After the storm when the magic has gone - A review of Babymetal's 10 Budokan Years

Whether you appreciate them or not, Japanese kawaii metal legends Babymetal, who have combined heavy metal musicianship with Japanese pop vocals and aesthetics, have been one of the most innovative and controversial bands of the past decade. Several viral singles were followed by the release of the successful first strike Babymetal. The band members grew up, gained more experienced and matured in their approach to music as witnessed on the excellent sophomore output Metal Resistance. The group's concerts also became more colourful, creative and emotional. That tendency started to change when backing singer, dancer and occasional songwriter Mizuno Yui left the band for health reasons roughly three years ago. Her energetic, joyful and innocent style is missing from a band that has continuously lost its unique appeal in the past three years and focused on collaborations with other musicians, singers and songwriters and shorter concerts relying on impressive special effects instead of emotional depth. The last studio record Metal Galaxy was already a step back in that regard but the recent concerts were also a lot less impressive than the ones the band had performed in its prime.

The group's latest live record 10 Babymetal Budokan celebrating the group's anniversary is another testament to the band's slow but steady decline. On paper, this release seems intriguing with two discs, thirteen songs and a running time of eighty-seven minutes. However, as soon as the new version of ''Babymetal Death'' kicks in, disappointment overthrows euphoria. Instead of having the singers perform energetically to this epic melodic death metal song, we get a new approach without any vocals and three additional minutes of aimless musicianship that makes for a directionless start.

The numerous guest appearances during the show prevent the band from being itself and can rather be seen as unnecessary distractions. Overrated melodic death metal singer Alissa White-Gluz's additional vocals on ''Distortion'' are completely pointless as the track would sound much better without her. F.Hero's nervous rap passages on ''PA PA YA!!'' sound like a gimmick that might be slightly amusing at first contact but quickly ends up being completely nerve-firing. Stretching quirky heavy metal song ''Headbangeeeeerrrrr!!!!!'' to seven and a half minutes, epic symphonic power metal anthem ''The One'' to nine and a half minutes and fast-paced and technically stunning power metal closer ''Road of Resistance'' to almost fifteen minutes weren't good choices as those renditions slow down efficiency, momentum and style alike.

To be honest, there are still a few decent performances to be found on 10 Babymetal Budokan that remind of old days when the focus was on the singers and their energetic performances. First single ''Doki Doki Morning'' still makes you want to jump around while headbanging and singing at the same time. Melodic hit single ''Karate'' is by far the best song on this double live album as it finds the perfect balance between emotions and grace while being catchy and epic at the same time. This concert would have benefited from some simpler approaches focusing on the two remaining singers instead of adding unnecessary guest performances and endless instrumental wankery.

Babymetal have recently been releasing a cryptic video that might either hint at a hiatus until the new album and touring cycle will begin or even an end of the band. If the band decided to carry on, it should either focus on integrating Mizuno Yui back into the band or on stripping things down and focusing on honest emotions rather than overwhelming diversity. As it is now, everything the band has released in its first seven years of existence remains highly recommendable but the outputs of the past four years have been disappointing. Perhaps a short hiatus and reorientation are exactly what this band needs in order to come back in full strengths in a few years.

Final rating: 33%