"Road of Resistance" is a song by the Japanese

Kawaii metal Kawaii metal (also known as idol metal, cute metal, J-pop metal or kawaiicore) is a musical genre that blends elements of heavy metal and J-pop that was pioneered in Japan in the early 2010s. The genre combines both Eastern and Western influenc ...

band

Babymetal (stylized in all caps) is a Japanese kawaii metal band consisting of Suzuka Nakamoto as "Su-metal" and Moa Kikuchi as "Moametal". The band is produced by Kobametal from the Amuse talent agency. Their vocals are backed by heavy metal instrume ...

. The song was released worldwide as a

digital single In music, a single is a type of release, typically a song recording of fewer tracks than an LP record or an album. One can be released for sale to the public in a variety of formats. In most cases, a single is a song that is released separat ...

on February 1, 2015 by

Toy's Factory is a Japanese record label founded in the late 1980s as a subsidiary of the entertainment company VAP, based in Japan. On May 30, 1990, it was established as an independent company. Toy's Factory, as of the first half of 2012, is the four ...

, serving as the lead single off the international re-release of the album ''

'', as well the opening track from ''

Metal Resistance ''Metal Resistance'' is the second studio album by Japanese heavy metal band Babymetal. It was first released on , in Japan through BMD Fox Records, and on , worldwide through earMusic, RED Associated Labels (RAL), and Sony Music Entertainment ...

''. The official live music video gaining over 31 million views on YouTube.

Background and release

Nova2013 DragonForce Herman Li Sam Totman 0001

The song would be used to mark the beginning of the band's lore, Metal Resistance Episode III, at the concert held on November 8, 2014 at

O2 Brixton Academy Brixton Academy (originally known as the Astoria Variety Cinema, previously known as Carling Academy Brixton, currently named O2 Academy Brixton as part of a sponsorship deal with the O2 brand) is a mid-sized concert venue located in South Wes ...

in London, which was also the final tour date for the band's

Babymetal World Tour 2014 The Babymetal World Tour 2014 (stylized in all caps) was the first worldwide concert tour by Japanese band Babymetal. Supporting their eponymous debut album, the tour ran from 23 June 2014 to 20 December 2014, taking place in Japan, the United ...

. A trailer for the song was released on January 5, 2015, integrating footage from the debut performance of the song in London. The song was first released as a digital bonus track off the live album '' Live at Budokan: Red Night'', with limited editions of the album containing a download card with a code to download the song at no additional charge. The song was later released as a dedicated digital single on the

iTunes Store The iTunes Store is a digital media store operated by Apple Inc. It opened on April 28, 2003, as a result of Steve Jobs' push to open a digital marketplace for music. As of April 2020, iTunes offered 60 million songs, 2.2 million apps, 25,00 ...

on February 1, 2015. Li and Totman are featured on guitars, although they are listed as featured artists in various regions of the re-release of the album ''

'', on which the song appears as a bonus track, mainly in the United Kingdom.

Composition

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its ...

'' described the song as "power metal" with "shiny pop harmonies". ''

Rock Sound ''Rock Sound'' is a British magazine that covers rock music. The magazine aims at being more " underground" and less commercial, while also giving coverage to better-known acts. It generally focuses on pop punk, post-hardcore, metalcore, punk, ...

'' called the song "everything we’d expect from abymetalwith a bit of Dragonforce’s exhilarating, flame-fingered guitar added in for good measure." Matt Evans of '' The List'' called the song an "empowering hyperspeed anthem". According to ''Kadokawa'', the song consists of twin shred guitars courtesy of Li and Totman, with a dynamic sound derived of melodic speed metal. The lyrics are described as a narrative on the Metal Resistance, which the band adopted on their world tour. It has also been considered the "final stage" of ''Babymetal'' and the prologue to ''Metal Resistance'', and a transition performance that demonstrates the band's growth from the previous album. According to Su-metal, the song refers to the Metal Resistance lore, described as "the story of Babymetal traveling across the world in the hopes of creating a new metal to unify the world as we break through the barriers of language and borders. In the middle of the song there is a part where we go, ‘Wow, Wow’ and this is where our fans from around the world can sing with us at our concerts. I hope people will listen to our album and support us at our shows."

Yuimetal is a Japanese musician, singer, model, and actress. She is a former member of the kawaii metal group Babymetal and the idol group Sakura Gakuin. In October 2018, she left Babymetal due to an undisclosed illness. She is managed by the Amuse, Inc. ...

stated in an interview with ''

Metal Hammer ''Metal Hammer'' is a heavy metal music magazine and website founded in 1983, published in the United Kingdom by Future, with other language editions available in numerous other countries. ''Metal Hammer'' features news, reviews and long-form ...

'' that "Road of Resistance" is her favorite song from ''Metal Resistance'', explaining that it "has been performed at so many concerts, so a lot of memories are jam-packed. The lyrics are positive, the sound is so cool, and hedance is so powerful."

Reception

"Road of Resistance" received generally favorable reviews from music critics, with most praise of the collaborative work between DragonForce and the band. Preston Phro of ''RocketNews24'' called the song a "great start to the album", with the guitars played by DragonForce giving the song a "fun, over-the-top feel". Adrian Peel of ''Digital Journal'' called the opening track "manic, yet surprisingly tuneful". It received numerous accolades, including being named Best Metal Song of 2015 at the 2015 Loudwire Music Awards. The song charted at number 22 on the '' Billboard'' World Digital Songs chart for the week of February 21, 2015.

Live performances

"Road of Resistance" premiered at a concert as part of the band's Back to the USA / UK Tour 2014 at O2 Academy, Brixton. The song was unofficially dubbed "The One", after the final lines of narration preceding the performance. However, that title would later be used for another song on the band's second album. The song was later performed at the encore of the show Legend "2015" New Year Fox Festival on January 10, 2015. The performance was later uploaded to YouTube on May 6, 2015.

Track listing

Digital download * "Road of Resistance" – 5:19

Credits and personnel

Recording and management * Recorded by Watametal and Adrian Breakspear * Mixed by Ettore Rigotti Personnel *

Suzuka Nakamoto , known by her stage names Suzuka and Su-metal (both stylized in all caps), is a Japanese musician, singer, songwriter and model. She is best known as a member of the kawaii metal band Babymetal. She is represented by the talent agency Amuse, In ...

(Su-metal) – vocals *

Yui Mizuno is a Japanese musician, singer, model, and actress. She is a former member of the kawaii metal group Babymetal and the idol group Sakura Gakuin. In October 2018, she left Babymetal due to an undisclosed illness. She is managed by the Amuse, Inc. ...

(Yuimetal) – vocals *

Moa Kikuchi is a Japanese musician, singer, model, and actress. She is represented by the talent agency Amuse, Inc. She is a member of the kawaii metal group Babymetal and a former member of the idol group Sakura Gakuin. Biography Moa Kikuchi was signed ...

(Moametal) – vocals *Key Kobayashi ( Kobametal / Kxbxmetal / Kitsune of Metal God) – executive producer, lyrics *Miki Watanabe (Mk-metal) – lyrics *Norikazu Nakayama (Norimetal) – music *Nobuaki Miyasaka (Mish-Mosh) – music, arrangement *Sari Miyasaka (Mish-Mosh) – music, arrangement *Keiji Kusama (Kyt-metal) – music *Kyoto – arrangement *Leda – bass *

Herman Li Herman Li (; born 3 October 1976) is a Hong Kong-born British musician who is one of two lead guitarists for the power metal band DragonForce. Li has played with the band based in England since it was formed in 1999 by Li along with Sam Totman, ...

– guitar (courtesy of Electric Generation Recordings Ltd. and Warner Music Japan Inc.) *

Sam Totman Ian Samuel Totman is an English-born New Zealand musician best known as guitarist and main songwriter for the power metal band DragonForce. Early life Totman was born in England and grew up mainly in New Zealand. He moved back to England arou ...

– guitar (courtesy of Electric Generation Recordings Ltd. and Warner Music Japan Inc.) Credits adapted from ''Metal Resistance'' liner notes and Google Play.

Charts

Release history

References

External links

Discography
on the Babymetal official website {{Authority control Babymetal songs Toy's Factory singles 2014 songs 2015 singles Japanese-language songs