Kerrang! Magazine issue 1615 released on April 13 features a review of the BABYMETAL performance at Wembley Arena in London, England on April 2. The review also includes a brief interview with Su-Metal after the performance. Read the full transcription and scans of the issue below.
Japanese Kawaii-Metal pioneers absolutely crush Wembley
THE TIME has come to start taking BABYMETAL seriously. Tonight, the Japanese teenage trio confidently steer clear of any suggestion that their hyperactive mix of roaring speed metal and cavity-creating J-pop might be little more than a fad, with a relentlessly engaging and emotionally-charged hour and a half spectacle. The band's day-old sophomore record, Metal Resistance, fuels the heart of what is essencially a production-packed space opera; one which takes an already frenzied Wembley by the scruff of the neck so expertly that it hints that BABYMETAL's journey is only just beginning.
The evening starts as the girls arrived from beneath the stage into the centre of a magic circle to the reallying sounds of BABYMETAL DEATH. Behind them the stage is cast as towering, weathered temple ruins; ahead of them the crowd - which tonight can see you stood next to a pumped-up metalhead or costumed kawaii kid - are shoving their Fox God horns skywards. It's rapturous. From here onwards, the room is plunged into the alternate realm of BABYMETAL. Giant screens tell the animated story of the Metal Resistance Episode IV: Reincarnation - a precariously not-unlike Star Wars fantasy that weaves together tonight's songs into one grandiose odyseey. This narrative not only allows some humour to creep into the set (especially from BABYMETAL's very own Darth Vader rip-off, Death Vader), but i also binds together the pick'n'mix nature of the group's musical styles. It means the flourescence of Doki Doki Morning's cheerleader pep can run into the power-ballad Amore (sung solo by Su-Metal) without disharmony. Elsewhere, the group's backing instrumentalists, clad in zombie Hallowe'en get-up, are given the chance to take the centre stage on the skeleton-thuddering Catch Me If You Can. Every details is pulled taut like elestic, down to the girl's choreographed dancing, which sees them play dead halfway through the pop euphoria of KARATE or sway like possessed rag dolls during Megitsune.
The heightened drama of the performance allows the group to connect with their audience in a way that trascends the obvious language barriers, and the room revels in a space so free of pretention. An added dose of poignancy lands squarely when a live stream of fans in Japan watching the girls close in English "We are going back to Japan. But remember, we're always on your side," says Su-Metal. Going on tonight, for 12.000 fans, the feeling is mutual.
SU-METAL INTERVIEW:
How was Wembley for you?
"The crowd was extremely on fire at Wembley and it got crazier and crazier as we went deeper into the set. I think we definitely became one with everyone at the end, just as we hoped."
How do you feel your audience has grown?
"I felt like there were a lot of first-timers to our show at Wembley, so some were, at first, a little lost and unsure of what was to come to the start. But, as the show wen on, there was that one moment when I could feel that we got everyone to become one together."
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Review available on Kerrang! Magazine Issue 1615, get it here.
Scans by: The Thrawn.
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