Babymetal - Japan's newest music explosion
Introducing Babymetal
Suzuka Nakamoto, Moa Kikuchi and Yui Mizuno are three wee cuties who dress in Harajuku and sing over heavy rock/metal background music. It is the perfect combination!The music has the thumping bass and rippling guitar riffs that bare a strong resemblance to thrash metal, but - there is a sweet overtone of harmony bringing metal music bang up to date (in my opinion). And instead of some screeching tattooed head-banger fore-fronting the band - your eyes are pleasantly feasted with the sweet singing trio.
The accompanying band wear skeleton bodysuits to add even extra zing to complete the package.
Babymetal's first indie CD single, titled "BabyMetal × Kiba of Akiba", ranked 3rd in the Oricon weekly indie chart and number one in the Tower Records Shibuya weekly indie ranking. The band's major debut single "Ijime, Dame, Zettai" sold 19,000 copies in its first week and debuted at number 6 in the Oricon Weekly Singles Chart. The group released its next single, titled "Megitsune" on Wednesday, June 19. On November 20, 2013 Babymetal released their first live DVD/Blu-ray. The Blu-ray version debuted at seventh place in the weekly Oricon Blu-ray charts (and at the second place among music Blu-rays). The disc contained three different concerts.
Babymetal attended the "Summer Sonic 2013" rock festival which was held in Tokyo and Osaka on August 10 and 11, 2013. It was their second time performing at the festival; in 2012, they became the youngest artists ever (with the average age of 12) to perform there. Later, in October 2013, Babymetal became also the youngest artists ever to perform at the Heavy Metal Music Festival, Loud Park. In November 2013, Babymetal released a promo video for the Japanese premiere of Metallica's movie Through the Never.
The group held a two-day live concert at Budokan, on March 1 and 2, 2014.
Their first album has been released on February 26, 2014.
Musical style
Their record label defines the band's style as "kawaii metal" ("cute metal") and clarifies that it means "a mix of J-pop idol [music] and heavy metal".[1][16]Patrick St. Michel from MTV 81 praises the "pure, headbang-inducing energy" of the group's live performances and describes their style like this:
The teenage trio merge the seemingly disparate sounds of heavy metal and idol pop, creating music anchored both by throat-mauling screeches and cuddly choruses.Enrico Ahlig from the German magazine Metal Hammer wrote:
—Headbanging with BABYMETAL at Rock In Japan 2013
Their recipe for success: short skirts, schoolgirl charm, and high-pitched peepy voices — just like in the manga comics.
But they mix it all with metal. Slams, breaks, and solos are fiercely thrown into a pot of squeaky techno tunes. It sounds weird, but it is so.
—Babymetal: Crazy metal trend from Japan
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