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Live at Wembley (2016)

Where the lyrics of Live at Wembley take you, and where it was really made.

Babymetal's 2 April 2016 show at Wembley Arena was the first headline show there by a Japanese band, and it opened the band's world tour.

Key places

Wembley Arena, opening night of the world tour (2016)

Recording site Wembley Arena — Babymetal headlined Wembley Arena on 2 April 2016, the first time a Japanese band did so there. The show kicked off the band's world tour, and this live album was recorded from it. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• Live at Wembley: second live album and fifth video album by Japanese heavy metal band Babymetal
• Contains footage from the Babymetal World Tour 2016: Legend Metal Resistance
• Features the live performance at Wembley Arena on 2 April 2016, which kicked off the world tour
• Released 23 November 2016 in Japan by BMD Fox Records and Toy's Factory
• Released 9 December 2016 in the United Kingdom by earMusic
• Re-released on vinyl 8 September 2021 to commemorate the band's tenth anniversary

Background

• 26 August 2015: Babymetal announced a headline show at Wembley Arena for 2 April 2016
• First time a Japanese band headlined a show at the venue
• Tickets went on sale 5 September 2015
• Su-metal said the UK audience was important to the band
• Later in 2015 the band announced the studio album Metal Resistance and the tour, with Wembley Arena as the first date
• Approximately 12,000 people attended, and the band set a venue record for most merchandise sold in a day
• 14 September 2016: video album announced in DVD, Blu-ray, and fanclub-exclusive box set editions

Recording

• The stage resembles "towering, weathered temple ruins", with pyrotechnics throughout the concert
• Much of the narration story takes inspiration from Star Wars, including a mention of "Death Vader"
• The audience included both the pumped-up metalhead and the costumed kawaii kid
• Su-metal said many first-timers were at the Wembley show and some were lost at the start
• During "The One", the crowd held flags from many different countries

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Tracklist

Disc 1

Disc 2

Disc 3

Sources: musicbrainz.org

Artist

Formation

• Babymetal is a Japanese kawaii metal band formed in Tokyo in 2010, fusing heavy metal with idol culture and elaborate choreography.
• It began as the heavy music club sub-unit of the idol group Sakura Gakuin; producer Kobametal, of talent agency Amuse Inc., conceived the project.
• The band became independent in 2013 after Suzuka Nakamoto graduated from Sakura Gakuin.

Members

• Suzuka Nakamoto (Su-metal): lead vocals and dancing, the main vocalist.
• Moa Kikuchi (Moametal): backing vocals and dancing.
• Momoko Okazaki (Momometal): backing vocals and dancing; officially joined as the third member in April 2023.
• Yui Mizuno (Yuimetal) was a member from 2010 until her departure announced in October 2018 due to health issues.
• Session musicians known as the Kami Band perform the instrumentation live.

Career

• Early on, the band made its debut appearance at a Sakura Gakuin concert in 2010 and released a first single in 2011.
• The major-label debut came in January 2013 with "Ijime, Dame, Zettai".
• The self-titled debut album (2014) reached the Billboard 200, and the band played the Budokan in 2014 and Tokyo Dome in 2016.
• Metal Resistance (2016) was the highest-charting Japanese album in the UK Official Charts history, and the first Japanese album in over 50 years to chart in the US Billboard Top 40.
• Metal Galaxy (2019) made the band the first Asian act to top the Billboard Rock Albums chart.
• Metal Forth (2025) became the first all-Japanese band release to reach the Billboard 200 top 10.

Reception

At release

• Live at Wembley received generally positive reviews from music critics
• Tim Sendra of AllMusic said the guitars were rougher and more brutal, and the vocals came through clearly
• Sendra said the release was not as fun as the studio albums, but its appeal came from the band's sound, energy, and catchy songs
• Eleanor Goodman of TeamRock called it an uplifting burst of energy, most welcome in the bleak midwinter
• Goodman criticised only the silent gaps between tracks and the removal of some songs from the debut album
• Hannah Evans of The Guardian praised the performance, saying the group proved to be a metal phenomenon and not a gimmick
• Evans said the slick dance routines and blend of genres complemented the venue and production budget

Records

• Oricon weekly album chart: peaked at number five
• Oricon DVD chart: number one, first-week sales of 14,000 copies, the band's first number one on that chart
• Oricon Blu-ray chart: number two, first-week sales of 36,000 copies
• Billboard Top Albums chart: number five for the week of 9 January 2017
• Billboard Hot Albums chart: number eight for the same week
• Sales to date of 9,913 copies at the time of the Billboard entry

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• The 2-CD audio version included with the limited edition of The One splits the performance between tracks 9 and 10 of the Blu-ray and removes no songs.
• The vinyl format includes all 17 songs from the video album.
• During Road of Resistance, the audience formed a Wall of Death.
• The album's vinyl edition was released in 2021 to mark the band's tenth anniversary.
• Su-metal said the band had a lot of first-time fans at the Wembley show, so the start felt unsure before the crowd became one.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

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