Street Roots • July 15-21,2016
BABYMETAL, from page 10
tour, only the Fox God knows!” she says,
citing the name of their current tour and
the mythology that underpins Babymetal’s
very existence. The Fox God is said to have
recruited the girls as heroines of a metal
revolution. Their show is often introduced
with a video explaining their mission.
With a devout fanbase, they’ve
succeeded. But nevertheless there are
some (grumpy old elitists) who deny the
ways of the Fox God and Babymetal’s
inclusion in the world of metal. Last month
White Zombie frontman-cum-horror movie
director Rob Zombie caused a stir when he
fired back at his own fans who posted
negative comments on Facebook after he
had his picture taken with Babymetal.
Su-Metal says: “First of all, thanks to
Rob for being so kind to us. We really feel
happy for his support. There may be
people who don’t like what we do,
but that is all fine for us because
■. 1
we just want to continue doing
what we believe is the right thing.” J H H
Zombie also told fans that th e
jg B H
girls had 90 per cent more
energy than most of the bands
he’s played with. Where does it
come from? “All the yummy
food in the countries we visit and WIBIWS
from all our fans and people who
come to our shows. We just want to
have fun with all who show up at
our shows.”
jh H H
Another fan is Judas Priest
frontman Rob Halford, with whom
they have an upcoming
¿«H H
performance. One of the reasons
*3
they seem so accepted in a
genre dominated by gruff
hairy men is the respect they
pay their elders.
News
“We are extremely honoured for this
amazing opportunity. I must say I’m
nervous but I’m even more excited. Every
band is cool and we are happy to be able to
share a stage with so many legends.”
If they could collaborate with just one of
those legends living or dead? “We respect
so many of them, how can we choose just
one?”
Having formed in 2011, Babymetal has
had a niche fanbase in the UK for a
while, but success in the West really
Page 11
Chocolate!! - a catchy, fast-paced dance-pop
number backed by riffs that would make
Slipknot or Slayer jealous - went viral.
Since then there’s been no turning back for
the band, who fans categorise in the genre
of Kawaii metal.
“It’s a fusion of cool metal sounds with
cute influences - for example, in our dance
and look. We strive to be the only one
doing what we do, as our aim is to create
a new genre called Babymetal.”
The developing maturity of the
band
-
fellow members
Moametal and
Yuimetal
Bare now 16
»
ÍÍL .........
fi
■
and 17 - shows in their new album. The
music is less of a distinct layering of J-pop
and metal and more a cohesive blend of the
two. Plus the riffs have got even heavier.
“We build our songs together with our
fans through our live performances.
Everything that we learn and absorb
through our world tours is reflected onto
our songs, for sure.”
With Western success comes a dilemma
for some. Many foreign bands end up
singing in English to reach a wider
audience, but others like German band
Rammstein, Download headliners on the
Friday night, stick to their native tongue
and still achieve great success. It seems
Babymetal has no plans to change.
“We made an English version of The
One, because that song is about getting
everyone to come together through our
music and we thought that English would
be the best to reach out to all our fans all
over the world. We have no idea if we
will make more English songs in the
(future but we take pride in the fact
that we are from Japan and the
Japanese language is very important
to us.”
Success doesn’t seem to be
| going to their heads either. “There
|a r e so many musicians out there
rwho are amazing in what they do so
it’s not only us,” says Su-Metal with
characteristic diplomacy. “All we
do is believe in our work and our
| music, and strive to bring the
best music and the best
performance to everyone.”
H .........
Courtesy o f INSP.ngo/
Big Issue North
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