REACTION - BABYMETAL DEATH Legend 1997 

"Death" in this song, is a play word for "desu". A word used for japanese people when introducing their name. Like "su-metal desu" meaning "i am su-metal", turning it into "su-metal death"

Headbanger was the song that got me into Babymetal, but this song is the one that convinced me they are Metal AF!!! Diving down the Fox Hole has awakened a love for music that I had lost, without even realizing it, and I'll be forever grateful to Babymetal for that. Keep up the good work man, I appreciate the thoughtfulness you put into your reactions. STAY METAL!!

Other Band: «Soo… "Babymetal" dosen't sound metal at all» Babymetal: «Oh? Really?» Other Band: «Yeah! We engulf our entire stage in flames!! THAT'S METAL!!!» Babymetal: «Nice» Other Band: «So, tell us what you do on stage» Babymetal: «Singing, dancing … What else? … OH!! Right! … We crucified our lead singer live on stage» Other Band: «Wha…?» Babymetal: «… and it was on her birthday» {Other Band left the building} Babymetal: «…»

I’ve seen an earlier version of this song with an English translation for the intro spoken part. It basically said that Suzuka was a Japanese idol who was sacrificed so that Su-Metal could come and save people stuck listening to idol music or pop..

After you did the Unhelpful Guide to Babymetal, something told me this was next. Definitely one of the best things on youtube.

This is how they open/end shows in the past, with thousands chanting DEATH in unison in blast beat.

I just learned that a literal translation of "Kami Band" is "God Band"

They used to start their concerts with this song. It literally hit you like a sonic blast coming off of the stage and if you were not sure what you were getting yourself into seeing Babymetal for the first time you knew right then that you were at a full on metal show.

Whenever I think that if a parent suddenly goes to a BabyMetal concert to look for their kid, and see the kid jumping and yelling "death death death death...", I am curious what the parents' reaction is? Hahahahahaha...!

I'm a Maidiac & I don't hate on other peoples fave bands. I just want to wish the Babymetal fam a very Merry Christmas & a happy new year :)

This song, by the way, is the opening track of their 2014 released debut album.

Just to address the religious aspect of the performance, you have to keep in mind that Christianity is to the Japanese what Shinto is to us. It really doesn't carry a great deal of cultural significance, but certainly Koba is at least somewhat aware of the impact it will have on western audiences. And Koba knows the power of both branding and attention-grabbing hehe

DOH!!!🤘🦊🤘

This video is a good example of "Does your mom know what you're doing?" but in this case, the parents of the girls know and allow it.. 😂 Also, this was Su-metal's 16th birthday celebration. Imagine people asking her what she did on her 16th birthday and she'll just casually say she was crucified on stage by her two best friends.. 😂

I don't see it in the comments, this is an older video, and you probably found out by now, but "death" is actually a play on words for their verb "desu" which is pronounced "dess". The "u" sound is dropped. To our ears it sounds like "death", but really what they're saying is "dess dess dess" which is "we are" or "is is is". So when they say "BABYMETAL DEATH" they're saying "We are BABYMETAL" or "BABYMETAL is". They say "death" but everyone in that audience understands it's a play on words with the verb "desu" and "to be". It makes sense as its intro track: "We are BABYMETAL", "BABYMETAL DESU" or the play on words "BABYMETAL DEATH".

Nothing wrong here, they're just introducing themselves, as other comments already told too with play of word with death/desu 😁 She sacrifices herself to throw away her idol status from Sakura Gakuin days to be reborn as Metal Goddess 😉

What's also bold is that this song is the opening track on Babymetal's first album. So, if you would have bought the album expecting only more Gimme Choco-like tracks, this is what you heard. It's pretty much a, 'Congrats, you just bought your very first metal album, initiate!' moment. The main riff of this track is essentially a nod to Metallica's 'One', so it's no wonder the band caught their interest. ;-)

I am a Babymetal fan. I like Band Maid, Lovebites, Aldious and band from Japan in general. Wishing all fans from Band Maid, Lovebites etc a wonderful and blessed life. Happy Holidays and a Happy New Year.

The more older Baby Metal I watch the more I add to my list!!!! 😈🤘

This was the same exact show that Gimme Chocolate video came from (went viral on YT worldwide), huge show yet they'd only been together 3 years, had product for 2, focused on BabyMetal outside it's origin (Sakura Gakuin) only 1 year, and were just getting used to playing with a live band (only played a 4? song encore at this show even, but played entire shows ever since: Budokan 3 months later, and Sonisphere (conquered the west in a 30min lunchtime show) 3 months after that... SuMetal's 16th BDay (born '97)... Brutal, and yes, Legendary

Should we tell him about the indentured servitude of Fox-Men during Legend S? After all...Stages don't move themselves!

This is Dark side of BABYMETAL ! Good reaction 🤘

No one is ever ready for Babymetal Death

BABYMETAL Death is usually the first song of their live show as self introduction, and also words play song as other guys said in this section. However, in this 2013 live, this was the last song and Su- was crucified to reborn as Metal Goddess. Kami Band has appeared from second half.

Great reaction ... you have had all the explanations and translations already, so nothing much for me to add I think.

wait til you see the shows with Rob Halford doing Breaking the Law and Painkiller. also there is video of them with the Red Hot Chili Peppers doing Gimmie Chocolate. they toured with RHCP in the UK. Su was actually given a birthday cake on stage from the RHCP and they had the crowd sing Happy Birthday to Su. Babymetal is friends with a lot of big name people. Lady Gaga, Rob Zombie, Guns and Roses, Stone Sour, BMTH, and so many more. many pictures of them with a lot of famous metal bands. last year Avatar opened for them in the US and then The Hu finished up with them. The Hu got more venues opened to them because of Babymetal.

I thoroughly enjoyed that reaction. Really had me laughing. Especially the ending. After watching your reaction when this popped up in the guide I knew your reaction to the actual video was gonna be awesome despite knowing what was coming. Good stuff! GJ and Kitsune Up! 🤘🦊🤘

Oh yea, correct me if i remember this wrong: Su has been crucified 5 times on stage Moa and Yui 1 time.

So glad you reacted to this one, hoped you would!

My first thought when I saw this video..."This is METAL AF!" :D

They're actually saying "desu" which is Japanese for 'I am' and making it sound like 'death'.

I said to my friend: Before watching BabyMetal DEATH video. Do you check the lyrics first? My friend said: Yes! The lyrics is "DEATH death DEATH death....." Me: WTF?????

Thanks for the reaction. Actually, Babymetal opened for Metallica In Korea and opened for Guns N Roses in Japan in 2017. They incorporated Metallica references in this performance you just watched: A Metallica One tribute is in the start of the song and the statue falling apart is a reference to Metallica In Justice For All tour where they had a statue fall apart. But Babymetal & Metallica have a longer history than that. Babymetal started in 2010, they were little kids, not even/hardly teenagers and didn't know about metal music. Just like many kids in the west, this might be the time they get to know about metal music or a little later than that. Kobametal let them discover things by themselves in the early days. Didn't push anything on them. Just answer questions. By 2012 Babymetal had their first concert at the very small venue (100+ people), but also famous venue (Kobametal loves references to other bands and traditions, etc.). The organizer of big festival, Summer Sonic, was a friend and invited to see them perform. He immediately wanted to book them for the festival. Because Babymetal was still part of Sakura Gakuin, they had other things to do. But the organizer was really excited, so the organizer gave them a more flexible spot in the schedule, which was at the food court, a very small stage used for some comedians I think. Their was no Kami band yet and not even Babybones (fake band in skull suits) on that stage if I'm not mistaken. So Babymetal performed at their first festival. Then next year Babymetal was invited again, they got a proper spot at the smallest real stage. Metallica was the headliner at the festival that year. In the west Babymetal was basically unknown. Some metal forums/small time metal news sites had spotted the Doki Doki Morning MV in 2012. The only western metal musician who had met and had their photo taken with Babymetal was Marty Friedman, former Megadeth (who lives in Japan and speaks the language very well, he's famous in Japan as a TV personality). Babymetal was running around backstage with Metallica homage t-shirts (a Babymetal t-shirt design with elements of a Metallica tour/album embedded). They got noticed by the tour photographer of Metallica and eventually this lead to Lars going all the way to the other end of the big festival to see Babymetal perform (imagine the headliner taking the time at a festival going to the smallest stage to see an unknown artist) and later that evening Babymetal girls got to see Metallica live. This was the girls first real live metal concert they still talk about it, it made a big impression. They finally 'got it' what metal live music was all about. Earlier that year they got to understand the power of the live metal performance even more than what they were used to from doing J-Pop because by then they were doing full setlists with the Kami band on tour, an experience which also made a big impression, probably when the Su-metal (almost like a second personality of Suzuka, like some people have a coping mechanism when they had a traumatic experience. Or like an actor who is doing method acting) as we knew her in the years 2014,2015,2016,2017 got 'created' (after 2017 Su-metal and Suzuka have more clearly merged). So Lars got to see Babymetal with the Kami band at the festival. And Metallica even used Babymetal for promotion of their Metallica movie in Japan - Through the Never 3D (2013). Clearly Babymetal most have been making some waves in Japan for that to make sense. Later that year Babymetal performed at their first metal festival in Japan, Loud Park 2013. In 2014 they performed at the first metal festival outside of Japan, Sonisphere, UK 2014. Babymetal opened for Metallica in 2017. Metallica's first show of the Asian leg which was after their US leg of the World Wired tour. They toured with Guns N Roses in Japan, 4 shows in 2 venues in Japan I believe ? Maybe more. I'll shut up now. :-)

The translation of the intro video is in the description, I don't know why nobody mentions this when suggesting this video. It explains in lore terms what's going on. The performance is about Su "sacrificing" her idol persona to be "reborn" as a metal goddess. Or, in real life terms, Su graduated from Sakura Gakuin half a year prior and this was BABYMETAL showing they became an independent act. So basically performer Suzuka Nakamoto seized to exist and only Su-metal remained. What I mean by that is except for very few "leaked" photos and I think one from the SG graduation the following year, you won't find any pictures or videos of Su not being Su-metal or without her "armor" after her graduation. Death is a pun of "desu" (silent u), which means I am, we are, this is. Japanese can't pronounce th, so it's like an s to them. It was often used as show opener because they literally introduce themselves in the song. Last thing, there are a few hommages in the video. The riff in the beginning is clearly influenced by Metallica's One, the statue is from Metallica's ...and Justice for All MV and tour. The neckbrace is a hommage to X Japan's drummer/songwriter Yoshiki. They have about 100 X Japan references and hommages in their, especially earlier, performances and songs. Lars Ulrich was one of the first western Metal musicians to publicly endorse BABYMETAL. They met/saw each others performances at the Summer Sonic Festival in Tokyo, 2013. There are quite a few pictures of BM with Metallica, Kirk Hammett, Lars Ulrich, etc. Nowadays there are quite a lot of musicians who say they are fans or even performed with them, for example Rob Halford, Corey Taylor, Matt Heafy of Trivium, Rob Zombie, KoRn, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Dragonforce and the list goes on.

The statue crumbling at the end is a tribute to Metallica's "....And Justice For All". Kobametal, as well as BABYMETAL, are huge Metallica fans.

I don't know if you already saw the Tokyo Dome Black Night concert, but, they crucified all the girls in Babymetal death song

Friend: "So, Su...how was your birthday." Su: "Well, I got out in front of several thousand people and was crucified by my two best friends. It was cool."

Cool intro song. It ain't a great concert without a crucifixion. Pretty sure Fleetwood Mac said that...

Apologize for ruins the crucifixion thing, but it still dope in anyways doesn't it? Everytime i watch this video, the same intensity, goosebumps and still a badass song, how can't this be metal? I wonder how does it feels, crucified and your best friends together with the crowd chanting "death" on you at your birthday party, yes this was just Su's 16th birthday party, how about your 16th btw?

You must see the onedari daisakusen song by babymetal, you won't regret it, it's a great song.

I WAS WAITING FOR THIS ONE

I bloody love your reactions! You knew what was coming and were still gobsmacked 😂 the stuff at the start basically explained how Suzuka was sacrificed (her idol self) to be reborn as a metal goddess 🤘🦊🖤

And people say that BABYMETAL isn't metal

NOT A CVLT

They have a colab stage with Rob Halford. That's a statement to the metal community enough. And as you said , Metallica are the biggest commercial band but when bringing in the conversation sold out shows etc to prove the size of the band I only have 2 words for you " Iron Maiden" ..

Enjoy the show, really trying for BabyMetals hardest, most fun song, Has 3 Guitar Solos, Drum solo, Monster Riffs,So Metal, So Cute! "Catch Me If You Can" live at "Black Night Legend Doomsday show Best Kami Band Solos intro Best Riffs Best Dance Headbanging with a Smile!!!!!!!

Rob Zombie had the best comment about Babymetal: "They roll harder than you"

Seeing you face when they crucified Su in the unhelpful guide, it was very obvious that this would come haha! Keep it coming, we love BM reacts.

STATEMENT! DO AGREE WITH THAT SIR!

Hang on, it's gonna be a bumpy ride.😈😈😈😈

And they also sing about bubble gum.

They crucified the image of Su as an idol , her to be reborn as a queen of metal. They prey to the Fox God, not satan. This is so awesome. You can find the full concert on bilibili. They were 16 and 14 yr old. Amazing

Having seen just how in depth your reactions are, I'd love to see what you make of Heilung. They're like a piece of history and myth combined and came to life. Krigsgaldr or In Maidjan (both live from LIFA) are beyond words for me. Maybe you'll have better luck.

Check out Oh Majinai! from the new album. It features Joachim, the lead singer of Sabaton.

and actually the statue breaking apart was supposed to be inspired by the Metallica show with doris

This is where SU-METAL became our METAL GODDESS QUEEN and an IDOL LEGEND,

No one in the crowd shouts "Death". We shout "Des". Because "We are BabyMetal" "BabyMetal Des". Desu = Des = I am, we are. "Su-Metal Des, Yui-Metal Des, Moa-Metal-des, BABY....METAL DEEEEEESSSS!" I am Su-Metal, I am Yui-Metal, I am Moa-Metal, We are BabyMetal. Its called "Death" because DES sounds like DEATH.

I doubt any sweet 16 party could top this one.

The lyrics are slightly off. They are not saying "Death". The reason for that is that they do not have the -th sound in the Japanese language. So the closest word they have to "death" (the actual pronunciation) is "desu", which already means "to be", or "I am" (the ending u is silent) KobaMetal had to teach them how to say the word "desu" and hold their tongue with their teeth to get the -th sound. But in this song, you can clearly hear the S sound at the end of the word. So what the lyrics are is the spelling of the name of the band, then INTRODUCING THEMSELVES: B A B Y M E T A L Su-Metal desu (I am Su Metal) Yui-Metal desu (I am Yui-Metal) Moa-Metal desu (I am Moa-Metal) Babymetal desu (We are Babymetal) That's it. Nothing religious, cultlike, satanic, or anything at all in the lyrics. It's a simple, cute, kawaii play on words to introduce the band, and we in the Western World fell for it. Now, about the crucifixion. There is nothing religious about it. If you look at the statue, the statue is actually Su-Metal, not the Statue of Mary, or anyone of any religion. As someone mentioned before, this is her sacrificing her former life (read: the idol girl from Sakura Gakuin) to be reborn as Su-Metal, the metal queen. That is all that this is. The music. If you listen to the music, it should remind you of some old school Metallica. That isn't a fluke. the opening riff is straight off of One, from "...And Justice For All". additionally, if you saw that tour back in 1988, at the end of the set, the head of Doris (Lady Liberty) always fell off the statue. The same happens here. This entire song is a tribute to Metallica, who is their favorite metal band. Finally, this song is not only the first song on their first album, but as it is basically just an introduction to who they are, but they also used to open their shows with this song. For this particular song, however, they played it as the last song on their set. Obviously for the shock factor of the crucifixion.

From what I understand in Japanese the words for “Death” and “I am” sound very similar, so in this song BM is asking the crowd something like “who (or what) are you?” And the crowd is answering back by saying “I am! I am! I am! Death! Death! Death! Death!” over and over. (They might change the “I am” to “we are” sometimes but it’s hard to tell.) Then BM responds back by introducing themselves to the crowd as Baby Metal. Hope that helps, this is one of my favorite crowd interactions because of how powerful the “I am Death” parts are.

You don’t speak Japanese... yet. That’s what you meant to say, isn’t it? I recall you mentioning that you’re learning Finnish (I think it is) because of Nightwish. I’ve been learning Japanese now for 6 months or so... not as far along as I should be, but I keep plugging away at it. Have you considered a dual Finnish/Japanese language path? Back to this song for a moment though. You mentioned how dark it is (or at least seems to be) but I think you missed what caused Moa the most distress: Su’s hair got messed up! Good thing Moa was there for the save.

BEST HAPPY BIRTHDAY PARTY EVER 🦊🤟

Oh damn! Awesome!

Babymetal really is a band that can put on amazing shows. This one looks hell of a different from other stuff I have seen from them. And holy damn Kami band was killing it again. Those tunes and riffs are so damn awesome. Really loving what they and babymetal are doing. Good reaction once again, OSN. It is always fun to hear what you think and see the effect of the songs and videos on your face.

死(し) is the word for death They are chanting です which roughly translates to 'is', it is pronounced des (spelled in english desu), so essentially they are introducing themselves while using as a play on words to sound like death, when they are actually saying "I am su-metal" etc. This is the first song on the album which provides a good heavy introduction to who they are right from the very beginning.

Also to add, the song is a tribute to Metallica's One and the statue to their most famous concert in Seattle '87 where after playing One, the Lady of Justice breaks apart.

This is my all time favorite babymetal song to watch reactions on, especially from westerners. The second that cross comes out they ALWAYS get visibly uneasy.

"What did you do for your 16th Birthday?" "Oh I had a party with some friend." "Went to the mall and shopped all day." "Got crucified by my band while thousands screamed Death and was reborn as the Metal Goddess."

They decapitated the statue lol also great reaction 🦊🤟

Great reaction! So happy you did the guide:). Legend 1997 complete. If I remember correctly, when a reporter alluded to Metallica “selling out” their metal fans for mainstream success, Headfield quoted, “Sellout? Yes. Every seat in the house, every time we play.” Babymetal Death is also a 🖕🏼 to those metal purists that hated on this group in the beginning. On the other hand, Su caught a break last week as no show for her 23rd. Somebody commented they were afraid she would begin to dread her birthday. . .lol. . Keep up the great reactions and thank you. . Kitsunes up 🤘🏿🦊🖖

He didn't read the Opening Translation in the description... *facepalm* ....Still love the reaction though.... I'm sure someone will tell you about the Metallica references in this show

Wish the new Babymetal Death 2021 is longer for your to make review of or comparison

Death= desu (i am) in japanese

I figured a few fundie Christians would lose their shit over this but everyone else understands this is just theatre.

Desu - Means "Are" in japanese... Sounds like Death but are Desu... "Oh! Babymetal is not metal! "Take it because it is ... as Rob Zombie said they are more metal than you."

You've reacted to quite a few Babymetal when they are in their performance mode.... You should do a reaction to Babymetal (more Su metal actually) when she was performing breaking the law/painkiller with Chad from Red Hot Chili Peppers.... She was less Queen Su in that one, and more Suzuka having fun on stage..... You might also want to react to her with Rob Halford..... But watching the non reaction from the crowd was kinda cringy in that performace, though Rob and Su's performance and the Kamiband do make up for it.... Kitsune's Up!

what did you do on your 16th birthday? nothing like this

Nice reaction and great analysis...Also, I would just like to point out that this was a presentation of Death and Reborn...Su metal sacrificed herself as depicted in the show being crucified to represent her death as a Japanese Idol and was reborn to become the METAL QUEEN...

Where is @Grington 300 ? Being crucified on her birthday and being reborn as a metal-queen as a 16 yo teen is something! It is not death...they use the japanese word "desu" meaning-ish "I am". So the chanting is B-a-b-y-m-e-t-a-l desu "we are Babymetal" Su-metal Desu "I am Su metal" same with You and Moa. And then they plat with the Japanese word and doing it to Death! This song was a starter and a way to introduce them self to the audience....

In Japan, death is often seen as a rebirth and not final. In this instance this was the end of Suzuka as an idol and the rebirth as a metal goddess to help bring back metal to the ones oppressed by the idols.

When i saw your face in the unhelpful guide to Sus crucifixtion i knew this was coming next

So, do people still think Babymetal is not a metal band ? Do people still think they are just a gimmick ? Kudos to you for catching the crumbling statue at the end as most of the reactors miss it. This song has quite a few tributes to legendary bands, but takes a metal head to see them.

You need to watch Babymetal singing with Rob Halford

🦊 🦊 🦊 . 🤘😊🤘 .

Now, where are those idiots who said Babymetal is not metal enough?

Couple things to understand about this video, is first crucifixion was used as a form of capital punishment in feudal Japan. It isn't as religious as it looks. Second, the death thing, and this is one of the problems I have with the unhelpful history, isn't really about death. The verb "to be" is desu, in which the "u" is not vocalized. And when a Japanese person says the English word "death", it sounds the same as the way they say desu. So when they say Su-metal death, they're saying "I am Su-metal". And are being very playful about it. The inapprotiatness of a crowd of people yelling death at teenage girls is just poking fun in an edgy way. They are a metal band after all.

not a cult btw.

🍅🍅🍅 🤘🏼🦊🤘🏼 Not a Cult ! ! !

I'd love to see you react to a very different japanese band called "Man with a Mission" and you should check out their song "Hero" first. They are a rock group, not as heavy as babymetal but I find them enjoyable and their... gimmick is very different

And with that Queen Su was born as the Metal goddess.

To anyone that saying BabyMetal isnt metal , in ur face

It’s in a way fun because of the mockery of abrahamic stuff, I see how that is cool. I wonder if you did a reaction to : No Rain, No Rainbow before. It’s like the opposite of this, it’s a ballad, it also has a guitar duo :)

LUL The more outraged Americans becomes when seeing this video, the more I like it. :D Also, no, death is not the Japanese word for death.

This performance is really dark and impressive. The only problem for me is that i dont get the idea of this crucifixion. The visuals are strong but the core idea is left for interpretation.... Like in most modern art. And this is why I am not a big fan of modern art. The idea that the viewer has a free choice to come out with any interpretation of the show - doesnt really work for me. There are no particular reasons to put a teenage girl on a cross just for the fun of it. There must be sone serious reason for doing that and... I didnt find that serious reason watching the vid.

We are not a cult :))

Cool and noice

I would feel sorry for Metallica going up after them in their home country.

Iron Maiden is 100 times better and bigger than Metallica. Nice reaction tho.

Not a cult.

I just can't take them seriously, lol. Every video I see from them has me laughing way too hard. They have talent and they have good producers, but my god it makes me laugh.