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.