Photos + review: Britt Andrews
Babymetal are the pioneers of Kawaii metal (quite literally translating to “cute metal”), a genre that combines elements of J-pop and idol culture with heavy metal. Despite forming in 2010, Babymetal’s have soared to new heights in recent years, with seven out of ten tracks off of their fifth studio album, Metal Forth (2025) being collaborations with other artists including Tom Morello, Electric Callboy, Slaughter to Prevail, and one of their support acts on this tour – Bloodywood.
This tour is Babymetal’s biggest Australian run to date, and the crowd at tonight’s sold out Sydney show feels like an alternate universe casting of The Breakfast Club. We have a mix of grizzled, battlejacket uniformed metalhead veterans, Japanese ex-pats (or perhaps travelling fans), weebs of all ages, and a large under-18s contingent – complete with some bewildered looking parent chaperones. For some aging metalheads, Babymetal seems to be a great introductory band for their kids, and I overheard more than a few Dads proudly telling complete strangers that this was their daughter’s first metal show.
First up on stage were Florida natives and Halloween enthusiasts Magnolia Park. A mix of punk, nu-metal, and metalcore, Magnolia Park’s 2024 concept album VAMP (first conceived after the band’s Australian shows for 2023 Good Things Festival) was a triumph of fantasy worldbuilding. With Babymetal’s extensive lore, inspired by Japanese mythology, it is clear to see why Magnolia Park was chosen for this tour. Their thirty minute set flew by, tight, fast, and loud, but seemed to end just as it was hitting its stride.
Next up was Bloodywood. Forming in 2016 as a cover band, performing metal covers of Bollywood songs before transitioning into writing original music in 2022, Bloodywood (a portmanteau of “bloody” and “Bollywood”) are a folk nu-metal band hailing from New Delhi, India. This is Bloodywood’s first time playing in Australia, and they acknowledged that they have had to fight and claw harder than many other bands due to a lack of support for heavy music in India. However despite the lack of an Indian metal scene, their love for their home country is evident throughout their music, most notably in their use of traditional folk instruments.
Both Bloodywood vocalists spoke at length about how appreciative they are of the support from fans abroad – Australia included – and how grateful they are to be invited to tour internationally with Babymetal. It’s heartening to see Babymetal – a band who has been a constant target of gatekeeping and genre elitism since their inception – using their platform to help elevate other bands facing similar barriers. And from the reception the band received, they won over the vast majority of the crowd tonight.
Finally, after an opening Star Wars-esque vignette filling us in on the current state of the Fox God inspired Babymetal lore (the history of which is far more complex than I can succinctly summarise, but for those with a penchant for storytelling and Japanese folklore, I suggest a deep dive) the trio hit the stage. What unfolded was a perfectly choreographed, perfectly performed 14-song set, with many of those aforementioned collaborations making appearances. Their Bloodywood collab Kon! Kon! saw both Bloodywood vocalists jump on stage to perform it with them, to riotous applause.
Babymetal are in the unique position of having bridged that gap between metal and mainstream, and between age barriers, and nowhere is that more evident than in the pit of one of their live shows. The barrier was occupied in several places by Japanese grandpas, who bravely survived the onslaught of crowdsurfers overhead, while the edges and back of the mosh were full of kids in their enormous, industrial strength Bunnings earmuffs. Every single person, despite what demographic they fell into in this crowd, was having the time of their life. The set came to a close after a chaotic portion of back-to-back bangers, leaving us with another vignette proclaiming “what fate awaits Babymetal next – only the Fox God knows”.
Australia is praying to the Fox God that that awaiting fate includes more Australian shows.
