Special Exhibit
The top 3 most acheivable Japanese metal releases is Jealousy by X Japan, Thunder in the East by Loudness, and Babymetal by Babymetal.
Jealousy is their third studio album released on July 1, 1991. This is the band's best-selling album, having sold more than one million copies. It topped the Oricon chart and stayed on the chart for 50 weeks. In 2018, readers and professional musicians voted Jealousy the sixth best album in the history of hard rock and heavy metal in We Rock magazine's "Metal General Election".
Thunder in the East is their fifth studio album released on January 21, 1985 by a major American label after the contract signed with Atco Records, then a subsidiary of Atlantic Records. The power ballad "Never Change Your Mind", the band's biggest hit in America, marked the first time a Japanese band entered the US Top 100 chart, where it remained for 23 weeks, peaking at No. 74. In 2018, readers and professional musicians voted Thunder in the East the third best album in the history of hard rock and heavy metal in We Rock magazine's "Metal General Election".
Babymetal is their debut studio album released on February 26, 2014. The album managed to peak at number four on the Oricon Weekly Chart, and has since been certified gold with over 100,000 copies sold in Japan. In the United States, the album debuted at number 187 on the Billboard 200—a rarity for Japanese acts in the country—and managed to top the World Albums chart. Two singles from Babymetal, "Ijime, Dame, Zettai" and "Megitsune", gained domestic success, charting within the top ten in Japan. "Gimme Chocolate!!" became an international success, with its music video garnering attention overseas and becoming the group's most viewed music video on YouTube.