I think it’s safe to say that 2014 was a pivotal year for BABYMETAL. They toured the globe, their debut album hit the charts worldwide, their music videos went viral on YouTube, and they became the youngest artists to perform at (and sell out) the legendary Budokan in Tokyo, Japan. This is a feat they accomplished twice on back-to-back nights only mere days after the debut album dropped. The trio, ages 16, 14, and 14, have certainly been a matter of controversy and argument within the metal community with cries of “they’re not metal” being commonplace. Regardless of your own feelings toward the group, their success in 2014 can’t be denied, and the Live at Budokan release at the beginning of 2015 serves to celebrate that success. Red Night features the entire first night’s set, while Black Night features the second night’s set (Black Night is only available to fan club members).

This release is quite a unique one for BABYMETAL. This is their third live release, but only the first one to be released on an audio CD (the others were Blu-Ray/DVD). In addition to that, it’s their first live release that features the Kami Band, their backing band comprised of accomplished Japanese metal musicians, present on all the tracks. The album is almost completely live, with the growled vocals being on playback. That alone makes it a huge step up from the past two affairs.

Red Night’s setlist is quite simply the entire debut album played in random order. No covers or unreleased songs as BABYMETAL is well known for doing. With the legendary Ted Jensen behind both live albums’ mastering, it’s suffice to say that you really couldn’t ask for a better production job for this live set. Both the girls and the Kami Band are crystal clear at all point, the few synths and growls that the music calls for are not overpowering (unlike the previous live release), and the crowd is perfectly audible, especially during some of the rowdier songs. The massive size of the Budokan is captured exquisitely, with tracks like “Ijime, Dame, Zettai” and “Head Bangya!!” being some of the best showcases of the superb recording.

The backing band are flawless. That’s not an understatement; you’ll forget that they’re even playing half the time, and you’ll just think it’s a recording. Their precision and their prowess is unmatched, and that’s proven during their instrumental solos right before “Catch Me If You Can”. All that’s left to talk about is the girls’ performances. Keeping in mind that all three girls are performing choreography during all the songs, it’s pretty impressive how good all the vocals. One of the girls, Yui-Metal, even falls off the stage during a callback section of “Head Bangya!!, forcing the other girl, Moa-Metal, to power on through the rest of the song solo. This is the first time the two younger girls have been exclusively mic’ed for an entire show, and despite audibly running out of breath on “Onedari Daisakusen”, which is one of their solo songs, their live performances adds a bit of energy that was missing in the past.

Su-Metal, the oldest member of the three, easily delivers her best vocal performance out of any of the past live releases. For a group that gets a lot of flak for being something concocted in a studio, the vocals are incredibly well done. Almost all of the vocals are comparable to their studio counterparts, with the only exceptions being a couple of the older tracks that were pitched a bit higher. “Akatsuki” and “Rondo of Nightmare”, both being her solo songs, are the perfect portrayal of Su-Metal’s vocal talents, as well as two songs that don’t feature the J-pop influence that so many people seem to hate. To think that Su-Metal’s vocals were this good at the age of 16 is promising for the future of the band and for her own future. Her delivery on Red Night is as professional as any other live album in the metal genre.

This next song deserves its own paragraph. Included on the Red Night CD is a code that can be redeemed for a download of the studio version of “Road of Resistance”, which is a collaboration between BABYMETAL and Herman Li and Sam Totman, both guitarists from the English power metal juggernauts, DragonForce. This is the first time this song has been made available, and it’s an amazing track to say the least. It literally sounds like a DragonForce song with the girls from BABYMETAL singing over it. There’s no quirky J-pop or EDM influence thrown in; it’s a complete power metal track with some insane shredding, a sing-along verse, and it stands as BABYMETAL’s fastest and most energetic song by far. I’m not saying this song is worth the approximate $15 cost of the live album, but it’s damn near close.

I reviewed the debut album last year, and I must admit I was a bit harsh on it back then, because this live release is an absolute delight to listen to. Red Night is a great representation of where the group was at just mere days after their viral success, and it’s going to end up being an important piece of history in a few years. Black Night may have had the more eclectic setlist (which I’ll review one day), but Red Night is the perfect companion piece to the debut album. Both the performances of the Kami Band and the three girls must be commended sufficiently, and it will only become all the more impressive when the video of the concert is watched. If you didn’t like BABYMETAL before, this live album is unlikely to change that, but to any diehards and casuals this will be a treasure. Non-fans may want to consider watching the video of Live at Budokan if they really want to discover half of the appeal of the BABYMETAL phenomenon, and that’s something I’ll delve into later.