Let’s travel back to 2014 and check out some rare BABYMETAL merchandise. This include the BABYMETAL BAW Binder and four different booklets.
For those who are unfamiliar, BAW was BABYMETAL’s original fan site. Before “THE ONE,” there was BAW. This acronym stands for BABYMETAL Apocalypse Web. Just like THE ONE membership, fans had to buy a product with a special code to access the website and buy members only items. The website was baw.babymetal.jp
Later on in 2014, they created the idea of “THE ONE” and released the very first THE ONE t-shirt. In 2015 they stopped updating baw.babymetal.jp and created theone.babymetal.jp. The very first item for 2015’s membership was another THE ONE t-shirt.
The first piece of merchandise with a BAW code was a binder and photobook entitled Genesis. The photobook also included some background information. I’m not 100% sure what it all says since I can’t read that much Japanese, but it appears to be the creative origin story of BABYMETAL. There’s also information on some of their early shows and performances.
After the first booklet was released, three more booklets came out for members in the following months. The second booklet was bundled with a limited edition CD with the unfinished version of Akatsuki and an alternate version of Song 4. This is the hardest booklet to find, and easily the most expensive. If you can find the booklet, it probably doesn’t include the limited edition CD. The booklet is mostly lyrics of all the songs with some altered art work similar to the original CD album’s insert.
The third booklet, Legend of the Trinity, contains a number of photos from Legends IDZ, Legends 1999 1997, and Live at Budokan. There are also a few behind the scenes shots that are pretty awesome.
The fourth booklet is last judgement. This booklet contains a few more pictures and their complete discography (at the time), including the various editions of their singles and live concerts. There are even a few pop up sections.
If you want to get your hands on this rare piece of BABYMETAL memorabilia, you’ll have to search hard through various auction sites. I paid a pretty penny for my set, and it didn’t even include the limited edition CD!