GALAXY QUEST
Su-metal and Moametal stand side-by-side, their capes expertly draped around them by their stylists. They look regal, like the queens of a planet we’re not cool enough to know about. It’s a hot July afternoon, and we’re shooting Babymetal backstage at London’s Brixton Academy, where they’re playing later.
Though it’s been eight months since Yuimetal announced she was leaving to pursue a solo career, it’s still strange seeing them as a duo. Their management are at pains to ensure they appear together in pictures and are presented as elegant, rather than as superheroes or a novelty act. It’s clear this is a new dawn for these kawaii-metal pioneers.
It’s remarkable they’re so poised, given their insanely busy schedule. Three days ago, they finished their first performances of 2019 – a pair of shows at the 17,000-capacity Yokohama Arena under the banner ‘Babymetal Awakens – The Sun Also Rises’. They were joined by a stand-in dancer on each night – more on that later. Then they hopped straight on a plane to England to entertain a curious Glastonbury crowd, playing before Bring Me The Horizon and bagging a selfie with stagemate/American pop idol Billie Eilish.
“We had to fly the night of that arena show in Japan, and we got into Glastonbury on the day of the festival, so everything just seems like a blur,” confesses Moametal. “It seems like a dream still. Babymetal are a heavier band compared to the other artists at Glastonbury. I feel like we were able to perform a new style to a pop-based crowd, who we’ve never had to perform in front of, so everything was new.”
Tonight at Brixton, they’re back with their home team, as hordes of fans dressed in newly purchased Fox God t-shirts assemble. They punch, tonight’s substitute member ‘Rihometal’ keeping pace with the high-kicks and kitsune ears like a stage-school pro. Next up is peppy single , and the surprising, Bollywood-tinged . and get their first airings outside Japan, while explodes like juice from crushed fruit. The audience, it’s safe to say, are satiated with fun.
