Board 8 > Rank the Tracks 165: Babymetal - Babymetal

(+) Yeah! (+)

Previous results can be seen here:
https://board8.fandom.com/wiki/Rank_the_Tracks
https://board8.fandom.com/wiki/Rank_the_Tracks_Set_2
https://board8.fandom.com/wiki/Rank_the_Tracks_Set_3
https://board8.fandom.com/wiki/Rank_the_Tracks_Set_4

The rules:
1. Listen to the album in full
2. Rank every track on the album
3. For the results, there will be a curve at the top of each list; two additional points between #1 and #2, and one additional point for the next two ranks. This way, the songs that really stick out to someone get an edge that is not immediately negated by someone else putting it lower. In the case of Demon Days, someone's 15th track will get 1 point, 14th 2 points, 4th 12 points, 3rd 14 points, 2nd 16 points, and 1st 19 points. For albums with greater than 15 tracks, everything ranked below #15 will be given 0 points and the scale for the top 15 will be the same as a 15-track album. For albums with more than 20 tracks, you only have to list your top 15 (with 16-20, I still like having the average rank listed)
4. If you want to include comments for individual songs, I will compile them in the results
5. The results will be posted at the beginning of the next topic
6. The deadline to vote is Thursday, May 23rd at 8:00 AM Central Time; If you do get in a vote after the deadline but before I post the results, I will probably include it.
7. Every few weeks, a nomination period will open; there may or may not be a theme. Each user can nominate one album. The following week, everyone will be able to rank their top ~5 among the choices - this will use a bottom-up scoring approach, i.e. voting for one album will give your #1 a single point, voting for five will give your #1 five points, so it is always better to vote for the maximum number of albums. The top ~5 will then be covered.
8. Skits and tracks under 40 seconds will be excluded from the rankings unless argued otherwise

Babymetal - Babymetal track list:
1. Babymetal Death
2. Megitsune
3. Gimme Chocolate!!
4. line!
5. Akatsuki
6. Doki Doki Morning
7. Onedari Daisakusen
8. Song 4
9. Uki Uki Midnight
10. Catch Me If You Can
11. Rondo of Nightmare
12. Headbangeeeeerrrrr!!!!!
13. Ijime, Dame, Zettai

Future weeks:
5/23: Natalia Lafourcade - De todas las flores (+ album nominations)
5/30: ABBA - Arrival (+album voting)
6/6: Enya - A Day Without Rain

Oooh I'm in for this one

Tag

I've done 2 listens to this so far.

I'm not sure why I expected to not like this. It's metal and Japanese pop vocals, a bit weird to blend together but it works for the most part.

You can hear lots of different influence here. The beginning song is more death metal, with the growling vocals. I heard some dubstep in one song. Road of Resistance is just a Dragonforce song (not sure if it's literally a cover but the instrumentation is pure Dragonforce); but apparently we're not ranking that one.

Road of Resistance's instrumentation was written by the dudes from Dragonforce, that's why.

Garbage - Version 2.0 results

The participants sorted by deviation from final results:
hotdogturtle (22)
Seanchan (22)
Sheep007 (28)
FoolFantastic (30)
MaxGalactica (30)
ChichiriMuyo (32)
Johnbobb (32)
Fluttershy_Pony (38)
HBJDubs (46)

General Album Comments

FoolFantastic: Consistently strong album throughout; nothing here I truly love but even the lower tracks are good. I definitely prefer Garbage's debut which is also consistently good but has a stronger top end.

Fluttershy_Pony: I liked "When I Grow Up" enough during nomination periods that I really wanted to make sure I found time to listen to this. Glad I did, as this is a pretty neat album.

Seanchan: Overall, I liked it quite a bit, even if it does fall off a good bit near the end. It was also a breath of fresh air to listen to an accessible, radio friendly album after the past few weeks. I would certainly listen to more Garbage in the future.

HBJDubs: So I was expecting "ok rock" from knowing I Think I'm Paranoid previously, and was very surprised to find an excellent album instead. No bad songs here!

MaxGalactica: This album was better than I was expecting based off of the sample tracks I tried during the voting process (I Think I'm Paranoid, When I Grow Up, and Push It). Hammering in My Head and Temptation Waits were especially cool. Most of the rest of the album ranged from okay to good. It's also always an interesting thing when the most popular song in an album is the worst song on the album.

ChichiriMuyo: There is just not a single bad song on this album. There are a lot of albums I love with one or two blemishes, but not this one. Ranking this album was tricky for me because I can hardly bring myself to pick a "worst" song on the album when literally nothing is even remotely close to bad, and best song is mostly the mood I'm in. This is a "deserted island" hypothetical pick for me. I am so happy that pretty much everyone has had a positive takeaway from this one.

Sheep007: I wish this album clicked a bit more for me. It's not bad, just feels a lil bit one-note? The vocalist sounds great but nothing else reeled me in. Will definitely need another listen or two before rank the albums.

Version 2.0 track ranking

12. Medication (Track #4)
Score: 24 (Average Rank: 10.33/12)
Biggest Fan(s): HBJDubs (#5)
Biggest Detractor(s): hotdogturtle, Johnbobb, Seanchan, Sheep007 (#12)

11. Wicked Ways (Track #11)
Score: 36 (Average Rank: 9/12)
Biggest Fan(s): Johnbobb (#4)
Biggest Detractor(s): FoolFantastic, ChichiriMuyo (#12)

10. Sleep Together (Track #10)
Score: 41 (Average Rank: 8.56/12)
Biggest Fan(s): Fluttershy_Pony (#3)
Biggest Detractor(s): Johnbobb, Seanchan (#11)

9. You Look So Fine (Track #12)
Score: 54 (Average Rank: 7/12)
Biggest Fan(s): HBJDubs (#4)
Biggest Detractor(s): hotdogturtle, Johnbobb, Seanchan (#10)

8. Dumb (Track #9)
Score: 55 (Average Rank: 7.33/12)
Biggest Fan(s): Johnbobb (#2)
Biggest Detractor(s): Fluttershy_Pony, HBJDubs, ChichiriMuyo (#11)

7. I Think I'm Paranoid (Track #2)
Score: 58 (Average Rank: 7.22/12)
Biggest Fan(s): Sheep007 (#1)
Biggest Detractor(s): Fluttershy_Pony, MaxGalactica (#12)

6. Special (Track #5)
Score: 72 (Average Rank: 5.33/12)
Biggest Fan(s): HBJDubs (#2)
Biggest Detractor(s): Fluttershy_Pony (#10)

5. Push It (Track #7)
Score: 75 (Average Rank: 5.44/12)
Biggest Fan(s): FoolFantastic (#1)
Biggest Detractor(s): HBJDubs (#9)

4. The Trick is to Keep Breathing (Track #8)
Score: 81 (Average Rank: 5/12)
Biggest Fan(s): Johnbobb, ChichiriMuyo (#1)
Biggest Detractor(s): MaxGalactica (#10)

3. When I Grow Up (Track #3)
Score: 85 (Average Rank: 4.67/12)
Biggest Fan(s): Fluttershy_Pony, Seanchan (#1)
Biggest Detractor(s): HBJDubs (#12)

hotdogturtle: I feel bad putting this so low because I had it higher up at first and then kept putting other stuff above it (although I did shuffle a few things afterwards). It's one of the "softer" songs on this album and I ended up ranking the "harder" stuff higher. But this is still my style and I do like it, it's just against tough competition on this album. I think that there is an alternate reality where I put this at #1 and leave everything else in the exact same order and that would still be alright.

2. Temptation Waits (Track #1)
Score: 91 (Average Rank: 4/12)
Biggest Fan(s): HBJDubs (#1)
Biggest Detractor(s): ChichiriMuyo (#8)

1. Hammering In My Head (Track #6)
Score: 93 (Average Rank: 4.11/12)
Biggest Fan(s): hotdogturtle, MaxGalactica (#1)
Biggest Detractor(s): FoolFantastic, Sheep007 (#8)

Bjork - Homogenic results

The participants sorted by deviation from final results:
FoolFantastic (8)
MaxGalactica (10)
PunishedJeezy (12)
HBJDubs (14)
Sheep007 (16)
Johnbobb (22)
RyoCaliente (24)
Seanchan (28)
hotdogturtle (34)

General Album Comments

Seanchan: Done 2 listens so far. I'm not sure I really "get" this album. It's not actively repelling me but it also just wasn't grabbing me.

Johnbobb: Did my first listen and a half today, fantastic album

MaxGalactica: The opening four tracks on this album are probably my favorite opening four tracks of any album. All four have a commanding presence and are hauntingly beautiful. The mix of synths with the ethereal strings and Bjrk's incredible voice is so good. The rest of the album is also great, but Hunter, Jga, Unravel, and Bachelorette are all-timers, so it's hard to keep up with that high of a bar. Bjrk was a major gap in this series that we hadn't covered yet, so I'm glad we're finally doing so now.

It's also worth mentioning that the single version of All Is Full of Love is a lot better than the album version and would go up a few spots on my ranking if it were here (https://open.spotify.com/track/3rrtbnOBDzKQfyYKTezEFe?si=28b54b2a6b764b30). There's also a cool Radiohead cover of Unravel that's worth checking out (Thom Yorke has stated that it's one of the most beautiful songs he's heard) ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KVvO4mPoZiA

Sheep007: I like whatever the fuck was going on with electronic music in the 80s and 90s. I like weird songs, especially when theres genuine personality behind them and, most of all, they sound good. Bjork, really does it for me, and I think this is my favourite album Ive heard of hers. Its often oppressive-sounding and sharp, but never slips to the wrong side of the boundary between A Lot and unpleasant. I also think the cohesion of the album, without being samey whatsoever, is a massive credit to it each song brings something different to the table while seeming like part of the same story. Great nomination. Like Max said, those first four songs are something else entirely.

Seanchan: No strong opinions on this one. Didn't love it, didn't hate it.

PunishedJeezy: Phenomenal album, probably didn't need to do a re-listen but I'm glad I did. No weak tracks, no filler.

HBJDubs: Despite it being top-heavy, really great album all-around.

hotdogturtle: This album has cool electronic sounds and I can totally understand why it's popular. However, my problem is that it's too slow for me. My musical tastes tend to favor faster songs, and in an album like this it makes it difficult for me to stay engaged or to differentiate the songs from each other. As a result I expect that my ranking will be fairly opposite to most people's who are able to appreciate the slower songs more. I just can't handle them, unfortunately.

Homogenic track ranking

10. Immature (Track #7)
Score: 25 (Average Rank: 8.33/10)
Biggest Fan(s): HBJDubs (#3)
Biggest Detractor(s): RyoCaliente, MaxGalactica, Johnbobb, PunishedJeezy, FoolFantastic (#10)

9. All Neon Like (Track #5)
Score: 32 (Average Rank: 7.67/10)
Biggest Fan(s): RyoCaliente (#2)
Biggest Detractor(s): Sheep007, Seanchan (#10)

8. 5 Years (Track #6)
Score: 44 (Average Rank: 6.33/10)
Biggest Fan(s): Johnbobb (#2)
Biggest Detractor(s): FoolFantastic (#9)

7. Alarm Call (Track #8)
Score: 49 (Average Rank: 5.78/10)
Biggest Fan(s): hotdogturtle (#2)
Biggest Detractor(s): FoolFantastic (#8)

6. All is Full of Love (Track #10)
Score: 50 (Average Rank: 5.56/10)
Biggest Fan(s): hotdogturtle (#3)
Biggest Detractor(s): Seanchan (#9)

5. Pluto (Track #9)
Score: 53 (Average Rank: 6.11/10)
Biggest Fan(s): Seanchan, hotdogturtle (#1)
Biggest Detractor(s): HBJDubs (#10)

Sheep007: Yknow what? Fair enough. Not something Im gonna put on regularly, but this is some damn good techno even if the end is a bit overwhelming. It fits super well on the album even if I dont love it by itself.

4. Unravel (Track #3)
Score: 58 (Average Rank: 5.22/10)
Biggest Fan(s): Sheep007 (#1)
Biggest Detractor(s): hotdogturtle (#10)

3. Hunter (Track #1)
Score: 68 (Average Rank: 4.11/10)
Biggest Fan(s): Johnbobb (#1)
Biggest Detractor(s): Seanchan (#7)

2. Bachelorette (Track #4)
Score: 86 (Average Rank: 3.11/10)
Biggest Fan(s): MaxGalactica, FoolFantastic (#1)
Biggest Detractor(s): RyoCaliente (#8)

1. Jga (Track #2)
Score: 93 (Average Rank: 2.78/10)
Biggest Fan(s): RyoCaliente, PunishedJeezy, HBJDubs (#1)
Biggest Detractor(s): hotdogturtle (#8)

RyoCaliente: Jga is just one of THE songs. This is a really good record, and yet Jga stands head and shoulders above it imo

Lmao at my deviations between the two.

just finally seeing this topic

hell yeah can't wait to recruit more Babymetal fans

Seanchan posted...

Road of Resistance is just a Dragonforce song (not sure if it's literally a cover but the instrumentation is pure Dragonforce); but apparently we're not ranking that one.

Road of Resistance is probably my favorite Babymetal song tbh (or close to it) but it's primarily known for being the lead single of their 2nd album and was only included on the international re-lease bonus edition of this album, so it makes sense to leave it off

great song though

they also did a song on their third album called "Oh! Majinai" with Joakim Brodn of Sabaton and somehow that resulted in something that sounds more like Alestorm than anything

-hotdogturtle-- posted...

Lmao at my deviations between the two.

I'm not too far off too.

Johnbobb posted...

Road of Resistance is probably my favorite Babymetal song tbh (or close to it) but it's primarily known for being the lead single of their 2nd album and was only included on the international re-lease bonus edition of this album, so it makes sense to leave it off

great song though

they also did a song on their third album called "Oh! Majinai" with Joakim Brodn of Sabaton and somehow that resulted in something that sounds more like Alestorm than anything

Well, I could see myself listening to more Babymetal after this week.

Bump

The first time I heard of Babymetal, I thought it was a silly gimmick. Then I heard Babymetal, and I was startled by how into it I was. Now four albums later, I can say they've legitimately become one of my favorite metal bands, which I never would've imagined. This album basically created an entire genre of music that somehow manages to be equal parts cheery and heavy and nail both genres it takes inspiration from.

1. Megitsune
2. Headbangeeeeerrrrr!!!!!
3. Ijime, Dame, Zettai
4. Akatsuki
5. Gimme Chocolate!!
6. Doki Doki Morning
7. Song 4
8. Onedari Daisakusen
9. Rondo of Nightmare
10. Catch Me If You Can
11. line! - has to be the least serious song they've ever done and it's still great
12. Uki Uki Midnight
13. Babymetal Death

Headbangeeeeerrrrr!!!!!
line!
Ijime, Dame, Zettai
Song 4 This might be the silliest song in a very silly collection. I think I admire it all the more for having a chorus which I almost exclusive associate with sports.
Megitsune
Gimme Chocolate!!
Onedari Daisakusen
Uki Uki Midnight
Akatsuki
Catch Me If You Can
Doki Doki Morning
Rondo Of Nightmare
Babymetal Death

It's (mostly) stereotypical cute and silly J-Pop vocals done well and mixed in with stereotypical heavy metal. Very gimmicky but sounds more than good enough to back it up. Plus, you really do have to give points for creativity here. I always find tonal dissonance in art interesting and this tickles a certain spot.

Megitsune
Gimme Chocolate!!
Headbangeeeeerrrrr!!!!!
Doki Doki Morning
Ijime, Dame, Zettai
line!
Akatsuki
Catch Me If You Can
Onedari Daisakusen
Uki Uki Midnight
Rondo of Nightmare
Song 4
Babymetal Death

Also, since I've probably never said this, I check the Spotify track list against the Wikipedia page to cut out bonus tracks (unless those tracks have become part of the album proper after a certain reprinting)

1. Akatsuki
2. Gimme Chocolate!!
3. line!
4. Megitsune
5. Ijime, Dame, Zettai
6. Headbangeeeeerrrrr!!!!!
7. Doki Doki Morning
8. Babymetal Death
9. Rondo of Nightmare
10. Catch Me If You Can
11. Onedari Daisakusen
12. Uki Uki Midnight
13. Song 4

Overall, I enjoyed this quite a bit. It drags a bit after the midway point but ends well.

1. Akatsuki
2. Ijime, Dame, Zettai
3. Megitsune
4. Doki Doki Morning
5. Iine!
6. Gimme Chocolate!!
7. Catch Me If You Can
8. Headbangeeeeerrrrr!!!!!
9. Uki Uki Midnight
10. Rondo of Nightmare
11. Onedari Daisakusen
12. Song 4
13. Babymetal Death

The top 4 have been in my rotation for a long time, and Akatsuki was my ringtone for years (my ringer is usually off, but still!) I don't really like the bottom three songs but the rest is at least good imo

Megitsune
Gimme Chocolate!!
line!
Doki Doki Morning
Onedari Daisakusen
Catch Me If You Can
Akatsuki
Rondo of Nightmare
Headbangeeeeerrrrr!!!!!
Ijime, Dame, Zettai
Song 4
Babymetal Death
Uki Uki Midnight

Megitsune - The main riff (e.g. 0:14) sold me on the song. And actually in the few days between my first album listen and me writing this ranking, this song has only floated further away from the rest as my undisputed #1.

line! - This song sounds like it was stitched together from pieces of different songs. It's a bit frustrating, not because I don't like the sudden changes, but because they all sound so good that it makes me wish that I could hear longer versions of each of them.

Doki Doki Morning - Yup this is exactly how I'd imagine a song called Doki Doki Morning to sound.

Onedari Daisakusen - This song sounds a bit different than most of them but it still works and that chorus is really catchy.

Gimmie Chocolate
Catch Me If You Can
Onedari Daisakusen
Babymetal Death
Headbanger
Doki Doki Morning
Ijme, Dame, Zettai
Akatsuki
Uki Uki Midnight
Megitsune
Song 4
Rondo of a Nightmare
Line

Akatsuki
Ijime, Dame, Zettai
Megitsune
Headbangeeeeerrrrr!!!!!
Catch Me If You Can
Doki Doki Morning
Gimme Chocolate!!
line!
Uki Uki Midnight
Rondo of Nightmare
Babymetal Death
Song 4
Onedari Daisakusen

1. line!
2. Onedari Daisakusen
3. Uki Uki Midnight
4. Headbangeeeeerrrrr!!!!!
5. BABYMETAL DEATH
6. Ijime, Dame, Zettai
7. Akatsuki
8. Song 4
9. Doki Doki Morning
10. Catch Me If You Can
11. Rondo of Nightmare
12. Megitsune
13. Gimme Chocolate!!

Well, I didn't dislike this as much as I was expecting to based on the tracks I sampled during the voting process, but it still wasn't anything special. line! and Onedari Daisakusen in particular are pretty cool. My main issues overall though are that power metal tends to be pretty uninteresting to me, and I also tend to dislike it when "kawaii vocals" get a bit too excessive, which isn't the case for most of the album, but it does go a bit too far from time to time (particularly in my bottom 4 in my ranking). I can appreciate the unique combination of J-pop and metal, but I don't feel the execution is great.

Oops, need to do results