Japan’s Babymetal sold out The Anthem in Washington, DC last Friday night, demonstrating once again that the DC area loves to headbang.
From the second The Anthem’s house lights go dark, and Babymetal’s logo is projected onto the nearly bare stage, the room belongs to the three young women. Founded in 2010, Babymetal’s is credited with creating kawaii metal (or “cute metal”), a genre that features a mix of pop-ish vocals and thrash/metal musicianship. Leading on vocals, Su-metal is joined by Moametal and newest member Momometal in intricate and impressive choreography.
The show’s opened with “BABYMETAL DEATH,” from 2014’s Babymetal. Live in 2024, the song serves to introduce the mythology of the band and get the crowd hyped. According to Babymetal lore, “A Long Time Ago in a Heavy Metal Galaxy Far Far Away…” the Fox God (the “spirit of heavy metal”) chose three metal spirits and summoned them to the metalverse. Those three metal spirits marched onto the stage in sync and got the choreography started, backed by the Kami Band. It was like a heavy metal pep rally and the sellout crowd ate it up.
The setlist pulled from across the trio’s four LP discography; based on the enthusiastic crowd reactions, Babymetal know what the fans want to hear and deliver on that. The women appear to barely break a sweat during their hour and change set, which included “Karate,” “PA YA YA,” and “Gimme Chocolate.” The set also included “Time Wave,” from the band’s latest album, The Other One, released in 2023. It’s a concept album based on a journey through alternate realities; Su-metal described the album as an attempt to move beyond old, stereotypical beliefs about Babymetal.
The costumes the women wear are elaborate and colorful; at times they seemed to blend into the swirling and sometimes psychedelic background graphics. It was dizzying. Elevated platforms at the front of the stage allowed Babymetal to be seen more clearly by the audience; the women also got to engage a little with the fans.
While Sumetal’s vocals are indeed impressive, and the choreography intricate and flawless, let’s not sleep on the fantastic Kami Band. Clothed in black and wearing masks, the musicians are clearly intended to blend into the background and divert no attention from Babymetal. Nevertheless, their top shelf skills are fully on display through the performance.
One of the great things about the metal world is the crowds the genre attracts; the Babymetal crowd was a great representation of this. The Anthem was filled with costumed anime nerds, hipsters, and every other kind of metal fan imaginable. I go to my share of metal shows; Babymetal’s fans are as enthusiastic as any I’ve ever seen.
While it may be easy to write off a band like Babymetal as a gimmick, the skill, talent, and hard work of the women is evident and deserving of serious consideration by fans of metal and heavy music. However, it was obvious fans at the Anthem already knew this.
The US leg of the Babymetal World Tour wraps up in Anaheim, CA on December 5. After a break, the band heads to Australia at the end of February.
