"I have a dream of holding a festival that brings together female vocalists such as those in Evanescence, Nightwish and Arch Enemy." Babymetal reveal their dream festival lineup

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In the latest issue of Metal Hammer magazine, Japaense kawaii metal superstars Babymetal respond to reader questions about their careers so far, their love of metal and much more. One question invites all three members of the band to build their dream 'Babymetal festival' lineup, and the trio have some interesting answers ready.

“I have a dream of holding a festival that brings together female vocalists such as those in Evanescence, Nightwish and Arch Enemy," says Su-metal. Moametal, meanwhile, goes down a different route: “Metallica!" she answers. "They are on a world tour, so I’d like to invite them to Japan and welcome them with our omotenashi – Japanese hospitality. I’d also love to meet Rob Halford again, so Judas Priest. I want to invite Red Hot Chili Peppers, going across genres, and I want to meet Dragonforce for the first time in a while! I definitely want Bring Me The Horizon, who invited us to their festival too.” Newest Babymetal vocalist Momometal, who officially joined the band as a full-time member last year, has three particular artists in mind: “Yungblud, Willow Smith and [Japanese girl-group] Atarashii Gakko!”

Elsewhere in the interview, all three members reveal which countries they've enjoyed visiting the most on tour.

"I love all countries and each has its own good points, so I can’t choose the best," says Su-metal, somewhat diplomatically. "I’m in Germany right now, and the live audience is so enthusiastic and I feel so happy to be able to eat my favourite schnitzel.” “It’s hard to choose," says Moametal. "The people in every region are so kind and you fall in love with them right away. We’ve performed a lot in the UK and Germany, so they feel like a second home. I feel relaxed in those countries.” Momometal also picks out a European destinaton. “Oslo, Norway!" she answers. "We kicked off our EU and UK tour there, so we were able to do a little sightseeing, and the cityscape was beautiful, stylish and wonderful. Of course, it was extremely cold and there wasn’t much sunlight even during the day, but the air was strangely warm. The cute decorations as it was Christmas season warmed my heart. I was impressed by how fluffy and delicious the potatoes were, and how thick and fresh the salmon was. I definitely want to go again!”

Babymetal will resume touring later this year, with dates in Japan, the US and Europe currently planned, including a stop-off at Download Festival in June. You can read more from the trio in the new issue of Metal Hammer, out now.

Merlin was promoted to Executive Editor of Louder in early 2022, following over ten years working at Metal Hammer. While there, he served as Online Editor and Deputy Editor, before being promoted to Editor in 2016. Before joining Metal Hammer, Merlin worked as Associate Editor at Terrorizer Magazine and has written for Classic Rock, Rock Sound, eFestivals and others. Across his career he has interviewed legends including Ozzy Osbourne, Lemmy, Metallica, Iron Maiden (including getting a trip on Ed Force One courtesy of Bruce Dickinson), Guns N' Roses, KISS, Slipknot, System Of A Down and Meat Loaf. He has also presented and produced the Metal Hammer Podcast, presented the Metal Hammer Radio Show and is probably responsible for 90% of all nu metal-related content making it onto the site.