BABYMETAL

by

Summerfest

On paper, you could argue that BABYMETAL simply shouldn’t work. Yet the group — three Japanese females in their 20s who helped introduce so-called “kawaii metal” to U.S. audiences — became the first Japanese group to hit the Billboard Top 40 in more than 50 years with its second album, 2016’s Metal Resistance. BABYMETAL also was the first Asian act to top the Billboard Rock Album charts in 2019 with its third album, Metal Galaxy.

But what, exactly, is Kawaii metal?

It’s a musical genre that combines heavy metal instrumentation with J-pop, a style that became popular in Japan in the 1990s and blends Western pop-music influences with traditional Japanese melodies. It’s headbanging and catchy stuff, enhanced by BABYMETAL’s choreographed live performances that are backed by masked musicians. Addictive songs like “Gimme Chocolate!!” and collaborations with the likes of Tom Morello, Bring Me the Horizon and Poppy have further solidified BABYMETAL’s place in modern metal.

This year also represents BABYMETAL’s 15th anniversary, which in addition to a new record includes a world tour that will cover no fewer than 12 countries — with the band headlining arena shows for the first time in the United Kingdom and Europe.

Metal Forth, BABYMETAL’s collab-heavy fifth album, comes out June 27 on Capitol Records and marks another milestone for the group as “the first Japanese artist to sign a frontline deal with the label,” according to statement from Capitol. Tom March, the label’s chairman and chief executive officer, even claimed BABYMETAL has “demonstrably shifted global music culture.”

Whether you consider BABYMETAL a boundary-moving band, a novelty act or something in between, we can pretty much guarantee you won’t see anything else like it at Summerfest this year.