On February 27, 2018, Babymetal announced their upcoming tour, the Babymetal World Tour 2018. On April 1, 2018, Babymetal uploaded a teaser for Metal Resistance Episode VII, titled "The Revelation" , which hinted the presence of a dark sidecomposed of "seven metal spirits". The spirits mentioned were seen in the music video for "Distortion" uploaded on May 7, 2018, representing the Apocrypha of Babymetal, and the song was distributed to the iTunes Store, Apple Music, Spotify, and other music distribution services the following day. It was the band‘s first release since the death of Kami Band guitarist Mikio Fujioka on January 5, 2018. On September 28, 2018, Babymetal announced a 12" vinyl single that would be released worldwide on Record Store Day on November 23, 2018. The single included a live performance of the song at Download Festival as a B-side, and a Japanese limited edition included a jacket cover different from that released in other regions. Moametal favors the beginning of the song for "lifting up", as well as the interlude for providing a call and response with the audience. The song was re-released as part of the band's album Metal Galaxy with additional vocals from Arch Enemy frontwoman Alissa White-Gluz.
Composition
"Distortion" is a speed metal tune composed of "screeching, pummeling guitars", "metalcore-like chug-riffs", and a catchy chorus, quickly switching between "heavy" and "sugary", and resulting in a "darker", more mature song compared to previous music released by the band.
Reception
"Distortion" debuted at number six on the Billboard JapanHot 100 for the week of May 21, 2018. Due to being released exclusively in a digital format, the song charted at number two on the Oricon Digital Singles chart for the week May 21, 2018, with first-week downloads of 16,468 copies. In the United States, "Distortion" debuted at number two on the BillboardWorld Digital Songs chart for the week May 19, 2018. Following the physical release of "Distortion", the song charted at number 42 on the Oricon Singles chart for the week of December 3, 2018, with first-week sales of 1,791 copies.
Music video
The music video was released on May 7, 2018. The video features the "unrevealed Dark Side, the Apocrypha" of the lore of the Metal Resistance, featuring the Chosen Seven hinted in the teaser, in a world where "power is distorted through time and space." A warrior is shown fighting against "scary-looking figures cloaked in shadows" and fighting the darkness. The members of Babymetal do not appear in the video.
Live performances
"Distortion" was first performed live on the first tour date of the band's Babymetal World Tour 2018 at the Uptown Theater in Kansas City, Missouri on May 8, 2018, along with the premiere of other new songs. Notably, Yuimetal was absent from the entire show, which was not addressed prior to the performance. A live performance of the song at Download Festival 2018 was uploaded to YouTube on September 28, 2018, which was later released in audio form as a B-side to the vinyl single.
