Babymetal: Japan’s Latest Music Fad
Sprinkling a sugary coating of teen-idol pop on to the remorseless clamor of death-metal sounds like a musical fusion best confined to the imagination of a record industry executive. But Babymetal, a trio of Japanese teenage girls, have paired rah-rah skirts and hair ribbons with infernal metallic riffs to produce what could be the most unlikely music phenomenon of the year. The band’s eponymous debut album is No 3 on iTunes’ US rock chart and has made the online top 10 in six other countries, including the UK. The video for their new single, “Gimme Chocolate” (listen here), has received more than 3.7m views on YouTube. They have definitely arrived.
