As BABYMETAL takes the stage, fans throw up the fox hand sign and immediately start headbanging as SU-METAL sings passionately to the crowd and MOAMETAL backs her up with her screaming vocals.
Immediately the cute voices of SU-METAL and MOAMETAL can be heard over blaring guitar riffs and erratic drum patterns mixing Japanese pop vocals with Metallica-like instrumentals.
“We learned metal from Metallica,” SU-METAL said when asked who was the biggest influence for BABYMETAL’s sound.
Instantly the sound of a new and refined form of heavy metal fills everyone’s ears, and the aura of the FOX GOD can be felt in the venue. Everyone in the room is forced to dance as the band projects their unique sound.
“We are summoned by the FOX GOD. BABYMETAL means a birth of new metal, so we hope to be a band who can bear the future of metal,” MOAMETAL said.
The girls dance by throwing hand motions and doing spins while completely synchronized to the music. They flail their pigtails in circles and kick their legs up and down as fans sing the lyrics of the first few songs word by word in Japanese. The energy grew more intense as the music went on, and fans began crowd surfing while screaming the words of “PA PA YA!!” at the top of their lungs.
“Our international fans are similar to our Japanese fans in that everyone memorizes our Japanese lyrics and sing along with us. But depending on the places we visit, the way fans find the rhythm to our music and the way they enjoy it differs greatly and I find that very interesting,” SU-METAL said.
As fans kept on crowd surfing and kicking other concert goers in the head, BABYMETAL continued their set song by song. The venue begins to fog up because of the smoke machines which are blasting mist into the air, and the girls’ glittery, black dresses can be seen through the grey mist.
Along with their dresses the girls sported black velvet capes and boots. The band’s outfits looked like something no other metal band would wear on a stage. BABYMETAL’s style was nothing but them.
“BABYMETAL is the biggest inspiration. Whenever we think about how we should evolve, what will be best, BABYMETAL give us the biggest inspiration,” MOAMETAL said concerning BABYMETAL’s fashion and style.People in the crowd mimicked BABYMETAL’s style by wearing all black pencil skirts and tall, chunky boots that added five inches to their height. However, some fans looked like they just got done working at their office job. There were also people from all age groups in attendance at the show, and they were all in the mosh pit having the time of their lives.
BABYMETAL’s music seems to have no limits for anyone to enjoy, and people from all walks of life were staring in awe while BABYMETAL performed their final songs.
Visuals of the solar system and the planets start filling up the big screen, and the band prepares to perform their two final songs. As the anticipation builds, smiles start to grow on everyone’s faces, and the energy gets higher as fans jump to the music.
“My favorite part of touring is to see our fans and we can get to perform and see their smiles on the stage. We want to make everyone smile,” MOAMETAL said.
BABYMETAL begins their second to last song and SU-METAL takes the stage to perform a ballad sung in English, and fans fall silent as they are captivated by her beautiful voice.
Suddenly, the slow moving ballad turns into an opera of guitars and drums as BABYMETAL continues their song, and people in the crowd began repeatedly chanting the band’s name.
The girls chant the song to the crowd and the people echo it right back to them while SU-METAL points the microphone toward the pit, and the expression on the girls’ faces are nothing but pure joy.
The second to last song ends and the crowd erupts in applause, and BABYMETAL begins their final song, an epic of cymbals and a guitar solo playing as the stage is filled with fog from the smoke machines.
The girls walk out on stage waving black flags that say “BABYMETAL” and the crowd instantly throws up the fox hand sign for one last moment with the band. They end their final songs with the girls displaying the three flags to the crowd as it goes wild with screams and cheers.
With that, BABYMETAL ends its second show in Atlanta, leaving fans wondering when they are going to come back to Georgia and perform.
“It will be our second time coming to Atlanta, but it’ll be our first headline show there, so we are very happy,” MOAMETAL said. “We look forward to seeing Atlanta fans. We’re giving 100 percent on the stage to bring best introduction of BABYMETAL.”
Though BABYMETAL’s distinct sound has been widely accepted by fans all over the world, the band still receives criticism for breaking the molds of metal music. However, BABYMETAL uses this as inspiration to evolve their sound even more.
“The way people receive our music is different and some people may say that our music is not metal, but I feel that those reviews allow us to challenge ourselves and gives us an opportunity to grow even more,” MOAMETAL said.
In a little more than a month, BABYMETAL will be releasing their third album. The band has not released music since 2016, and they are excited to showcase what they have been working on.
“On October 11th, we are releasing third album, METAL GALAXY. In addition to that, BABYMETAL will perform at The Forum in LA, which will be the first US arena show for us on the same day. Our music should be interesting and new for both those who barely listen to metal and who loves metal,” SU-METAL said. “Through BABYMETAL, we hope to knock down the wall of music genre.”
