When metal became cute – only in Japan

God bless Japan.  In fact for many things including vast swathes of Anime, which we in the west consumed in our own way for decades (Battle of the Planets anyone? Ulysses 31? The Magnificent 7? A Fistful of Dollars?)

And, By Crom, they keep on giving us things that make us all have Forest Whittaker eyes, for both good and bad reasons. Sometimes at the same time.

Here is another reason to love Japan. Babymetal.

Babymetal is a Japanese metal idol band. Their line-up consists of Suzuka Nakamoto as “Su-metal”, Yui Mizuno as “Yuimetal”, and Moa Kikuchi as “Moametal”. The concept of the group is a fusion of the heavy metal and Japanese idol genres. Their vocals are backed by heavy metal instrumentation played by the Kami Band. In a wonderful twist of fate the three girls had never heard of metal before the formation of the band.

Babymetal released their debut album of the same name in February 2014. Their second album Metal Resistance was released worldwide on April 1, 2016.