Babymetal are partying in a karaoke room, vibing with the music and sipping on colourful cocktails, when Electric Callboy vocalists Kevin Ratajczak and Nico Sallach burst through the wall. Soon the bands are dancing and duetting in a hall full of firework showers, flashing lights and sparkly disco balls.
This is the video for last year’s Ratatata – a high-energy, dopamine-releasing collab single that became a phenomenon, and currently has 42 million views on YouTube. On Spotify, it’s at 77 million streams, making it Babymetal’s biggest song on the platform after breakout hit Gimme Chocolate!! (115 million streams). When the band debuted it in the UK at 2024’s Download festival, even during a set interrupted by torrential rain, it went off – something that was repeated at shows across the continent.
“After releasing Ratatata last year, we went on a European tour – the crowd really went wild when we played that song,” smiles Su-metal today. “Thanks to Electric Callboy, we now have a song that’s become an essential part of our live shows, and we’re truly grateful.”
Babymetal might have been popular in metal for a decade, but the collab track has opened them up to new audiences. Ratatata even had its own emote, a dance that players can do, in Chapter 6, Season 2 of Fortnite – the videogame franchise boasting 650 million registered players around the world. It’s especially exciting for Moametal – who’s half of the band’s ‘scream and dance’ team, alongside Momometal – to have her moves go global.
“We’re so happy!” she laughs. “Babymetal’s music has appeared in online games before, but this is the first time our dance is featured! I’m really thrilled that one of Babymetal’s strengths – our dancing – can now reach so many people through a game!”
Babymetal have a rich collab history. Their first was Road Of Resistance – a ridiculously frantic single and bonus track on the international re-release of their self-titled album, featuring Dragonforce guitarists Herman Li and Sam Totman – which the artists played live together for the first time at 2015’s Download and Hammer’s Golden Gods Awards.
Since then, they’ve teamed up with the likes of Sabaton’s Joakim Brodén and Arch Enemy’s Alissa White-Gluz, as well as guesting for other artists such as Bring Me The Horizon (Kingslayer) and Lil Uzi Vert (The End).
But upcoming album Metal Forth takes their collabing adventures to another level, featuring a staggering seven collabs out of 10 tracks. Metal Forth’s tracklisting reads like a who’s who of modern metal: genre-blurring solo artist Poppy, German electronicore sensations Electric Callboy, Russian deathcore bruisers Slaughter To Prevail, Indian nu metallers Bloodywood (who had Babymetal on their recent track, Bekhauf), instrumental Texans Polyphia (who previously appeared on Brand New Day from 2019’s Metal Galaxy), Canadian metalcore stars Spiritbox, and Rage Against The Machine legend Tom Morello, who’s been a supporter since their early days.
And as for the music? Each artist’s unique sound is refracted through Babymetal’s prism, with genuinely thrilling, high-octane results. Su-metal says they decided to make Metal Forth collab-heavy because they connected with so many musicians through their intense touring schedule, which saw them do nearly 100 shows alone in 2023, in support of last album The Other One.
“As we toured around the world, we formed friendships with a variety of bands, and through those connections, the idea of making music together naturally came about, which led to the line-up for this project,” she explains. “Thanks to everyone’s unique styles and personalities, we were able to create an album that’s incredibly rich and diverse.”
Moametal adds that Metal Forth is a testament to the art of asking for what you want. “Slaughter To Prevail and Spiritbox were artists we first connected with at festivals,” she recalls. “We casually said, ‘Let’s make a song together!’ and it actually happened. It really pays to speak up! Collaborating with metal artists leading the next generation of the scene, and those creating new genres, was exciting and refreshing. Working again with artists we had teamed up with before also brought new discoveries and made the process really fun.”
Metal Forth is a milestone for a band who some dismissed after the departure of screamer/dancer Yuimetal in 2018. It’s the first album to feature Momometal, who had performed with Su-metal and Moametal intermittently since 2019, but became an official member in April 2023. Her unclean vocals are a key part of Ratatata, and feature again across the new record.
“Since this is our first album as the new Babymetal, Momometal really gave it her all,” Moametal says proudly. “I think her death growls have become a new weapon for us on this album. You can hear her growls not just on Ratatata, but also sprinkled throughout songs like Algorism and KxAxWxAxIxI. I also feel that Momometal’s voice blends really well with the Vocaloid-style effects, bringing a fresh nuance to our sound. Thanks to her, it made me reflect a lot too – like, ‘What is my role now? What can I bring to the team?’ Momometal has become a great new ‘spice’ for Babymetal.”
For Momometal, the death metal vocals were the biggest challenge of making Metal Forth, especially as she went up against Slaughter To Prevail frontman Alex Terrible on the brutal Song 3, where the two trade growls to dramatic effect.
“I did my best to make sure my growls could stand up to the incredible power of his!” she laughs.
Due to Babymetal’s busy touring schedule, parts of Metal Forth were put together in South America last autumn, where they were on the road for three weeks.
“I vividly remember recording the ‘Let’s go!’ part for [the opening of Poppy collab song] from me to u backstage at Knotfest in Argentina,” recalls Moametal. “While we could hear all the noise and excitement from the festival, we carefully waited for the right quiet moment to record it. It’s a great memory.”
It’s no secret that Babymetal were assembled in 2010 by mastermind Kobametal – on the instruction of the Fox God, of course – and have a team of songwriters, but the girls also contribute to their act. On The Other One, Su-metal wrote the lyrics for Divine Attack (Shingeki), and this time out she penned White Flame – –. A fast-paced song with lots flashy fretwork, sung mostly in Japanese and featuring imagery of brightness, it also contains evocative English words such as ‘shine’, ‘dance’ and ‘sunlight’.
“I wrote it with the image of the brilliance, fragility and warmth of a fleeting light in mind,” she explains. “I’d be really happy if you could listen to the song with that in mind.”
For Momometal – a seasoned idol performer who was previously in girl group Sakura Gakuin – the most fun part of Metal Forth has been pinning down the dance routines. Every Babymetal song has beat-perfect choreography for the live setting, and with so many diverse artists onboard for Metal Forth, there are loads of different dance styles. Bloodywood collab track Kon! Kon! – a spirit-lifting clash of dhol drumming, rapping and high-pitched vocals – in particular took Momometal out of her comfort zone.
“I had no idea what kind of chemistry would happen when we fused Indian folk instruments with Babymetal’s sound – it was completely unpredictable!” she laughs. “The rap part is so fast, I can barely keep up! The choreography is inspired by Bollywood dance, and it’s incredibly demanding physically – it might actually be the toughest performance on the entire album!”
With 2019’s Metal Galaxy featuring only a sprinkling of collab songs, and 2023’s The Other One having none at all, Metal Forth marks a real departure for the band, and it’s hard not to see it as a bid for global expansion.
In February, they released the live concert movie Legend 43, which was screened in cinemas across Europe, and on Fox Day (April 1), they announced they’d signed to Capitol Records, which Su-metal hopes will help them “soar higher”.
Keen not to neglect their home market in the process, Babymetal have been hosting the Metaraji radio show on Tokyo FM since January, introducing new people to their music, and hosting special guests – some of whom are ‘secret’ metal fans who rarely get a chance to talk about their passion – who will later play a concert with Babymetal.
“As our activities overseas increased, we started to feel that it was becoming harder to carry out the Metal Resistance in Japan,” explains Su-metal. “We also learned that there are actually a lot of ‘quiet metalheads’ among artists here – those who secretly love metal music. That’s what inspired us to start this radio show. Through our show, we hope more people can discover metal music and Babymetal. We also want to deepen our own love for metal music, and would be so happy if we can make more friends along the way!”
On Fox Day, Babymetal released their ‘Legend Map’ for ‘15 Babymetal Years’, efficiently plotting their course for their anniversary year. First, they’ll hit the UK and Europe for a massive arena tour with Poppy and Bambie Thug, ending with a show on May 30 at London’s 02 Arena – they’ll be the first Japanese band to headline the venue. Then they’ll tour North America, Japan and Asia, ending with a ‘special arena show’ in the US in November, plus another one in Japan – where they’ll be, and what they’ll be like, Only The Fox God Knows.
It’s quite the victory lap, proving that 15 years on, Babymetal are a legit concern who were never destined to be a viral flash in the pan. With the band now in their 20s, there are some who say ‘Babymetal’ is a misnomer, as they’re not babies anymore. But Momometal explains that this interpretation of their name is wrong.
“The name actually symbolises the birth of a new kind of metal,” she says. “Babymetal is about seeking infinite possibilities and walking a path no one has travelled before – that’s the spirit we want to show.
When we ask what they’d say if they could go back in time and talk to themselves in 2010, Moametal – who started on this journey when she was just 11 years old – offers herself kind and encouraging words.
“I want to give myself lots of praise, like: ‘You’ve been doing Moametal for 15 years without ever giving up – that’s amazing! You jumped into it without fully realising how hard it would be to keep going and keep putting in the effort, but you never lost your sense of responsibility or the love you have for what you do. That’s something to be proud of!’”
She laughs, adding: “And, over the past five years especially, I’ve realised just how important stretching is. So, for anyone reading this: it’s not too late! Let’s all make stretching a habit!”
Babymetal will need a decent stretch routine to help them follow their Legend Map and beyond. By working with guest stars on the cutting edge of metal, they’ve proven their pedigree and are getting their music out to more and more people, which can only mean more touring.
Su-metal’s also rightly proud of their history, and their influence on new bands – Japanese nu metalcore band Hanabie have cited them as an influence in this very magazine. It all points to a bright future for Babymetal and the scene.
“During the making of the new album Metal Forth, and throughout these past few years of touring, we’ve really felt that Babymetal is being recognised within the metal world, and that there are people we’ve influenced who are now becoming the next generation of metal artists,” she concludes. “Our next goal is to help lead that next generation.”
Metal Forth is due August 8 via Capitol. Babymetal are currently on tour in the US. For the full list of dates, visit their official website.
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