BABYMETAL DEATH Reaction! - First Time Hearing!! (Legend 1997, PIA Arena 2023)
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Listening to 2 different versions of #babymetaldeath , the first is during the legend 1997 performance, the second was at the PIA Arena in 2023.
Due to copyright bans, I had to trim segments from the video. This should explain and any weird cuts or edits.
Watch original videos without my commentary here:
YT Channel for Legend of 1997 Video: @guilhermecait2840
• BABYMETAL DEATH | Lege...
PIA Arena 2023 - YT @Hymnodic
• BABYMETAL - BABYMETAL...
visit official Babymetal channel:
@BABYMETAL
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#sumetal #moametal #momometal #babymetal
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Thanks for the shout out. Your reactions are genuine and I'm really liking the format. No waiting or disappointment because you did the "wrong" video, or "you should've done the live video", or whatever. Do a variety of videos all at once. Nice
@@AldoGuerraALDO-METAL thank YOU
@@ShadeReactsLive yeah thats why i think i found my new favourite reaction channel keep on it!!!
@Hamudiiiiii 🥲🥲🥲
Nice reaction! The audience made a lot of noise when Momo said "Momometal desu" because it was the first BABYMETAL Death with her as an official member, and the return of the song after years without being played live.
DEATH is sort of BABYMETAL's 'transformation' song.
The band has a very silly mythology about the girls being selected by the Fox God and that when they take the stage, they stop being Suzuka, Yui and Moa. They are possessed by the heavy metal spirits and become SU-METAL, YUIMETAL and MOAMETAL. This song was usually played at the beginning of their concerts and it's the moment when they transform. SUMETAL DESU! is like saying 'I AM SU-METAL!', which is like the anime trope when a character transforms into a super-hero, like Sailormoon's 'Moon Prism Power....MAKE UP!'
In interviews, the band often referred to this as a real thing, like they would play-act at it being real, and they would let themselves believe they were becoming someone else. I remember reading about someone watching them rehearsing for their collab with Rob Halford and they said 'but they weren't really BABYMETAL yet'
I think it might have been one of the reasons that they were able to be so fearless on stage when they were younger, they became alter egos that were braver than they were.
Thanks for the shout out, great double reaction - the first song on the first album ... and how better could they introduce themselves. They normally use it as a show opener, but Legend 1997 was special, Su's 16th birthday and what better way to close the show.
There is an English translation of the intro video in the description of the video which would have helped a bit (perhaps) with understanding what was happening:
"Legend 1997.
It is told that receiving the legendary neck brace from the god of Metal,
she shall abandon her human life and be reborn as a goddess.
The bloodline which has been passed down from ancient times
is destined to be the guide, boarding the ark of time.
The apocalypse is prophesied
DOOMSDAY comes
There remains ... little time ..."
The Legend 1997 concert was all about Suzuka Nakamoto's journey from JPop Idol to sacrificing that life to be reborn as Metal Goddess Su-metal, chosen by the Fox God to lead the Metal Resistance.🤘🦊
Definitely NotACult ... honest.😇🤫
As I said, 'BABYMETAL Death' was the first song on the first album and the few lyrics there are are simply them introducing themselves and BABYMETAL by name.
Just to clarify, the word desu (the U is silent) means I am, it is, we are etc - spoken with a slight lisp it sounds very much like the English word death. The lyrics are:
"B_A_B_Y_M_E_T_A_L" "Su-metal death" (or Su-metal desu ie I am Su-metal), "Yuimetal death", "Moametal death", "BABYMETAL death" "Death Death Death Death!"
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' (and yes she pretends to do the harsh screams in a couple of songs - I don't know if that counts as lip-syncing).
The show continued with them singing and dancing while the Babybones guys (fake band in skeleton suits) mimed the instruments and finally the Kami Band came on for the last 5 songs as they neared the end of the transformation and it all culminated 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.
There were a couple of nods to Metallica with the drum riff from 'One' at the start and 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.🔥🦊🔥
Normally they would open concerts with this song - on special occasions like this it might be used later in the concert. They stopped playing it at all after 2017 when Yui couldn't perform and then left the band in 2018 ... as you saw, it was brought back in April 2023 when Momometal became the official third member and they could once again introduce themselves as a trio - it has been the regular opening number again ever since then.
@@Grington300 I can’t believe the translation was in the description the whole time 😩
@@ShadeReactsLive Haha, I think I did try to tell you to read the description before you watched it, but I know you get so many comments it is impossible for you to remember everything.
@ 🤦♂️🤦♂️🤦♂️🤦♂️
@@ShadeReactsLiveLOL!
Dude you always deliver on the goods, major props as always!
If ANYONE says to you that Babymetal Is Not METAL.....Ask them what they did for their 16th Birthday...then show them THIS!!!
More Babymetal Always!!
Put your Kitsune UP!!
As other comments say, the support for Momo was due to the hate that existed on the networks for being presented as an official member. In several interviews she names PIA ARENA as the one she remembers the most. When they played the one, the focus was on her. crying in a very emotional moment.
Ahhh man, appreciate the shout out brother!!! I've been looking forward to this one since you started, haha! Many people hearing BM Death for the first time compare the very beginning to "One" by Metallica. The male sounding vocals are always backing tracks, although the crowd is shouting at the same time mixed in. They are spelling Babymetal, then they introduce themselves......I'm Sumetal, I'm Yuimetal, I'm Moametal, I'm Momometal, We're Babymetal. This song is almost always the opener to every show they do as their intro. Su being reborn on her birthday as a metal goddess is the theme here, as she certainly is. The statue breaking at the end I think was a homage to a live Metallica show? Many of their big Japan Legend shows have tons of lore paying homages to Star Wars, Marvel, and other big film franchises. Even though it is kinda cheesy it makes me grin and I enjoy it. The crowd cheering extra loud when Momo first says her name actually got me a little first time seeing it, what a huge moment for her. Haha good job catching that, I already typed it though sorry LOL! Yes unfortunately Su never does the BM Death scream part, now I'd like to argue that Momo could pull this off and would love to see her do it. I'll admit you were not blown away as much for seeing the 97 version, I think you've soaked in the BM effect enough already that you aren't surprised haha. Other than Ratatata, we'd still like to see you watch the guide by A Fox Song, it's the most up to date guide that includes plenty of Momo info. Cya next time sir!
great reaction Shade-Metal, the whiskey prince, the translation for the first video is in the description of that video, it's basically, Su for her 16th birthday is giving up her human life as a pop idol to be reborn into a Metal Goddess. #notacult #bestcultever
@@Marty-Metal maaaaan you’ve gotta be kidding me 😂 it was there the whole time 😂
Queen Sumetal was sacrificed to become a Metal Goddess. I love the theatrics of these performances. The production at PIA Arena with the drones is really cool. I love the drone shot around the 18:00 mark. Also I love how happy Moa is at 21:35 when chanting with the crowd. I havent watched the interviews video yet, but you will see in there that while Su is very serious about her role in BM, she is actually really goofy off stage.
Great reaction and recognising that cheer was the fans showing their approval as MoMo as the new member .
they did worry she might not be accepted . that cheer dispelled all worries ❤️❤️❤️😁🤘🏼🦊🤘🏼
ps #notacult
i think its so sweet they were extra supportive of her.
A new life, from Pop Idol to Metal Queen. Just right for a new year.
Thank you for the reaction! I only recently came across your channel and seeing this in my feed, I had to click on it. It made my day! Yeah it was through the BM Death Legend 97 I got propelled pretty far down the fox hole!
Seeing this one back to back with the PIA arena one couldn’t fit better! Since Yui left, that intro was never performed for about 6-7 years or so, until this night. The following night when they announced Momometal, and Babymetal was officially “reborn”. I suspect that is why this two shows were “Babymetal Begins”. What you saw here was the encore segment for the second night, Clear Night. But you should watch the Babymetal Death Shin version from the previous night, Black Night.
@@jaegermeister798 thank you for commenting! I actually JUST started doing this. So it’s all new to me as well. I appreciate you being here!
The double feature was great!
"For The Fox God" channel just got nuked. 😭
Because the channel posted the full blue-ray concert of Legend 43 when it's still in theaters.
I wondered why, that actually makes sense and seems such a bad decision
I also learned the bad news yesterday.
Oooh good choice !
there are some songs...... damn can't wait to see your reactions on them haha, it will be so fun
What an awesome hype song to start the show...they brought it back as the opener a few years ago. I got to be a part of it when I went to Boston to see them in Sept. 2023, perfect way to set the pace.
RIP For the Fox God😢
For the PIA Arena show this was the encore opener. It was also the first time it had been performed since 2017.
Others will come in to explain the lore of the Legend 1997 show way better than I can, but ultimately it was portraying the death of Suzuka Nakamoto, J-pop Idol, and her rebirth as the Goddess Su-metal.
If you haven't figured out yet, they are spelling out B-A-B-Y-M-E-T-A-L
Yes they are.
As you probably have read already, they are spelling B-A-B-Y-M-E-T-A-L.
Death sounds like 'desu' meaning we are or I am. So: We are babymetal, I am Su-metal, I am Yuimetal, I am Moametal.
Su were transformed into the Metal Goddess here.
This song is usually a show opener. They stopped performong after Yui's departure because obvious reasons. The avengers (backup dancers) did not use mics.
The show RIGHT BEFORE momo announcement (also budokan 21) featured "shin version" of the song, ULTRA EPIC, check it out, whitout the "I AM" section.
The show RIGHT AFTER momo announcement featured the traditional version and everybody went crazy with the "I am Momometal" scream.
You are ready to "The not so extensive guide to babymetal".
Kitsune up!
Babymetal Death!!!
Thanks for the shoutout.
This is usually the opening song to their concert. But also, Su's crucifixion song on her milestone birthday. 🤣
The story is essentially, Su was sacrificed to shed her mortal body, and be reborn as a goddess. And this has happened 3 times.
For the 2023 version, it was the first song of the encore. To make a dramatic return of their introduction song as well as introducing Momo. (Didn't want to backspace it. 🤣)
The song is essentially a pun of the Japanese word 'desu' which sounds similar to 'death'. So when they introduce themselves, instead of saying "Su-Metal desu", she says "Su-Metal Death". And yeah, they were spelling Babymetal. The harsh vocal in Babymetal performance are always played on the backtrack. So far at least.
Between 2018 to early 2023, when Babymetal became a duo, this song was shelved since it's the members introduction song. They did make a different version of the song on their 10th anniversary called "Babymetal Death - Shin Version". But that was full instrumental song. So the return of the song with Momo is just epic!
Anyway, keep it going!
🦊🦊🦊
So in this concert the final 3 songs loosely tell a story. The songs were Headbanger, Akatsuki (unfinished ver.), and Babymetal Death. Basically it's the final battle between the evil idols and metal. Back in the early years of Babymetal there were little animations played at shows that introduced some of the songs, which depict a battle between Babymetal and idols for the top spot in music or something. The damn lore from back then is wildly varied and I'n not going to touch that at all) Anyway, those three songs portrays this battle. Headbanger is when the battle begins, the unfinished version of Akatsuki is a Su solo song and this version is just Su and piano (absolutely fantastic - th-cam.com/video/nwsinmxTxbo/w-d-xo.html) where the battle is lost and metal is almost defeated, and Babaymetal Death where Su has to be sacrificed so she can return as the Metal Goddes and defeat the idols once and for all.
To be clear, the songs themselves don't refer to this battle at all, it's completely based off of the animations played between songs. Here is a link to just the animations if you're interested. There pretty cool and done in an old Japanese style used after WW2.
Anyway, we refer to it as the Trilogy of Death to contrast the Trilogy of Lights from the Metal Galaxy era which are Starlight, Shine, and Arkadia. There is a special performance of Shine available with Moa playing some guitar on stage with Su. Just the two of them. You can check out the Babymetal Reactor Resource channel for that, but I will warn that even those get blocked sometimes even with the baked on logo.)
Those songs all do carry the theme of the Trilogy of Lights, as it takes you through the stages of grief from losing a loved one. It's really good and you need to watch one's with subtitles.
Regarding the song Starlight, you may hear that it's either a tribute to Yui who had left the band or for Mikio Fujioko, the guitar player who you commented about smiling in the first video, who passed away in 2018 after a fall while stargazing from a tower. Yui also liked to stargaze which is why those the song could be regarding one, both, or nothing at all.
Bro is binge watching the whole Babymetal discography during holidays
4:53 R.I.P. Mikio
🦊🤘
My anecdote about this song is from my Dallas show last year! They toured with Jason Richardson (badass solo guitarist) and Dethklok, both of who opened for Babymetal. My wife and I were the second row from the barrier and the amount of crush and pushing and smashing like sardines that happened as the girls marched out slowly to the opening hits of this song .. my god I have been part of, nor have I ever witnessed such an insane mob response to any band in my life. It was insane! And having the girls run around right in front us hyping the crowd up like they did at the end of the PIA version you watched was absolutely surreal.
I enjoy watching reactions to the Legend 1997 Babymetal Death. There are dozens out there. There was a time when they dropped this from many of their concerts, and I'm glad it is back. Totally iconic. Thanks for your reactions. Enjoying them a lot !
Even when I get to a reaction early and there's info I could drop, I know Grington will do it better, so I usually just comment that he'll be by eventually to fill them in. XD
That moment when Momo introduces herself as an official member for the first time is so freakin amazing. So glad the crowd made their acceptance so clear.
#notacult
#notacult🤘🦊🤘
I still get a little emotional when I hear everyone cheer loudly when Momometal officially says her BABYMETAL name! In an interview, she mentioned how she was worried how The One would react to her joining BABYMETAL. Honestly, I didn't know if I would care/love whoever would end up taking over Yui's spot, but I'm so happy that I ended up loving Momo too. Her personality perfectly fits with Moa and Su and they seem to have a good bond. If you watch the fan cams clips/shorts from their concerts, you can see all 3 of the girls having fun together on stage, being silly, and doing funny things.🤘🦊🤘
I have seen the first video so many times. But during the madness after THE scream up until today I always think: "Yui, Moa watch out, don't trip and fall." 😜
The jpop idol was put to death to be resurrected as the goddess of metal
@@tomooo2637 makes total sense in hindsight lol
Nice reactions. Legend 1997 When Babymetal left the Jpop world behind death of their jpop careers and went fully into the metal world. They usually used this song to open shows because it's just a play on the Japanese word for "I'm". Which in Japanese is Desu. if you miss pronounce it a little it comes out like the English word death. Puns are a big thing in Japan. So of course they ran with this one. And as you nicely picked out, they still found a way to be Kawaii on a performance that goes extra hard. Yui and Moa giggling a bit before putting on the neck brace and then fixing her hair is kawaii as it can get for a performance like that. Now there are some folks who got a bit mad at this, but I think they understood the idea behind it all. They sacrificed their Jpop careers which many experts have said with their talents would have had a great JPOP career. and rebranded reborn as into a metal career that was no guarantee win for them. However metal career lasts a whole lot longer than most POP careers. POP is the flavor of the month. Metal tends to stay with you and as long as the performer wants to they can keep on going. They earned their stripes over the years. When they started Kobe had them performing in the mall for free. And then he had they perform at a legendary concert venue in Japan but is very small. but just about every famous metal/rock band in Japan played there. The May Fare or something like that. Not remembering at the moment. All these years later Babymetal has become a legendary band and sadly they share history with many other legendary bands. Like having a member leave the band. One of the guitarists died. 2018 wasn't good year for them. And for them to go through that at their young ages makes feel extra hard. The foxhole is deep and full of surprises.
For anyone says Su-metal does not lip-sync. She does but only for theatrics like in "Death" doing the growl parts. But, there's atleast one time where she completely lyp-sinc at a concert singing because she was feeling under the weather (I think it was a concert in Moscow).
But you can't fake the dancing parts for sure. There's also a video where after a song Momo-metal just suddenly collapse back stage because she was feeling under weather. It was a fan-cam that you will definitely notice that she's pushing through the whole song doing the choreography. She was still able to finish the concert. There's was a delay in the next song but let's not forget that our Queens are also human beings.
not completely lipsync at Moscow, but a whole bunch yes.
Momometal got dizzy performing Headbanger I think
It was in San Francisco, they were doing Headbanger and you could see that Momo was all over the place doing the choreo and when the song was over Su and Moa stood up but Moa turns around and help Momo to stand up and holds her till the exit and you can see Momo dropping on the ground. A medic was called but 10 min later they come back and perform RoR and Momo was her normal self.
@@autohmae yes, not completely, let me rephrase that. I remember when she was actually singing she constantly sniff.
You were right they're introducing themselves as they are actually saying Desu instead of Death with the U silent that translates to I am or we are so when they say SU-Metal desu she's saying i am SU-Metal.
The Legend 1997 performance was to represent SU's ascension from Jpop idol to Metal Goddess.
This was the intro track on their first album. There are several Metallica references and X-Japan. That is briefly One by Metallica. The statue falling is like the Justice for All statue falling in Mexico City for Metallica. The neck brace is X-Japan.
Babymetal Death sounds like Babymetal Desu. Desu is are. So they are introducing Babymetal and themselves. We are Babymetal. I am Su-Metal, I am Moa-Metal, I am Yui Metal. We are Babymetal. Is basically what they're saying. But at the same time Death.
Another wonderful reaction and I"m not sure if I got a shout out or not. I heard you say either Robot or Row Boat. Either way changes not a wit the enjoyment I've gotten from your full on dive into the wonderful Metalverse. You've picked up so much so quickly. It was great seeing you work out the dynamics of the PIA performance. The Momo crowd reaction, the rebirth of Babymetal. And no worries nobodies got Su's stare. That is one of her inimitable traits. One that always seems so incongruous with the smiling adorable we see in her interview moments. The Fox God runs deep in her.
I wondered how you'd respond to death. I mean how did you spend your 16th birthday. I don't have all the details but the statue behind Su at this performance I've heard is supposed to be Su. And also an homage of sorts to something Metalica had done at some point. Koba is about as big into Easter eggs, puns etc. as anybody on the planet. I got to your reaction late today so I'm assuming one of the lore masters will have explained already the roots of the phonetic play going on with Babymetal dith(?) meaning I believe I am or we are and it's pronunciation similarity to the Japanese pronunciation of death. Well I sorta blurted it out in fumbled way anyways.
Very much looking forward to the MV-which is great and the Festival (hopefully_ performance of Ratatata. Babymetal and Electric Callboy really have wonderful chemistry. I imagine you'll probably do the Ratatata liver from Foxfest MV which is good. But as an MV it cuts off a lot of the sheer enthusiasm and joy of the two bands and the audience that comae across so fully in the Resurrection Fest 2024 performance.
Again I can't think of another reactor new to Bm that has picked up so much of the lore and arcana of Babymetal like you have. Oh and Yui didn't just make up the Tomato Princess. She had stated unequivocally that tomatoes were her very favorite food.
And that she would eat tomatoes even if the world was ending.
That's commitment. : )
@@rickwagner- I would expect nothing less from the Tomato Princess🤘🍅🤘
I tried to shout you out. The “e” after robot made me pronounce it like row boat lmao
@@ShadeReactsLive 😄😄😄Thanks for the shout out, appreciated.
💀 ⚡ 💕🍑 / 💀 💀 💀
I've told this story before, but I saw BABYMETAL open for Korn in Chula Vista, CA back in 2017.
The concert was on Yui's Birthday (June 20th).
There were hardcore Korn fans on either side of me, who were expecting something called BABYMETAL to be pretty mellow.
They opened with 'BABYMETAL Death'. : )
新旧関係なく『みた瞬間にBABYMETAL を紹介するのが自分のことのように誇らしげに感じてしまう』のが理屈なしに魅力なのだと思います。
素敵な配信に感謝☆彡
I would love to hear an interview with Momo giving her thoughts regarding the Legend MM concert, from the announcement, through the preparation and performance, and now into her memories looking back, knowing that it was done to honor her, and fully induct her into Babymetal.
For those who say BABYMETAL is not metal, I give you this performance.
OTFGK, but 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.
🦊 🦊 🦊 🖖 ❤
The magical girl transformation is also mentioned by the girls in their earlier interviews.
Moa and I think especially Yui mentioned, they "feel" and act different, when they are performing as Moametal und Yuimetal.
And also that they have "no real recollections" of the shows afterwards, like they "transformed" back to normal girls.
Great reaction to both shows. Usually an opener but difficult after Yui left as it needed three members. With Momo joining it was resurrected, excuse the pun.
If you notice any comments about the demise of 'For the Fox God' he uploaded loads of Babymetal videos to TH-cam and got away with it for a long time but he uploaded a whole concert which is currently playing in cinemas across Japan and the USA so his account has been deleted for copyright infringement. Took a step too far sadly 😢
So I'm sure it's already been brought up but the whole entire lyrics for the song is basically B-A-B-Y-M-E-T-A-L, death, Su-Metal Desu, Yuimetal/Moametal Desu, Momometal Desu, Babymetal Desu. That's pretty much it. Death being a pun on the Japanese word Desu, which means I am, we are, you are, he/she is etc. I wouldn't worry about taking long on this one, as you said, you were able to appreciate it more with everything you've learned about the band already. Honestly, I would say you got it about perfect timing, not too soon into reacting to them and not too late into them. And yes, Legend 1997 this is how they ended the set, however, most times, Babymetal Death is the opening song for the band. I believe the stature at Legend 1997 was also referencing Metallica. They do also have a song that is inspired by Metallica called Sis. Anger. Looking forward to seeing your reaction to the guide.
The first death is also desu, so B-A-B-Y-M-E-T-A-L desu.
The statue is a reference to the And-justice-for-all tour, Metallica had a statue of lady justice crumbling.
First Momometal official member song!!! was so amazing have Babymetal death again after 5 year without it, This songs is the Babymetal opening song but after Yuimetal departure we dont listen to it, for that reason this concert is really important. Momometal was so scared the fans dont like her, but in this concert she feel so welcome. Good reaction!!
Its not weird to feel like a proud Uncle at all^^. Its like watching ur Children grow up. I really have no Words how glad i am that they managed their way through all the Hate and Rejects from early on.
Seeing what Joy they have doing what they like and what we all are liking too is just heartwarming :)
Death is very commonly the opening of their shows, but not always. Yes the 1997 video was Sue passing into transcendence at the end of the show. To be reborn for the next show. It was also her birthday show and a X-mas show with X-mas themes and during Iine they call it "Birth Festival" show.
Babymetal Death is the song Babymetal fans show to people who say that Babymetal isn't a metal band. The Legend 1997 performances requires a bit of explaining to put into context as to why it is the elaborate spectacle that was never repeated to the same scale again.
"Legend 1997: Su-metal Seitansai" took place at the Makuhari Messe Event Hall in Chiba (near Tokyo) on December 21st 2013 in front of around 9,000 fans. It was held the day after Su-metal's 16th birthday and it was held to celebrate her birthday, and to celebrate Babymetal's separation from Sakura Gakuin to become an independent act. The whole show is full of symbolism and references to Babymetal's influences and metal legends that have come before.
In 2013, Suzuka graduated from junior high school and as was the practice in Sakura Gakuin, had to graduate from the idol group as well. This caused considerable consternation because Babymetal had already become extremely popular and fan feared that Suzuka's graduation would mean the end of Babymetal. However the popularity of Babymetal was such that a decision was made to continue Babymetal as an independent act separate from Sakura Gakuin, with Suzuka focusing on it, while Yui and Moa continued to be part of SG and doing Babymetal at the same time. The formal separation was announced at the end of their "Legend Z" concert on February 1st 2013. Suzuka's Sakura Gakuin graduation concert took place on March 31st 2013. Throughout the rest of 2013 Babymetal did shows and festival appearances in Japan, including Legend 1999 on June 30th which was held to celebrate Yui and Moa's 14th birthdays, and as well as releasing the Megitsune single. Then in December, they held Legend 1997 to celebrate Su-metal's 16th birthday, which was their biggest show to date at the time.
The whole show was constructed as a big production to mark Babymetal's separation from Sakura Gakuin by symbolically killing off the J-pop idol Suzuka Nakamoto and her connection to their idol past, and being reborn as the metal goddess Su-metal by the power of the Fox God. The show was replete with symbolic references to the great metal bands of the past that inspire Babymetal such as the use of the neckbrace in homage to Yoshiki of X Japan, and the statue of Su-metal that crumbles at the end in homage to the statue of Justice from Metallica's 1988 "Damaged Justice" tour.
The final three songs of the performance: Headbangerrr!!!!, Akatsuki (Unfinished), and Babymetal Death are known as the "Trilogy of Death" and chronicle the death of Suzuka and the rebirth of Su-metal as the champion of the Fox God. This performance of Babymetal Death is the moment of Su-metal's apotheosis as she dies and is reborn. It contributes significantly to the unfounded and false rumours about Babymetal being a cult.
The translation of the voiceover at the start of the video is as follows:
Legend One-Nine-Nine-Seven.
It is the story that, receiving the legendary corset from the god of the Metal,
she abandons being human and shall be reborn as a goddess.
The gene which has been determined from ancient time
is destined to be guided, boarding on the ark of time.
The apocalypse prophesied
the DOOMSDAY. Towards it,
there remains...
little time...
Source: du-metal.blogspot.com/2015/01/prolog-to-babymetal-death.html
Babymetal Death is normally performed as Babymetal's show opener. It is light on lyrics as it serves as an introduction for the group and a warm up to get the crowd in the mood for the rest of the set. The song spells out the name of the group "B-A-B-Y-M-E-T-A-L DEATH!" and the girls announce their names to the crowd "Su-metal desu!", "Yuimetal desu!", and "Moametal desu!". In Japanese "desu" when used in this context means "I am" or "We are", so they are saying "We are Babymetal!", "I am Su-metal", "I am Yuimetal", "I am Moametal". However there is also a play on words going on, because the English word "death" when said with a Japanese accent sounds almost indistinguishable from "desu". This is because the Japanese language does not have dental fricatives (sounds that use your teeth), so native speakers of Japanese struggle with the "th" sounds, and often substitute "su" in it's place. They have taken advantage of this linguistic quirk to create a double meaning, so they are simultaneously saying "desu" and "death"; it sounds like "Su-metal desu!" and also "Su-metal death!", which is pretty metal. This play on words became part of their signature introduction whenever they did interviews during the early years.
An interesting footnote to this show is that it was one of the last times that Babybones (the guys in the skeleton suits) were used; they appeared for the last time on 6th Feb 2014 at a TV appearance.
The performance at PIA Arena was particularly significant because it was the first time since Yui had left Babymetal that they performed the full version of Babymetal Death as they were finally a trio again and could thus do the song again. You can hear the particularly loud cheers when Momo says, "Momometal desu!". Everyone cheered as loud as we could so that Momo would feel welcomed and accepted by the fans. They have talked in interviews after this show about how relieved they felt when they heard the cheers from the fans when Momo was announced as Momometal.
The PIA performance was actually the first song of the encore. They ended the main set with The One, and then opened the encore with Babymetal Death, and finished with Ijime Dame Zettai. The opener at Clear Night was Metal Kingdom.
There is actually another version of Babymetal Death that you might not be aware of called the "Shin version" which was used a few times during the Avenger era. It's probably the single hardest thing Babymetal has ever done. It was last performed live at Black Night at PIA Arena. The performance of the OG version of Babymetal Death was performed on Clear Night at PIA for Momo's first performance as Momometal. Video of the Shin Version at PIA: th-cam.com/video/MJszsMu2DWM/w-d-xo.html
Not a cult 😂. Even if it was, I'd be all in! Others have already stated the reasoning for this "ceremony" so to speak. Getting crucified for your 16th birthday to become a metal goddess. Hell YEA!
YEAHH 🤘🏼
The best way to start my day! Simply and absolutely Amazing, no more words!! Great react again Kitusne. Deffinitely you need watch Syncopation live! Is absolutely Perfect! See you! 🤟🦊🔥🔥🔥🇯🇵
Babymetaal "death" legend 1997, the peak of Queen Su's birthday celebration.🤘🎉
This song is to introduce Babymetal, a typical opening song.
# notacult
Watching our Queen get reborn as a Goddess never gets old. This isn't so much a song as it is one of the best pieces of performance art you will ever see on stage. The One are more than happy to share with you all the in and outs of this song (performance) so dive into the comments for your fix. Kitsunes up!
Suzuka was resurrected as sumetal
@@andy781_ hell yeah 🦊🤘
Why did they cheer for Momo's part, because this was the first time Momo was announced as an official member of Babymetal 🤘🦊
Su doesn't lip sync to fool or deceive anyone, but she does act like she screams a few times for theatrics. Like at the beginning of Doki Doki Morning or here. 🤘🦊🤘
She tends to pull the mic away early when she does that. It's like she is telling you she isn't trying to deceive.
Many people in Japan have heard of Babymetl, but few know their songs (metal is not popular in Japan). However, they are able to fill arenas every time because most of their fans are very passionate about them. Whenever they have a big show in Japan, fans from all over the world come to see them, and the biggest BABYMETL concert ever was at Tokyo Dome in 2016, where 110,000 tickets were sold out over two days. It is truly a cult😅
🤘🦊🤘
Not a bad way to celebrate your birthdays. Crucified by you band mates as thousand chant DEATH DEATH DEATH. I have been to a countless number of metal shown by the biggest names in metal in my 54 years roaming the planet, and I have to say this is the most metal performance I've ever seen.
#notacult
Great reaction 🤟🦊 can wait for your reaction to the not so extensive guide to babymetal
It really blows your mind the crowd partecipation BM had in the Legend 1997 show, expecially if you consider that at that time they hadn't even released their first album yet 😆
🔥🤘🦊🤘🔥 #notacult
First this performance was in 2013 and Su's 16th birthday was the day before the concert. Yui and Moa were 14yo.
And so Suzuka Nakamoto, J-Pop Idol is crucified to be resurrected as SU-METAL, the Metal Queen!!
They have performed this 6 times with all 3, and with the Avengers after Yui left the group..
This MV my go to when someone says Babymetal isn't METAL.
What were you doing when you were 14?!?
If you would like some more info on the new Babymetal and the girls more in dept feelings there are magazine interviews that you can check out on your own time.
The two that I would recommend would be 2023 Hedoban Vol.40 and 2023 PMC Vol.29, they mainly talk about them being a trio again, how anxious they felt while going into the first day of the concert as they were worried of the fans reaction to Momo being announced as the new member and many other details that would give you a more in dept view of Babymetal!
23:10 proud uncle? More like a proud fukei*… I've just purposely dropped another piece of the lore; but this one is from Sakura Gakuin, where Babymetal came from, that fox hole is deep.
Darkness, imprisoning me!
All I see is…
ABSOLUTE HORROR!!!
….
Wait, this is not Metallica, this is Babymetal!
BABYMETAL DEATH!
BABYMETAL DEATH!
😂
Just an innocent song where the girls introduce themselves: Babymetal _Desu!_ = We are Babymetal!
The Legend 1997 version is how you do a proper sweet 16th BDay bash. 🤣
The Pia Arena MM version is actually the 1st of 2 encores. This leads straight into IDZ that you saw. and. This is the re-introduction of this song with Momo, and the first time this song was able to be played again in 5 years, since Yui left.
#NotACult 🤘🦊
Newer commenter back again! I've skimmed the comments, but I haven't seen anyone mention the death/desu thing. In Japanese, in the context of "Sumetal desu," the word 'desu' is the equivalent of 'I am.' Because of how it's pronounced, it sounds a bit like 'death', which is what the song is called and what the crowd is chanting. That psuedo-homophone is used as a phonetic pun; this song is an intro for the band, but also used as a space to introduce changes for the band and lore additions, ei. presenting Su as the metal goddess reborn and announcing Momo as an official member.
Oh shit. I read the comments a little more closely and noticed there were some mentions of what I said >.< Now I feel so silly
You’re all good! Thank you 🙏
-NotACult- 🦊🤘💀
Opening Translation:
Legend 1997.
(referring to the year of Su's birth)
It is told that receiving the legendary neck brace from the god of Metal,
she shall abandon her human life and be reborn as a goddess.
The bloodline which has been passed down from ancient times
is destined to be the guide, boarding the ark of time.
The apocalypse is prophesied
DOOMSDAY comes
There remains... little time..
I love The One. The song has not been perform in 5 years, and nobody in the crowd misses a beat.
Momoko always wanted too be part of The Metal Club while she was in Sakura Gakuin, that's why we love her. I insist: you ought to react to "The not so extensive guide..."
I know you're about to do the guide video, but just a bit of FYI. The "Death" in Babymetal Death is a play on words. In Japanese, です (desu or des) means "I am", or "we are". Su-metal desu - I am Su-metal. Babymetal desu - "We are Babymetal". The word is very close to the same pronunciation of the word Death. Like saying "desu" with a lisp😂. In the song they are spelling out "BABYMETAL" and introducing themselves.
You may notice in the interviews, especially Moa, they bite their tongues when they say です. They did this to try to pronounce the 'th' sound of 'death' that is not part of Japanese phonetics. A pun, and a metal thing to say 'death' after their names. I think Moa does it because she looks extra kawaii （かわいい）.
Of course in the Legend 1997 performance, they lean a bit more in the meaning of "death", instead of it being an introduction.
The proud uncle feeling is very real. Sadly, also means some of the fans can get overprotective and lash out at people. One presenter at an award show make a joke about Babymetal and didn'hit as humorous and he got attacked online on his social media accounts. When you said you voted for Babymetal... many of the Babymetal fans are very much online people, that's where we first learned of Babymetal. So being online and a rabid fanbase, we could swing votes and maybe won some online awards that might not otherwise. I do think things have become more normalized.
Good catch about Momo! I was literally typing the comment when you told me to delete it 🙂
There is actually an alternate version of this song called Babymetal Death "Shin version", which was used as the opener for the Budokan shows in 2021. I really like it, but it's much shorter (well, a very long intro, but not much actual music at the end). And the girls don't sing at all. But I think the original version is a bit too long if you do not complement it with the appropriate lore and stage show, which they rarely do these days.
There is also the opening track _In the Name Of_ (from their third album, Metal Galaxy), which I also like a lot. Again without vocals from the girls, but often with an amazing stage show. The best performance probably being from *Legend S - Baptism XX* (Su's 20th birthday). A sad concert on the whole, being the first show after Yui had officially left the group (leaving a big empty hole in the choreo as well as in our hearts), and the last performance with guitarist Mikio before he died (he would be the guy who smiles so infectiously, and plays all the hardest solos).
_Metal Kingdom_ (from their fourth album, The Other One) has also been used as an opener, but Babymetal Death is still the most common by far.
@@egodreas at this point I have the timeline pretty locked in! Haha
#yesacult
Maybe you're ready now to meet... THE PIT FROG 🐸
But that probably will be after the Guide, just wait for it.
BabyMetal Forever!! 🦊🦊🍅🍑
Another great reaction man! Check out Distortion next, then the trilogy of lights "Starlight, Shine, Arkadia" in that order.
The Metal Goddess has been born praise be to the Fox God #notacult 🤣🦊
Nice reaction, Whiskey-metal
You mentioned: Taking care of Su's hair
That's Moa for you: I have to watch (over) Su's hair.
You will see her looking at Su's hair quite a bit during interviews, they do.
この曲は英語のdeathと日本語のdesuを(音が同じで意味が違う)活用してbabymetal desuと自己紹介する当時のオープニング曲でした。
I look forward to watching babymetal's reactions every time I see them, and I hope to see more of them in the future. Thank you very much.
🦊🦊🦊
Thy Bro!🤘🦊🤘
Nice, genuine and fair! Good as always (how much? 6 days? Hmm, already a quality sign).
Absolutely love the death stare
Suzuka does not lipsync, but there is always a backing track. Some of the screams are obviously not hers, but some others are just pre-recorded. I'd love to add something meaningful to this comment, but I think you'll get that information through previous comments.
Keep going with your work, really like your reactions.
Suzuka Nakamoto the JPop idol dies and is reborn as Su-Metal, the goddess of metal. Then they started to add the other two in next concerts and the narrative changed a bit but the concept is the same.
The two, three guides I have watched, are a bit outdated, from the times of the Avengers pre-Momoko, hope you can find a more recent one
Let me insist in Rondo of Nighmare, The One, Doki Doki Morning and iine. Keep the kitsune up!!
In fact, this was the penultimate song of this show, then they played Ijime, Dame, Zettai at last.That's why there was no introduction to your IDZ reaction at Pia Arena, because it was followed by BABYMETAL DEATH.
The head coming off is a homage to Metallica’s song And Justice For All
I think you are 100% ready for the not extensive guide now 🦊🤟
I always figured the scream was borrowed from Jesus Christ Superstar where at the moment of Christ's death Gillan lets out an almighty scream, if so then that would be the point where Suzuka the pop idol dies and she is reborn as metal goddess in the next song, which is pretty much the narrative in the Legend S show where they say as much. In this case the next song was the next concert, back then they started the next show as a continuation of the previous show
Haterz: Babymetal ain't Metal
Babymetal: Hold our matcha lattes.
That night of the Legend 97 concert, Suzuka was reborn as Su-metal, Queen of Metal and the herald of the Fox God on Earth. 🤘🏻😉
Guide time 🤘🏻🦊🤘🏻
#notacult 🦊🤘
👊🏽⚡️🦊🤘🏾
Try akatsuki budokan 2014 the best su metal solo song
So something most non-Japanese speakers don't realize, is that this song is actually a multi-lingual pun...English "Death" sounds a lot like Japanese "I am" (desu). So they could each be saying "I am Su-metal", "I am Moa-metal", "I am Momo-metal"....or they could be saying 'death' which would be suitably metal :)
I think that’s so clever!
@@ShadeReactsLive Japanese, as a language, is at least as big on word-play as English is. There's at least one other song of theirs that very much uses that, 'Yava' which utilizes the fact that 'chigau' means both 'different' and 'incorrect' in Japanese. There's actually an amazing Babymetal Lyrics analysis guy on TH-cam (who is, apparently, also a Shakespeare scholar??) A. J. Hartley. I do recommend his analysis videos if you're interested in more of the meaning of the songs. I find it very interesting, at least... but definitely watch the song videos first :)
Check out all the co-labs they done.
This song is almost always the opener to get everyone fired up. Also it is NOT a cult......or is it?
Oh, the prop statue is Su!!!
I am having so much fun watching your reactions, mostly because all of your facial expression, confusion, astonishment, is exactly what I looked like when I found this band. Your lightbulb moments are brilliant. When you clearly don’t understand or have something incorrect and you have that “oh crap, now I get it moment”.
Again…been there done that. Welcome to the (we are not a) cult!
At least it’s a cute cult. And we have chocolate.
Also, when the audience shout Death/Desu, thank to the quirkiness of the Japanese language, it can mean either "Death" (just for fun), "You are (Babymetal)" (as, the ladies on stage) or "We are (Babymetal)" (as, everyone in the arena).
Each fan picks the one which makes the most sense to them.