In a festival of diverse talent showcasing every facet of modern music, Babymetal still stands out as one of Glastonbury’s most intriguing acts in 2019. They are the first J-pop band to ever play a main stage at the festival, with a 40-minute slot on The Other Stage alongside Bring Me The Horizon.

Everything Babymetal’s “kawaii metal” brand seems to be is both true and also absolutely not. With a backing of intense thrash metal, the band – once a trio and now a duo – perform harmonious lyrics that can often go so saccharine you might need a shot of insulin after. Before listening to them I was convinced they were just a novelty act, but the more I listened the more their music began to make a weird, and interesting, type of sense.

Babymetal are no strangers to festivals or to the UK: they’ve played both many, many times and are playing both Glastonbury and Brixton Academy this time round. We sat down with the band to ask about what newbies can expect from their live show full of Gothic Lolita costumes and heavy guitars.

**First off, if I could ask your names, your ages and your roles in the band? **

I am Moametal, 19 years old. Scream and dance.

I am Su-metal, 21 years old. Vocal and dance.

**How would you describe Babymetal to someone who’d never seen them before? **

Our band name has a meaning of emerge of new type of metal. We believe that not only metalheads but also people who never listen to metal music can enjoy our songs and performance.

**Has “kawaii metal” taken off since you guys came on the scene? **

We saw [the] younger generation wear our cosplay costume, so we feel kawaii metal has been getting bigger. We hope that kawaii metal will grow more.

**I’d love to know about how Su-metal and Moametal’s relationship with metal music before joining the band and since... **

We both didn’t know about metal well. Our first impression was that metal music was scary, because we saw chaotic visuals or unique outfits that some metal bands wore.

**Are you now performing as a duo since Yuimetal left? How has that been? **

Only the fox god knows! We hope you will enjoy our performance in the UK.

**You’ve played a lot of shows outside of Japan. How do audiences abroad differ from audiences at home? **

One of the differences we found was that in Japan most audiences tend to sing along to parts where Moametal screams and sings, but European and American audiences tend to sing along to parts where Su-metal sings. We are excited to see how audiences enjoy themselves. It’s always unpredictable.

**You’re playing at Brixton Academy soon. How are you feeling about the show? I feel like you’ve played in the UK quite a lot of times. Are audiences here particularly receptive? **

The UK is our second hometown. It’s always a pleasure to perform there.

Sonisphere was the first music festival we performed at outside Japan and Brixton was the first major headline show outside Japan as well. The UK is a special place for us. The UK is our home ground. It’s the place where we can start a new challenge and UK fans’ support gives us courage to take a new step.

**With “Elevator Girl”, your latest single, it feels like there’s a greater harmony between the melodic and the metallic parts of what you do. Is that something you felt? Is there a move to something a little bit more metallic in there? **

This song has a good balance of metal, pop and some jazz essence, just like “Gimme Chocolate”.

**Are there any other Japanese bands who have played at Glasto? Have they been able to offer any advice? **

We’ve heard that Japanese acts, and even metal bands like us, rarely perform at Glastonbury Festival, so we are excited to perform there and see how the audience will react.

**What does a chance to play at Glastonbury mean to you guys? Does it differ in a way from other festivals such as Download? **

We’ve known about Glastonbury and wanted to perform [there for] quite a long time, so we were happy [to get] an offer from the festival.

We are quite different from other acts, so we can’t wait to see if the audience will enjoy our performance.

We will see a band that we always hang [with] at many festivals... Don’t miss it, we may have something special.

**What can people expect to see from your Glastonbury show, in terms of looks and in terms of music? **

Only the fox god knows!

**What other acts are you excited to see this year? **

We are looking forward to seeing acts that will perform on the same stage, such as Bring Me The Horizon and Billie Eilish.

**Do you think the West is getting better at noticing musical talent from Asia? **

Everybody has access to Asian music via online, so it’s easier to notice us nowadays. Babymetal has some dance moves inspired from Japanese culture and we hope more people will be interested in Japan.

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