After performing the festival circuit in the UK for many years now along with the odd one-off shows in London, this is surprisingly the first ever UK tour for Japanese cross over act Babymetal. However, all of these performances from Glastonbury to Download have gathered them a huge and loyal fan base which has resulted in them selling out their debut tour. Fans in Cardiff have arrived and queued from the very early hours of the morning, just to get as close as they can.
First, they are treated to a set from Southampton based “Creeper”. After a “shock” announcement at the end of their last tour stating that it was to be the end of the band, it was clearly obvious that they were going places and were definitely coming back reinvigorated. With only their second show since then, they showcase new material opening with new single “Born Cold”.
Their sound has evolved from their AFI style off of their first record into something more mature. “Annabelle” utilises the band in the best way possible particularly during the anthemous chorus which shows them all harmonising together. We do still get the emo anthems from their debut though with “Black Rain” and “Hiding With The Boys” stirring up a frenzy with the many fans that they already have tonight.
As the lights go down at 9pm, the back screen is illuminated with a space ship that comes hurtling towards the screen whilst “Future Metal” plays out over the PA. Everyone enters the stage to rapturous cheers from everybody in the Great Hall tonight. Already the venue almost feels smaller from the sheer scale of the intro. They blast into “Da Da Dance” which sounds like a Nintendo game soundtrack on acid, shoved into a blender with Dragonforce. That mixed with three young Japanese pop singers dancing on stage; on paper it really shouldn’t work. And yet it does…a lot!
“Gimme Chocolate!!!” follows to an even bigger reception. This was the song that really put them on the map and it still hasn’t lost an inch of its charm. The majority of the crowd tonight are the types you would traditionally see at a “Slayer” concert, not something that has more similarity with Little Mix. The guy next to me states that this is basically pop music you don’t feel guilty about and, in a way, I can see where he’s coming from. People in the pit have learnt the same synchronised routines as the three on stage and absolutely loving it.
“Shanti, Shanti, Shanti” off of their third and latest album “Metal Galaxy” sees the band experimenting with their unique sound even more. The song has a real middle-eastern vibe to it and is incredibly infectious. The melding of genres like this is something which could be deemed tongue in cheek, but it all works really well. We even getting treated to “BxMxC”, one of the songs not even on the international release of “Metal Galaxy” but clearly one of the highlights of the night. Over the space of three minutes it mashes together everything from synth auto-tuned pop, to dubstep, to industrial metal. It’s the heaviest moment of the night as Su-Metal spits out the lyrics with ease.
It’s during “PA PA YA!!” where everybody gets going, swinging their specially made bandanas in time with the chorus and if they aren’t doing that, they are at least bouncing along. Things don’t let up throughout the duration with both “Karate” and “Headbangeeeeerrrrr!!!!” keeping the pits in the middle going. If you’re not being caught up in one of those, you’re not taking your eyes off of the stage. There’s not a moment where there isn’t something interesting to look at. Whether it’s the impressive visuals on the back screen or the hypnotic dancing that does not let up from song one.
As they exit the stage, they triumphantly return bearing “Babymetal” flags as “Road Of Resistance” plays. Front woman “Su-Metal” doesn’t have to say anything, she merely opens her hands and the crowd open like the red sea. As was the case from the start of the gig, the sound is huge that rings around the venue. It’s very clear that they could have easily played in arenas twice the size of this tonight, but the fact that we can witness them in a place like this is much better for all of those that are there.