New Order Kitsune

I have always been a supporter of kawaii metal as it has revolutionized the metal genre. Revolutionary bands have always taken risks, expanded horizons and been controversially discussed. This was the case when doom metal created a whole new genre of music in the late sixties and early seventies, when heavy metal rose to fame in the late seventies, when thrash metal covered new extremes in the mid-eighties, leading to the creation of black and death metal in the late eighties, followed by the emergency of groove metal in the early nineties, the more atmospheric alternative, gothic and industrial metal genres in the mid-nineties, the nu metal scene towards the end of the nineties and the rise to fame of metalcore and deathcore among others about a decade ago. Many traditionalists estimated kawaii metal inventors Babymetal to only be a temporary trend but the band continues to be influential and play in sold-old stadiums all around the world. Many other bands such as Band-Maid, Deathrabbits, Fruitpochette, Ladybaby and Tokyo Rockets have been massively influenced by Babymetal and continue to contribute to and solidify the genre which should be seen as a welcome breeze of fresh air for an aging metal universe.

Even under these circumstances, Kitsune Metaru's debut release New Order Kitsune is a quite particular record. First of all, it's probably the first kawaii metal record released from a non-Japanese band as far as I know. Secondly, the band combines kawaii metal soundscapes with Spanish lyrics, making for a quite unusual mixture of cultures. Thirdly, the band's name, image and sound are so obviously inspired by Babymetal that it's quite close to just copying that band, if it weren't for the Spanish lyrics.

As exciting as the kawaii metal genre is, Kitsune Metaru's first record is everything but that. Most tracks are almost copies of famous Babymetal tracks. The overlong opener ''New Order Kitsune'' with its death metal vocals, fast guitar solo and repetitive riffs is basically an alternative version of Babymetal's atmospheric ''Babymetal Death'' to just give one concrete example.

Another problem here is the lack of quirky diversity that makes Babymetal stand out. Aside of the opener which simply copies one specific Babymetal track, all other songs are bland melodic power metal tunes with dominant electronic music influences. They all consist of verses sung in Spanish and choruses offering random Japanese catch phrases. Even though some songs are more mid-paced and smooth while others quicken up the pace and offer overwhelming melodies, these tracks are by the numbers and sound quite uninspired. It feels as if the band simply tried to jump the bandwagon and gain some attention for being the first non-Japanese kawaii metal band.

The biggest problem is the lack of talent if compared to Babymetal. The metalized idol group has a quite skilled backing band while Kitsune Metaru has an unspectacular rhythm section and quite exchangeable guitar play with only the keyboards being somewhat memorable for being overtly present in each song. The singer doesn't have the range of Nakamota Suzuka who convinces in calmer pop ballads, fast-paced and gritty metal tracks and electronic tunes alike with variable, passionate and clever vocals. Jennifer Boldt has a quite limited range and remains in a quite balanced register without ever aiming for higher or lower vocal efforts. In a few songs, her vocals are electronically distorted to make them sound slightly altered which only underlines her lack of talent. She isn't an awful vocalist but blandly average and clearly the least outstanding kawaii metal vocalist I have come across.

Genre fans might find Kitsune Metaru's New Order Kitsune interesting at first contact but will quickly end up being disappointed by this release's lack of imagination. In addition to this, this album only includes eight songs of original material since the last two tracks are simply alternative versions of two songs already represented on this release. This means that you basically only get a little bit less than thirty-five minutes of uninspired Babymetal worship. This release really hasn't much going for it and anyone genuinely interested in discovering this genre should stick to the Japanese bands mentioned above.

Japanese idol group Babymetal has been a burning topic in the metal community for quite some time now, and while I personally enjoy their music, I was disappointed by their most recent output Metal Resistance. However, the opening track "Road of Resistance", featuring DragonForce guitarists Herman Li and Sam Totman, I found to be its saving grace, working as a follow-up to "Ijime, Dame, Zettai" from their self-titled debut album. Both of these songs are power metal galore, but naturally, the band tends to steer clear in pop music directions to appeal to a wider audience. Well, it seems those two tracks struck a chord with people around the world, as evidenced by this album in question: New Order Kitsune, the full-length debut of Chile-based power metal band Kitsune Metaru.

For those who don't know, "Kitsune Metaru" is romanized Japanese which translates to "fox metal", referencing the so-called fox god who sends messages to Babymetal. That may sound confusing, but that's because it is. On that note, the band sure has a tendency to utilize miscellaneous Japanese words, right down to their aliases and song titles, even though the lyrics are primarily sung in Spanish. I guess they needed something to make them stand apart from other power metal projects, but in the process they just ended up severely copying Babymetal, including their famous black-and-red outfits and fox masks. People say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, but when that imitation is bordering on cultural appropriation, perhaps they should reconsider their concept.

Going in to this album, I expected it to consist of nothing more than half-assed Babymetal covers, but was pleasantly surprised to realize it was original material. Granted, it's still not really anything special in the grand scheme of things. The riffs are extremely basic for power metal standards, but still get the job done, and the same can be said about the solos. Don't expect anything over-the-top in the vein of DragonForce. It's a shame that the keyboards are sometimes really overbearing, could perhaps had some more balancing in the mix. As for the drums, they're fine, but occasionally electronic effects are added which I'm not the biggest fan of.

This is their first release to feature vocalist Jennifer Boldt who does a decent job throughout. She seems to be in her early to mid-20's, as opposed to the members of Babymetal who were all underage at the time of their formation. From what I can gather, her vocals are what a lot of people have the biggest issue with, and I can see where they're coming from. Though after a few listens, you'll get used to it, as long as you're okay with copious amounts of pop hooks.

The most cringe-inducing, and quite frankly worst, song included here is without a doubt "Neko Nyan". Not only does it include some of the most horrific autotune effects I've ever heard, but also Jennifer trying oh-so hard to sound cute and repeating the word "nyan" (Japanese for meow) too many times. I get that this style of music is supposed to be "kawaii metal" but perhaps it's best to leave that to Japan for better or worse. On the other hand, if I had to pick my favorite track, I'd go with "Yuki Onna". It stands out for including some operatic-like vocals in the bridge which are fairly epic. This is essentially their most straight-forward attempt at power metal, but it ended up resonating with me. Goes to show that you don't always need to rely on a silly gimmick to entertain people.

The second last track is a ballad (or "romantic" as they call it) version of Haruko, and I gotta say, as someone who's a ballad music connoisseur, this track is skippable to say the least. That's not to say ballads don't belong in metal though. Just look at "Trail of Broken Hearts" by DragonForce, that one got the power ballad formula down to a T. This, however, is much weaker in comparison. Perhaps that's to be blamed on the less-than-stellar production value, which applies to the rest of the album. Whatever the case, showcasing more of the guitars here could have made it more impactful.

In retrospect, Kitsune Metaru achieved where Babymetal failed in going full-on power metal, and for that I respect them, but they lack the energy and variety of their original counterparts. Not to mention, how long are they planning to live off this gimmick? I wouldn't be surprised if this was a one-time experiment and they'll eventually go on to focus on personal projects. With that said, if you're feeling impatient waiting for Babymetal to release more material and want something reminiscent of their style (or you're just a sucker for cheesy power metal like myself), I'd say give this a listen. At the time of writing this review, the album is fully available for streaming on the band's YouTube channel, so I'd suggest checking that first.