The band members, now in their early 20s, coasted at first on novelty, then on 2016′s “Metal Resistance,” played down the pop and emphasized the metal. The album contains no sprightly “Gimme Chocolate!!” novelty and skews downcast and sludgy, perhaps to build credibility with metal loyalists who saw the band open for Metallica and Guns N’ Roses. Babymetal studies its fans carefully and makes an effort to please both the metal and Japanese-pop side of its base. The band once told an interviewer Japanese fans tend to sing along to Moametal’s vocals, while western audiences seem to prefer Su-Metal. “I wonder if it’s from cultural difference,” Su-Metal says. “Our fans study Japanese and sing along with me. I was surprised at first.”