It was first released on March 29, 2016 (2016-03-29), in Japan through BMD Fox Records, and on April 1, 2016 (2016-04-01), worldwide through earMusic, RED Associated Labels (RAL), and Sony Music Entertainment.

The album managed to peak at number two on the Oricon Weekly Chart with first-week sales of 132,881 units, and has since been certified gold with over 230,000 copies sold in Japan.

In the United Kingdom, it peaked at number fifteen on the UK Albums Chart, the highest position reached by a Japanese band.

Kobametal explained that most of the songwriting coincided with the band's performances of the new songs before the album, with a constant need to tweak the music or lyrics before the official release.

[3] In an interview by Gigwise, when asked about the meaning of the album title, lead vocalist Suzuka Nakamoto explained, "isn't about us resisting against anything as such, but in the last year of our activities it does feel like we're battling against something every time we step on stage".

[3] To contrast, the Su-metal solo "No Rain, No Rainbow" is described as an "epic ’80s power ballad", while "Meta Taro" is more synth-driven with Viking metal.

[3][9] In a Loudwire interview, Su-metal described the lyrics of "Awadama Fever", such as "mint-flavored time machine": "This song has a lot of kawaii elements.

Kikuchi expressed the goal of Metal Resistance: "We hope to be able to unite the world through music on this album - for it to be the bridge between us and the listeners.

"[4] Metal Resistance was announced in December 2015 to coincide with news of a new world tour, with the album's title confirmed in January 2016.

[14] On September 14, 2016, the limited edition of the album was re-released in commemoration of returning to Japan on the Babymetal World Tour 2016: Legend Metal Resistance, packaged with a paper jacket.

[15] On December 13, 2015 (2015-12-13), a YouTube video was posted on the band's official channel for the previously untitled album, announced with its April 1 release dubbed "Fox Day".

The tour was set to begin at Wembley Arena on April 2, 2016 (2016-04-02), the day after the album's worldwide release, and end at Tokyo Dome on September 19, 2016 (2016-09-19).

[18] The song "Road of Resistance" was previously released as a digital single on February 1, 2015 (2015-02-01), and afterwards as a bonus track on the band's debut album Babymetal.

"[23] A music video of "The One" filmed during the show Babymetal World Tour 2015 in Japan: The Final Chapter Of Trilogy – Act II at Yokohama Arena premiered in the United States on Billboard.com,[24][25] and later made available on YouTube on March 26, 2016 (2016-03-26).

[3] Additionally, "Awadama Fever" was performed at the live show Legend "2015" New Year Fox Festival in 2015, which was filmed and released via Blu-ray to "The One" fanclub members.

[3] Metal Resistance received generally positive reviews from music critics, with most praising the vocal performance of the band members.

"[29] Jon Hadusek from Consequence of Sound wrote that the band hones "a fusion of technical metal, dance music, and power pop that’s both competent and emotionally invigorating", calling "Karate" and "From Dusk Till Dawn" essential tracks.

[34] Alternative Press wrote that while the album's "musical textures and tropes can grow repetitive--Babymetal's aggressive enthusiasm and sincerity are impossible to resist.

"[30] Jordan Bassett of NME praised the J-pop drawn "Amore", but called "Meta Taro" repetitive and concluded that the band's "adherence to the aforementioned formula can be quite boring".

[41][42] This album debuted at number two on the Oricon Weekly Chart with 132,881 physical copies, behind The JSB Legacy by Sandaime J Soul Brothers.