BABYMETAL ROCKS
The Women Making Metal Music Kawaii
You’ve heard of K-pop, but have you heart of Japanese kawaii metal? It’s a rising genre, and BABYMETAL is taking it to the top.
BABYMETAL, a trio that unfortunately went from three members to two last year, are Tokyo natives have created their own unique fusion of heavy metal and the kind of high-pitched, high-tempo electronic pop music made popular by Japanese artists. They debuted as a group in 2010 and started attracting major attention after signing a record deal in 2013 with a prominent Japanese label. The group’s self-titled debut was released in 2014, and they spent years taking the stage at a number of Japanese music festivals and around the world on tour.
The group continued to grow among American and European metal fans, too. BABYMETAL has been a supporting act for some of the biggest names in rock, including Guns ‘N Roses and the Red Hot Chili Peppers. The group also performed at the Glastonbury Music Festival this year.
The BABYMETAL girls look like real-life versions of your favorite anime characters. They’re adorably dressed in schoolgirl like attire, but they rock with a vengeance. Their lyrics are real and speak to female empowerment, an appropriate recurring theme for two women breaking boundaries in an outrageously male-dominated genre. BABYMETAL defies all expectations by putting pastels and pigtails on heavy metal, and we at PROVOKR couldn’t be more obsessed.
