Music | “In the Moment” vs. “BABYMETAL”

IN THE MOMENT via HTS!  BABYMETAL via BABYMETAL WALL @ JPOPASIA

I got it out of synch. Then again, time is not really linear.  In the Moment, a Los Angeles based band, released a new album in November 2014 that is wonderfully titled “Black Widow”. What is there not to like about a Black Widow? Venomous female spider with predilection for sexual cannibalism; a Russian spy / superhero in the Marvel universe; basically, a seductive guaranteed-to-be-deadly lady. But I digress… It started when the single “Sick Like Me” was released, and if heavy metal is your thing and you like it fronted by smooth, alluring yet roaring, say… black-widow style vixen backed by a requisite and finely executed grind of her cronies, you will be a very happy prey. Then I found “Vixen”, or to be correct “Megitsune” - a song by a Japanese group BABYMETAL, and a blend of heavy metal and J-pop. And my head split between “OK… sure… I get it… why not, it’s catchy” and confusion of “is this where things are heading?!” This is where I got out of synch.  Things already got there back in 2010 when the group was formed (“Megitsune” was released in June 2013). Black widows they are not, not like In the Moment front woman, but this is another female fronted metal outfit (still confused on that… but let’s not be purists), so I am good with that on a fight-the-power sort of level (bear with me, I am still trying to convince myself of something here). Their pop and youth may be Lollita-esque when backed by the “heavy metal falling from the sky”, AND if you look at it with a certain slant. Baby Black Widows? We will see. Supposedly none of them knew what metal was before they were backed by it.  What is certain, is that a mix of black and red is “metal”, and damn any anarchistic association! I mean, pop is not quite that. Not nowadays anyhow. Yet, both In the Moment and BABYMETAL have it. Where to go with this packaging?  Go with it as just packaging. The sound is the real metric here. So – where on the scale do you land: “OK… sure… I get it… why not, it’s catchy” via “is this where things are heading?!” to “real Black Widows, please!”?