girls with their respective names, and the rest of the song is:
"B - A - B -Y - M - E - T - A - L DEATH! DEATH! DEATH! DEATH!"
Back then when doing promotional, TV interviews and introducing they did it the same way, you can look for a long vid with all these clips of them saying this kawaii introduction. They were taught to say "th" of "death" word by bitting their tonges at the end to pronounce this the right way, but they added a wink looking like this 😜
You'll see many Japanese fans ended their sentences and comments with "death" to remember this, unlike western fans like me. Btw it's been long since they didn't that introduction and during recent interview at "Fox 5" we saw the intro once again and with MomoMetal this time
During an interview KobaMetal (the producer behind BM) said that when he was travelling for concerts abroads around 2015 he came to know a band like Ghosts and he was interested in discover that band doing the almost same thing they're were doing theatrically and artistically, so anyone thinking those bands are satanic and such they're just saying nonsenses, they're just doing a show in which they're playing a role, and in order to be convincent (like an actor in a movie film) they need to perform their part like they're mean it, and the audience must be part of it and they're an important ingredient because other way it wouldn't work. That's why we said all the time "notacult", unless you actually are or want to feel part of it. ;)
Oh and just a note aside for anyone thinking this is disrespectful to western religion and whatnot, is not! KobaMetal explained he needed to make a bridge between fans and them so they can familiarizing with the BM concept with images the fans already knew, in this case he used the Neon Genesis Evangelion anime series as a drive vehicule which is heavily influenced by christianity, kabbalah, gnosticism and even islam symbolism, imagery and iconography, the plot on this was never took as a blasphemy for any religion and it was mostly used for aesthetic reasons, same for BabyMetal, it was used to represent the "Death and Rebirth" concept of SuMetal own role persona while having a bridge between fantasy and reality, the reality is she decided to end up her idol career (death) with Sakura Gakuin and commit herself to this new rol (rebirth) as a metal queen for BabyMetal.
Sorry if this sound as a rant but i just keep seeing BM fans and general people who still don't get it, of course it's understandable if this is your first time and without any content but now you know.
Like i said they brought back this song at PIA Arena MM and now with MomoMetal being officially part of the group and also was the intro for every setlist at the Babyklok Tour in the US and now with the EU and UK Tour. You can enjoy tons of fancams around or the live proshot at PIA Arena MM, i think NLMetal got that clip.
Anyway thanks for sharing this and see you next time 🦊🤘💀
@@jakemuller8626lol sorry Jake, but I wouldn't call that a rant at all. That was sn amazing description. I saw your initial comment and I was thinking how... "unJake-like" that comment was! Was do SHORT with no description! So I figured I would attempt at describing it for the offset Era guys, but then saw THIS comment and thought, "now THAT is the Jake I know!" Lol
@@jeremyboynowski3784 Jeremy you're the man.🦊🤘🔥
@@jakemuller8626 The mechanism of UA-cam does not allow this, but I would like to give you a hundred million thousand "likes"!
@@jakemuller8626 I think hes getting pressed bc it looks cultish but they arnt implying that it is a cult😂😋😝
They sacrifice the queen of J-pop, to the fox god. he then returns a metal goddess.
Great reaction ... but read that translation for the introduction again that you read right at the start, I don't think that sank in when you read it. I won't repeat all the explanations you already have in the comments, you have more than enough to read already (that won't stop me writing too much of course😝).
'BABYMETAL Death' was the first song on the first album and, as you have been told, the few lyrics there are are simply them introducing themselves and BABYMETAL by name. Normally they would open concerts with this song - on special occasions like this it might be used later in the concert.
The whole of the Legend 1997 concert was telling the tale of the girl and her two lieutenants who had infiltrated the JPop Idol world as part of the Metal Resistance with a view to fighting from within to rejuvenate rock and metal music, bringing it to a new audience who had been denied the chance to hear it.
Legend 1997 was all about the transition - culminating in JPop Idol Suzuka Nakamoto finally giving up her life as a JPop Idol who performs to pre-recorded instrumental music - even deliberately and very obviously lip-syncing the very first song of the show - 'The Night of 15 Headbanger Remix'.
The show continues with them singing and dancing while the Babybones guys mimed the instruments and finally the Kami Band come on for the last 5 songs as they near the end of the transformation and it all culminates with Suzuka Nakamoto being gifted the sacred neck brace (an homage to X Japan's founder, drummer, pianist and main composer Yoshiki) and sacrificing her human existence to be reborn as the Metal Goddess Su-metal, chosen to lead the Metal Resistance.
The crucifixion - this was all about the imagery of sacrifice, death and rebirth. They simply borrowed the best known imagery that people might recognise as representing that idea.
The Babybones guys coming back with the black costumes - yes, more like executioners (you do know the kkk is - I believe - an exclusively American thing? No idea what they would be doing in Japan and dressed in black instead of white). They actually appeared at the start of the concert where Yui and Moa made offerings of neck braces to the statue (representing the God of Metal). Here they were again at the end to conclude the ceremonies at the end of the concert.
You heard the first nod to Metallica with the drum riff from 'One'. The last nod was the statue crumbling at the end, just as Metallica's Lady Justice did on their 1989 'Justice For All' tour.
They only crucify Su on special occasions. The last time they did it with this degree of theatrics was at Legend S for her 20th birthday in 2017 .... and that one had extra flames.🔥🦊🔥
Nothing here could be mistaken for being anything to do with a cult of course - the Frog Pit is being made ready for anybody suggesting it is.🐸
It's a bit sad to realize that religion keeps your perception within its dark box that you live in and prevents you from enjoying the stage performance...
It's just music, it's just a performance... As it was at the concerts like Alice Cooper or David Bowie - that's all. Do you really need to explain such simple and obvious things?! Sadly...
To be completely fair it was Christians that appropriated the crucifix as the symbol for their religion from the Romans who actually came up with the idea, just as America appropriated gunpowder from the Chinese and now accuse the Chinese of stealing their tech
It's kinda weird at first tho, it's also their first time seeing this performance. For someone that is religious and don't has an elaborate context of the song then it can be confusing and a bit uncomfortable, I think this is pretty resonable, it makes sense why some people would take it as disrespect even tho it's not, with respect for both sides we can come across in a good manner. My family for example, most of them are Christians including me and after I showed and explained this performance to them they got into BABYMETAL with no problem at all. Ofc this also depends on the person.
@@BeccaVinesz absolutely, but of course respect goes both ways, do you believe that Americans are generally respectful of other cultures and non Christian religions within American pop culture?
@@BeccaVinesz I agree and press 👍. That is why I compared the influence of religion to the walls of a dark box. A person needs to take his head out of its limited context every time. No offense, but this is the sad truth.
@@user-Andriy_Solodky Yeah, sure, no problem 🦊🤘🏼
It's a way to say to all the doubters, "We're METAL-deal with it."
This was just Su's 16th birthday 😂
You read what happend right before you watched the video. The human Suzuka Nakamoto was sacrificed to become the metalgodess Su-Metal.
Truth.
#notacult
Dudes. Your overthinking it.
@@charleslatora5750 I mean that is literally what it's meant to represent. That's what the whole intro spiel with the animation is about. Lore about kitsune-sama and how sumetal was destined to be reborn as a metal goddess. But to be reborn you have to die to your old self
this song was meant to rep su mortal death and her rebirth as a metal goddess
Ok this was hilarious watching these guys getting nervous hahahaha
Before Yui left, this song was the usual opener for their shows. Obviously without the extra show in the middle. It's a great song live to just get everyone going for a metal show.
I just seen them in Orlando Florida sept and it was their opening song. 👉🦊👈🤘❤️
opening song in barcelona and madrid this weekend too@@plickerticker8754
@@plickerticker8754 They stopped it for a long time and really they shouldn't have brought it back. The song is a tone setter for the shows which is extremely light on the lyrics.
You're literally cutting a full 3rd of the lyrics out of the song to keep it, and it just feels awkward rather than hype to plenty of people.
they still do it as an opener, they just had "in the name of" for a while as an opener which is nice yeah but doesn't come close to Babymetal Death. Besides..."Momo metal desu!" lightens up my heart :D
@@randumo24 i do not think is awkward for anybody, i do not understand what you say about cutting a full 3rd of the lyrics.
Good one!
This was a HELL of a 16th birthday party. I see it totally normal. I don't know why people freaks out on this. 🤣
I'm late, I know (I have a very good excuse haha...) and I'm not repeating all the story but basically she had to die as a human and idol to reborn as a metal Goddess.
🤘🦊
Death is a play on desu...it's basically an introductory song..su metal death is really su metal desu..I am su
Love watching you all thanks for doing this one!
A couple of things that I don't see mentioned in other comments. Legend 1997 concert is an old-school rock opera, with setlist and dramatics from the opening of the show to this (finale) all part of telling the story of their lead singer sacrifice as a J-Pop star to become a metal goddess. The setlist starts pure house/pop after an actual operatic opening, slowly transitions from pop to metal, the song before this is a lament from Su-Metal, then this ending where she transforms (that is the basic story told by the show). It's unique as a concert. Secondly, keep in mind this is from a different culture, some of the references you note are really not the intent - they frequently in their 10+ years as a band use cultural references from other areas of the world that are meant for basic symbology rather than something more direct and sinister interpretation. The crucifiction reference for example is to denote rebirth, they have used it for this purpose a half dozen times or so in different shows, often on one of the singer's birthdays. There are other different cultural references used as symbolism in other concerts and shows (though this one is probably the most dramatic), I guess I'm saying the intent is not as dark as is easily interpreted from a US viewer.
I think if you want to make a religious connotation with the cross then it's the concept of rebirth - Su's young self died and she is "reborn" as a metal goddess. But as others have said Japan isn't a Christian country so the religious parallel wouldn't really land with their audience at this show anyway. They specifically use the word "reborn" in the intro so I can't imagine that the religious link isn't intentional from someone in the production team, possibly aimed at more Western audiences, but how many of the performers and audience actually present realise this is questionable.. so the cross is mainly for theatrics. Also remember that crucifixion was a method of execution long before and long after that one bloke from that old book!
There's is a "reborn" theme in the anime Evangelion which is more specifically referenced a year earlier at the 'LEGEND D' concert, which celebrates Su's 15th birthday.
The crucifixion takes place during 'Tsubasa wo Kudasai' instead of 'BABYMETAL Death' though.
We are Babymetal! 🤘😝🤘 僕らはベイビーメタルだ！
We are The One ❤❤❤
The song needs to be viewed in context to the show. It is part of what fans have coined "Trilogy of death". The song Headbangggggeeeeerrrrr (a 15 year old girl attends her first metal show), Akatsuki unfinished* (she is summoned by the fox god to save metal from the idol industry, thus needing to be sacrificed and reborn a goddess. . .thus must say goodbye to her old life and everything she loved) and then. . the ritual of Babymetal Death. .
The shows were performed adjacent to Su's 16th B day!
Imagine 16 year old Su at school on Monday . . .
Friends: "What did you for your birthday this weekend?"
Su: "Nothing much. . . My two best friends helped crucify me on stage in front of 9000 people who were jumping up and down shouting DEATH DEATH DEATH. . .it was kinda fun cause I was reborn as the goddess of Metal and then the big statue behind me fell over but nobody got hurt. . . . .so I guess it was fun. . .but by the time I got backstage Moa-Chan had eaten the last piece of my B-day cake! How was yours?"
Japan is not a Christian nation, but the cycle of death and rebirth is part of their culture in Shinto and certain sects of Buddhism. The show was in Japan and they were just starting to gain popularity in the west. The story of the crucifixion supposedly (to best of my knowledge) pre dates Christianity by several (app 800) years. So I don't think they were fully aware how it may be viewed offensively by Christians in the west. That may explain why the cross imagery was absent from the sacrifice at the legend S show for her 20th b-day in Hiroshima (as by then they were on the radar in the west). That show also further clarifies the lore of how Su was chosen to use her voice to bring light to the heavens in the form of stars, and the light would rain down on the people, who would become "The One". The band is very much about unity and inclusion. After all they are a product of Amuse inc. . lol. . .and divisiveness is bad business. (Yet a little controversy is great advertising) They are masters of this!
. . ..Also, the group was being criticized for not being "Metal".
In typical Fox God response. . .oh really? . . . . . Let's see you crucify your teenage lead singer? . .
THE MOST METAL THING EVER! !!!!!
Similar to what they did with the song Awadama Fever. They were called bubble gum metal. . . . . .Really? OK. They then wrote and performed "Bubble Ball Fever" (translation), a song with heavy and very poppy influence about a mint flavored time machine that will take you anywhere (and when) and everywhere! So basically a metal song about Bubble Gum!!!!
The most polite middle finger to their critics.
There credo is very much, we do what we want, we break barriers, and stodgy gatekeepers be damned. . . . .very metal if you ask me. Kitsunes Up!🤘🦊🤘
PS If I may suggest, it is really time you did one of the guides to better understand their origin etc. . . . you are getting pretty far down the Foxhole now and I really think some background will greatly enhance your enjoyment of future reactions.
Thank you for your musician based banter and I really enjoy your channel!!!!😎 This is the most recent:
ua-cam.com/video/Wg2czdgQclA/v-deo.html
Great answer with humor, and extensive historical info.It's as if asking super man what he did last weekend, "frankly, nothing much, just wearing some funny looking costume, uses a codename, and fights evil with the aid of extraordinary abilities, hence saving the entire humanity". 😎
There were about 9,000 people at this concert, not 20,000.
I think you might be confusing this venue with Saitama Super Arena.
@@rickwagner- oh. . Yes. I thought that was the same show. . . I'll edit it. Thank you for the correction.
Cc
Yes. This is Anti Idle, Anti Japaniease Idle.
It is a ceremony where she breaks with the Japanese idol industry, once and for all dying and being reborn as a metal idol!
Watching everyone scatter like villagers in Minecraft when you ring the bell after Su screams gets me every time 😂
That show was on Su‘s birthday, and this marks the day when she leaves her normal live behind and is reborn as the Metal Goddess.
Knowing BABYMETAL, there was certainly no intention to be disrespectful towards any religion. I think the Japanese are a little more light-hearted with these things. The imagery seems cool and Metal, so they just borrow it.
The lyrics are sparing, but quite interesting: In Japanese, the copula „to be“ is the word „desu“. In Tokio area Japanese (which can be considered something like „high“ Japanese), the u at the end is almost silent, so it sounds like „des“, which is remarkably close to the way foreigners (and Japanese in particular) pronounce the English word „death“. So in the end the lyrics are nothing more or less than an introduction: „Su-Metal desu, Yuimetal desu, Moametal desu, BABYMETAL desu“ simply means „I am Su-metal, I am Yuimetal, I am Moametal, we are BABYMETAL“. Accordingly, the song is usually played at the beginning of a show. This was a rare exception, where it was moved to the end, due to the special occasion around the extended middle part (which is not always included).
Forget Metal Queen, but Metal Goddess actually.
@@autohmae You are right, of course. No idea why I wrote queen. Corrected it.
the first time I saw this vid, my catholic self was shock, lol, I would be lying if I didn't felt scared, especially if my parents saw it, lol. But, as a metal fan, it looked cool, XD. I tried seeing it in a non-religious way, and thought that not every cross is about Christianity, or not everything is about religion. It became my fave video and performance later.
This concert is also SuMetal's 16th birthday and she is becoming an adult (In Japan you graduate HS at age 15 or so) and moving on from the school they went to together. And there is no next song. This was the end of the show.
Welcome to the cult of Babymetal. #notacult
Such capricious hoods are common in European religious cults. The kkk just copied it for his sheets.
There are many religions in Japan. Christianity is one of them. But there they do as with music, mixing it all up. They do not understand that religion as they do in countries with a Christian tradition. I don't think they intend to be blasphemous or provoke anyone. They simply take a number of religious elements and mix them together to tell a story.
This is how birthdays are usually celebrated in Japan🤪
This song has been played as the opener for all the shows that have taken place since MOMOMETAL joined the group in April of this year. Ten years after this performance, Su will celebrate her 26th birthday in 10 days.
Best sweet sixteen party ever ! 🙂
@@autohmae Yes, definitely!🎉🦊🤘
You read the story at the start. They are sacrificing her human form to be reborn as the goddess. This is her 16th birthday celebration.
Also the name of the song is a play on words.
Desu means I am or we are. So to say BABYMETAL DESU is to say we are BABYMETAL
They say their individual names too. Sumetal desu, yuimetal desu, moametal desu.
When desu is pronounced it sounds like a lispy "death"
They are literally introducing themselves in the most metal way possible.
This song is almost always their opener.
With BABYMETAL, dont be literal. There are a lot of double meanings and callbacks to other bands and their own lore.
Also, this isnt the only time she gets crucified, nor is she the only one that does in the future.
The whole theme of BABYMETAL is they are spirits that inhabit their human forms. They are reborn quite a few times after this.
Oh and last thing...
We are #NotACult
Prof AJ Hartley did a good break down of this and discusses the religious imagery. Essentially, Japan is a very secular country, and this isn't meant in an offensive way. It's just pure theatre/storytelling, and this is merely an extremely Metal aesthetic. Like others have mentioned, the context of the concert is important. This is Su's 16th birthday. As the concert progresses, you see them move away from their Idol origins and toward their Metal future. It opens with an entirely lip synced remix of Headbanger. The first few songs feature Baby Bones, calling back to their inception. Then the Kami Band comes in, nodding to their growing success and showing their progression into a proper band. This closing trilogy of songs is Su embracing her Metal destiny. In this song, the Idol is sacrificed and Su is reborn as a Metal Goddess. And there is no 'next one'. :p That was the finale of the concert. It's definitely a spectacle.🤘🦊🤘
Babymetal Death is normally how they start each concert, Dessu is an introduction word in Japanese basically we are or I am, it is also a play on words having no th sound in the Japanese language when they say death it sounds like des (dessu). This being her 16th birthday celebration and also the year Babymetal went from being an off shoot of their Idol group Sakura Gakuin to an independent band this performance symbolises the death of the Idol Suzuka and the birth of Su-metal the metal goddess hence the crucifixion. the other nod to Metallica (one of the first bands that befriended the girls and publicly endorsed them) was the breaking of the statue, Metallica did the same thing with a lady liberty statue, the neck brace is a nod to X Japan where their drummer/ piano player would wear a neck brace while performing after he damaged his neck headbanging.
Nothing more to add here. I couldn’t have been any more succinct.
A J-pop idol dies and a metal goddess is born - Crucifixion followed by Resurrection. If you go back to the start of the Legend 1997 show, you'll see them take the stage to Ave Maria (the Schubert piece) to set that 'religious' tone and drop directly into a techno remix of Headbanger, lip-sync'd to a backing track as if a traditional idol group were performing it. The real metal band arrived later in the show. BABYMETAL DEATH was used to close the show, completing the transformation to a metal group in a spectacular way.
she will be reborn at the beginning of the same concert, just react to Ave Maria + Headbanger Night of 15 Mix if you like
I think people forget that Japan is not a "Christian" nation. In fact, less than 1% of Japan identify as Christian. It's all symbolism. As others here have already explained, it's not in a religious context. The whole concert was a story of a young girl leaving the "idol" industry and being reborn into a metal goddess. The concert starts with a very "club" edm version of Headbanger called Headbanger Night Of 15 Mix, and ends with this performance of DEATH and the original version of Headbanger. It's all just theatrics. #notacult 😅
Exactly. They're not Christian and Japan used crucifixion for execution/punishment for centuries. Even during WWII.
Next Babymetal song: Awadama Fever (Trad: Bubblegum Fever)
I would think some of those paranoid anti-Christian people out there who are triggered by any religious symbolism would be the most likely to be offended by this song. 😆 For me, as a Catholic, I love it. As many have already pointed out, it really has nothing to do with religion in any way. They're just borrowing the imagery. Even if it were meant as a religious reference there is nothing offensive that I can see.
Paranoid is the right word.
Bro I don't remember them having these HD video boards in 1997.
Babymetal with Yui and The Little God still on stage... Really was a solid era for the band.
There may be no connotations of religion here. all of my Japanese friends said they didn't see one; Japan is 0% Christian after all. Crucifixion was the traditional method of execution in Japan. The cross also has other connotations; Okuni, the women who invented Kabuki theater, wore a cross, and it's common for female performers to wear a cross in her honor. Also reincarnation is a classic story line in Japan. I get the KKK reference, I lived in a town with a KKK store. I don't believe these hoods are meant to reference that, I believe it refers to classic Japanese priest outfits.
What experience u have at 16 birthday?
My band sacrificed me and we yelling together with thousand people
I remember when people used to say "Baby metal is not metal".
This is my middle finger to them 😂
Thank you, nice reaction. Legend has it that Su dies to be reborn as a goddess and defender of metal. It's a simple and clean symbolism, more spectacular than a cup of poison, less bloody than a beheading, less dangerous than a hanging. These are Japanese codes, Christian bigotry is not their priority, their references are of course very far from the Klan...for Moa, fried chiken is an exotic dish and Jesus is a Spanish first name !🙏🦊🙏
Watch the full legend 1997 concert to get the full context of what’s happening. The theme of the concert is about transition
It's a great show. Sadly if you try to upload or stream a video with the whole thing on youtube it'll get blocked, even though the individual songs don't.
Don't worry, bro, this song is not about making fun of other religions. This song tells the story of a girl who leaves the Japanese idol industry which begins with the EDM version of Headbanger Night of 15 Mix (Avamarie) and ends with Babymetal Death and the original version of Headbanger. and he was reborn as a metal idol on his birthday. and legend 1997 is a legend from SUu-metal which is celebrating its birthday at that time.
Suzuka Nakamoto, the j-pop idol died for us metalheads. She collapsed on the stage, ceased to exist as an idol, and then she was put on the cross not as a sacrifice but as an offering. And then the Fox God looked down, knew the truth, and resurrected her as Su-metal. It's simple as that.
people forget crucifixion has been around long before Jesus being crucified. this has nothing to do with religion. the beginning is basically translated into her having to die as a idol queen to be reborn as a metal queen. that is why the song before this was about. like someone has already said you need to react to the guide to Babymetal from Cryptic Misery, 44 minutes long and it explains alot of the lore of Babymetal. and the statue is not Mary but it was suppose to have a liking to Su.
Yeah as other people have commented you're looking a bit too deeply into the crucifixion bit. Christianity is barely a concept in Japan. It's like how they celebrate Christmas but only do so to boost consumerism. They don't acknowledge or care about the religious context of it.
You guys should react to their guide🦊
i agree
If you want to know what the intro video was saying, look up the version on the channel 'ferr' - it has subtitles for that part. As others have mentioned, this was the last song of the show, but there was another song _before_ it that actually gives it a little more context. You saw them play Headbanger at this same show, which was the third-to-last song. Between that groovy jam and this cataclysmic ending, they did an acoustic rendition of Akatsuki, the normal version of which you've heard before. This "unfinished" version of it is definitely worth a separate reaction though, and as it also has an intro video in Japanese, I would recommend sourcing it from that 'ferr' channel as well. Cheers!
Cool reaction, I read the band reckons this is one of the hardest songs to play.
I know this is about 4 months late, but in terms of the hoods, most ppl in japan have no knowledge of the KKK. In this case it's more likely connected to vague impressions of cultist outfits, western executioner hoods, or perhaps a vague aesthetic connection to catholic semana santa clothing in Spain. Others have already explained the symbolism of dying to her idol self and being reborn as a metal goddess
i think ive heard the neck stabilizer is a whatever called to some japanese musician, iirc in maxium the hormone that hurt his neck and had 1 for awhile
oh kinda close its a play to x japans drummer who broke his neck headbanging
That was fun to watch and don’t worry about tour confusion. That was a theatrical display of the story of Su-metal that you read before the reaction. She (as the J-pop idol) needed to be sacrificed in order to be reborn as the metal goddess Su-metal. All the crosses etc have no religious meaning, that’s all the just for the theatrics.
Oh did someone mention yet #Notacult? 🤘🔥🦊
Love to hear from those who have never been touched by anything bad in their life
You should see the crucifixion from the legend S show way better than this one The opening "In The Name Of" was an amazing piece of showmanship Legend S was the first show without Yui
All the insightful comments a below are correct. Anothe thing to consider on the religion angle is that Japan is largely Buddhist. A Japanese band playing in Japan to a Japanese audience - the Christian references could be missed - so they elected to remove subtlety.
This one is definitely my favorite!!
When this live is your first experience of Babymetal it hits you like a sledgehammer and leaves you stunned for 5 minutes lol Sonisphere 🦊
There are 8 million gods in Japan, so Japanese people don't really care about foreign beliefs. Now that they're so famous, they probably wouldn't be able to put on a show like this.
Y'all got your jimmies rustled.
🤘🦊🤘
The Japanese don't take Christian imagery as seriously as the culture you guys are used to.
Thank you for the always fun BABYMETAL reaction video. Thank you from Japan.❤
Su-Metal, The Legend of 1997 (1997 is Suzuka's year of birth) was performed on 21/12/2013. This performance represents the day she gave her life for us. This solemn moment shall forever go down in history. The fact that she has bestowed herself upon us, not only makes us grateful but should also make us remember our role... Our role as loyal subjects to our Queen. We are ready, at her call, we will make our stand.
Honor to our Queen!
Jordan - Royal Guard of Princess Moa-Metal, my Angel of Love.
Long live My Princess Moa!
Long live Princess Momo!
Long live The Fallen Princess Yui!
Long live The One!
Long live The Queen!
As many others said its very small christian population in Japan/Korea etc. Im sure they did their research but all comes down to it this is Su's 16th birthday party. Weird to say now that shes 25. This is what she wanted to do to cement her legacy in JRock/JMetal and god damn did she
the whole song is a word pun and parody made with very high quality production. aint it fun? it awesome.
Su is the Legend of 1997. Yui and Moa are the Legends of 1999.
Imagine coming from a non-christian culture and seeing a montage of various christian worship services, asking about all the imagery of a dead man nailed to a cross and then having it explained to you as a celebration, not of death but of resurrection into a higher form. We all lack an understanding of the nuances of the religions of others.
No other band could get away with crucifying a teenage girl on stage - (4 times), but this is babymetal.
This the rebirth of Su-metal as a headbanger.
There is nothing about this song, band or performance that is offensive. You read the explanation before watching , you know they are Japanese right? Alice Cooper is a devout Christian yet sings about the devil and murders a baby every night on stage. Context is everything. ………..BABYMETAL are awesome.
Now tell me, y'all still think Babymetal is all about cute little kids just dancing to metal music. Babymetal Death is about as dark and heavy a musical production ever put together. These three teeny tiny ladies in tutus are absolute legends.
"TH" is pronounced as "S[U]" in Japanese because dental fricative (th) does not exist in the language.
"DEATH" therefore is pronounced as "DES[U]", having a dual meaning "death" (English) and "to be" (Japanese) . This gives the song title a dual meaning: "BABYMETAL DEATH" and "WE ARE BABYMETAL"
The song is basically a mission statement of BABYMETAL: "We gave up normal human lives to dedicate our lives for Metal music. That's who we are. We are Babymetal."
It is no accident that this is the very first song of their first album "Babymetal". It is also no accicent that this song is the first song of most live performances.
Mostly correct except that "desu" doesn't mean to be. It doesn't really have a translation in English, as it is a sentence ending which English doesn't have. Think of it more like someone asks "what's your name?" And you say "socrateos" as an answer and a sentence. The "I am" is simply implied here
Now it's about time you checked out how they celebrated Su's 20th Bday with In The Name Of at Legend S Baptism XX concert... 😁😁😁🤘🦊🤘
Just another normal birthday celebration for your typical Japanese rock star.
i do not think Manson would have the guts to crucify a teenage girl on stage in front of thousands of people.
Imagine if ozzy would've tied a Japanese kid to a cross he caught crap over a bat
😁😁😁🤘🤘🤘
they are not making a mockery they are just using these religious symbols to add to the theatrical effect to the show and blend it in with the fiction lore of BabyMetal. The symbols to them just make the show more cool. Not too mention in metal especially Death Metal symbols of Christianity and other religions have been used many times. This is BabyMetal's way of paying homage to that style.They have also done this with SU on a different emblem that was not a cross. They don't view religion like Christianity and Islam. The populations of those two in Japan is small. This is all pure theatrical and done to celebrate Su 16 bday. Just like the Statue crumbling in the end to pay homage to Metallica. It is a very awesome performance but still mild to what Ive seen from other Metal Bands over the years. Just a shock the first time to people who have never seen a BabyMetal performance like this. I love this performance. It is usually without the crucifixion at the beginning of the show. They are just introducing themselves with the lyrics which is Desu but sounds like death. When they sold out the Tokyo Dome two nights in a row one of the concerts open with this and all the girls rose out of the huge stage on crosses with the crowd chanting death. lol it was pretty cool. They are always some that will but nobody should be offended by this.
Me looking forward to their reaction to the crucifixion 😃😃😃
(Notices his crucifix necklace)
Oh boi… 😬
No no no guys you are watching the birth of the metal goddess the passage you read at the start tells you what is going on,the incredible thing about these girls is they have created a lore to go with Babymetal and this is all part of the story (think of it like a theatrical performance where Su gives up being a Jpop idol and becomes Su-Metal to lead the metal resistance).
This concert was held in 2012 and the "Legend 1997" refers to the birth year of Su-Metal (Suzuka Nakamoto) and this performance was for Su's 15th Birthday in December to effectively make her the "Queen of the Fox God" ...if i remember correctly.
2013
@@JuanGomez-dk6kf And 16 years old, not 15.
Although they also celebrated Su's birthday a year earlier at 'LEGEND D' in 2012.
What you are missing is that nobody on that stage had a Christian background. The cross doesn't really mean anything them.except that it looks cool. It has no real meaning in terms of the symbolism of Christianity.
Awesome reaction
🍅💀🍅
🤘🏼🦊🤘🏼
Totally not a Cult .... not at all a Cult ..... CULT
Hi guys, I guessed you were going to be troubled with this one. Rest assured, Babymetal aren't a Satanist cult, they simply linked a resurrection story to a rebirth story. Su was being reborn as a Metal Goddess using a well-known phoenix story to add gravitas. The imagery is designed to capture the attention of the outside world, the images have no ingrained meaning to them apart from it looks great on camera. In Japan around 70% of people identify with the Shinto faith, around 65% of people identify with Buddhism, and about 1.5% identify as Christian (if you do the math on that, it's a bit confusing, but many Japanese identify with Shinto and Buddhism interchangeably). This is simply an Alice Cooper-like performance of the first song on their first album.
On another tangent, I watched a couple of your videos, but I really liked Wrong With Me, the one at Ollie's Pub. It is so good to see a band still playing punk'ish' music. My nephew plays in a local band (really small) similar in style to Macc Lads (a 90's punk band from England). They just play for fun. My nephew is actually a drug councillor in real life, so it's an outlet for him. However, you guys are much, much tighter than them. Keep going.
Also, in case you don't already know them, check out Amyl and the Sniffers. They are scorching it at the moment, they are so edgy.
As others have mentioned, the cross and crucifixion has a different context in Japan as their most popular religion is Buddhism. The meaning is much more basic in context of the stage story. Death of Su-Metals Idol persona to the Fox God in rebirth as a Metal Goddess. The whole Baby-Metal stage act is like an operatic play, even the new albums have themes to them. While it's not a cult, it is it's own unique 'world', like Star Wars, or Popular Anime, they have an alternate universe they sing in(and tell their story).
Not sure if you all will see this as this video is 3 months old, but will you be reacting to the 2023 PIA arena performance of Babymetal Death with Momometal?
She was 'sacrificed' in ther same way (not as elaborate though) at the end of the 'Legend D' concert which also represents her 'Death' and also 'Day of birth'
An interesting take posted on BABYMETAL REDDIT by VulpineDeity:
Take it a step farther. Not only does 'SU-METAL DESU' mean she's introducing herself, it's also her super-hero transformation phrase.
Like on Sailor Moon, Usagi says 'Moon Prism Power!' and turns into Sailor Moon, Suzuka Nakamoto shouts 'I AM SU-METAL' and becomes possessed by the spirit of the Fox God and transforms into the Metal Goddess SU-METAL.
The magical girl who transforms into a hero is a huge trope in Japan, comparable to Disney princesses in the west. BABYMETAL DEATH! follows the trope and it's the moment that they all transform into their magical alter egos at the start of the show.
🦊 🖖 ❤
This is a song that is great when you see it live, but it isn't my favorite to just listen to. Like you said it is pretty light on vocals, it is basically just them introducing themselves and a lot of chanting DEATH. They have only done the crucifixion scene a few times live, the song is usually shorter than this when you see it live.
In Japanese culture Christianity is just mythology, like Greek or Nordic mythology. They use the symbols and references just because they look cool. There's no hidden antichristian message or anything like that. I've seen Japanese people wearing crosses or other Christian symbols in clothing or accessories and it doesn't necessarily mean they're Christian. Christianism and Catholicism exists in Japan, but it's definitely not as strong as it is in the west world. Even their own religion, Shintoism, is seen more as old tradition than as a cult.
Babymetal ❤❤❤. It’s a masterpiece.
Kobayashi the producer switched it up like a genius
Lol it's actually how the concert started
For someone who think Babymetal isn't metal, well let's show them this
Someone more qualified than me will be here soon to explain the meaning behind this specific performance of this song I'm sure. It's quite the theatrical performance, that's for sure.