BABYMETAL on Redefining Metal and Touring with Bloodywood | Interview

Why It Matters

BABYMETAL’s cross‑cultural appeal demonstrates metal’s expanding global market, offering a blueprint for artists to reach new audiences through collaborative, genre‑blending projects.

Key Takeaways

• Australian fans enthusiastically sing Japanese lyrics at shows
• Collaboration with Bloodywood blends Indian festival vibes and Japanese yokai
• BABYMETAL sees tours as gateway for newcomers to metal
• Band praises Australian audience’s growth and cultural curiosity
• Future plans include supporting emerging Japanese metal acts abroad

Summary

The interview centers on BABYMETAL’s recent Australian tour, their partnership with Indian metal act Bloodywood, and the band’s broader mission to reshape perceptions of heavy music. Host Jack Berg highlights the group’s excitement about packed venues, enthusiastic crowds, and the unique cultural exchange occurring onstage.

Key insights include Australian audiences learning and chanting Japanese lyrics, a testament to the band’s global reach. The members praise local fans for their love of Japanese culture and even the country’s food. They describe the Bloodywood collaboration as a seamless fusion of Indian festival energy and Japanese yokai motifs, creating a fresh, heavy‑pop hybrid that feels both familiar and novel.

Notable moments feature Su‑Metal’s comment that “music is a universal language,” and the claim that BABYMETAL’s songs serve as an accessible entry point to metal. They discuss the technical challenges of a particularly complex track, their favorite collaborations, and recommend fellow Japanese metal acts like Pausk for Australian listeners.

The conversation underscores BABYMETAL’s role in expanding metal’s audience, proving that genre boundaries can be crossed through cross‑cultural partnerships. Their success signals growing market potential for metal in Australia and highlights opportunities for other Japanese artists to break into overseas circuits.

Original Description

BABYMETAL chatted to triple j CORE's Jack Bergin before heading onstage for the Melbourne leg of their Australian tour.

00:00 – Intro

00:34 – Favourite things about visiting Australia

00:52 – Australian fan base

02:09 – touring with Bloodywood

02:51 – Collaborating with Bloodywood and mixing Indian and Japanese culture

03:50 – Introducing a new generation of listeners to metal music

05:00 – Favourite songs and collaborations

07:34 – Japanese metal recommendations

08:29 – future hopes for Australian shows

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