See Babymetal Discuss Breaking Down Language Barriers
By fusing the worlds of J-pop and metal, Babymetal have managed to transcend not just genre borders but language barriers, as well. The teenage sensations’ heavy sound, sugary hooks and flamboyant choreography make them fun to listen to and watch no matter what their fans’ level of fluency in Japanese. Rolling Stone met with the trio during their recent visit to New York to discuss the boundaries that Babymetal help to break down.
“In the past two years we’ve performed in many different places,” singer Su-metal remarks. The band recently released their sophomore album Metal Resistance and has had the chance to tour the world since their 2014 self-titled debut took off. “We’ve noticed that even though we sing in Japanese, our fans study Japanese and sing along with us, and that people who like ‘J-Pop’ and people who like metal both enjoy our music just the same. With Metal Resistance, we want to continue bringing these worlds together with the power of music.”
As Moametal adds, they hope to win over fans from diverse backgrounds with their wildly theatrical live shows. “No matter where we perform, we always put a lot of energy into it,” she says.