Rob Halford, frontman for Judas Priest, is about as iconic as old school heavy metal gets, and as a gay man in rock ‘n roll, he was also a trailblazer in his genre. Meanwhile, Babymetal are definitely not what you think of when you think traditional heavy metal, what with them being teenaged Japanese girls who love JPop. But that didn’t stop them from taking the stage together for an epic metal performance.

This all took place at the Journey’s Alternative Press Music Awards, Fueled by Monster Energy Drink, an event that is a godsend to writers looking to reach a certain word count. Babymetal’s backing band, who give off a distinct Ringu vibe, tore into Judas Priest’s “Painkiller,” as Halford took the stage, clad in a leather jacket and biker gloves as always, to join by Babymetal frontwoman Su-metal. Then, the other two ladies of Babymetal, wielding guitars, got in on the fun for a performance of the classic track “Breaking the Law.”

Halford, for one, enjoyed the experience adding “That was really intense: Babymetal give a thousand percent just like Priest. They’re leading the charge into the new frontier of heavy metal.” While it wasn’t quite as shocking as Babymetal’s amazing performance on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert from earlier this year, anywhere the band shows up is fun and metal as hell.

(Via Rolling Stone)