Music / BABYMETAL

Your little sister's J-Pop has never looked so brutal.
Original Lineup (L-R): Yui "Yuimetal" Mizuno, Suzuka "Su-Metal" Nakamoto, Moa "Moametal" Kikuchi

"Leave it to the Japanese to find a way to make fuckin' death metal cute."

— Rob Zombie

Babymetal ^note also stylized as BABYMETAL or BabyMetal. is a Japanese metal band formed by the members of the Heavy Music Club (Juonbu)^*A reference to the keionbu or keiongakubu (Light Music Club) common in real Japanese schools, also depicted in media such as K-On! of Sakura Gakuin under the concept of a fusion of heavy metal and Idol music, now known as "kawaii metal". The band was originally a subunit of junior-idol group Sakura Gakuin.

They are known for their energetic live shows which feature intricate yet fun choreography mixed with soaring vocals from lead singer Suzuka "Su-Metal" Nakamoto, backed up by a quartet of some of Japan's top metal musicians. Officially, they claim belief in "The Fox God" who brought them to metal and uses them as conduits to spread its message of "love and joy through metal" across the world. Instead of the standard devil horns, they use a modified "kitsune" sign (seen in the photo at right).

In reality, Key Kobayashi (known as KobaMetal), a producer at the Amuse talent agency and a longtime metalhead with connections in Tokyo's underground metal scene, discovered Suzuka during her time as one of the Karen Girl's. Realizing her potential, he decided to form a group around her once Sakura Gakuin began in 2010, figuring her unusually powerful voice would be a good fit for metal. Yui and Moa were chosen as backup due to their unique chemistry – the same reason they were often featured together during Sakura Gakuin – and also their smallness, as Koba liked the idea of Su being flanked by two tiny girls.^* Koba lucked out there as Yui and Moa both turned out to be very late-bloomers, ended their growth periods close in height (Yui is ~2cm taller), and are still shorter than Su – albeit by an inch or less in Yui's case. Su's trademark high ponytail and use of 1" heels during performances make her appear taller than she actually is (160cm/5'3"). At the time, none of the trio knew what Heavy Metal was. They would quickly learn.

During the three years Babymetal existed as part of Sakura Gakuin, they released singles apart from the main group, as well as music videos on YouTube. Their first major single, Babymetal × Kiba Of Akiba, ranked unexpectedly high on Japan's Oricon chart and quickly led to the girls playing shows at progressively larger venues, people taking to the unusual mix of Idol-pop vocals mixed with heavy metal riffs.

In 2013, when Suzuka graduated from Sakura Gakuin, Babymetal was spun off as an independent unit in order to keep Su as lead singer. For the next two years, until their own graduations, Yui and Moa performed as members of both groups. Sometimes this resulted in scheduling conflicts.

Beginning in 2012, sporadically at first but permanently from 2014 on, the girls are backed while performing by the Kami Band. While its lineup is not fixed due to availability issues, some of its members are almost guaranteed to be onstage at live shows.

Babymetal has toured internationally every year since 2012^* (though the only performing they did in 2012 and 2013 outside Japan was at conventions in Singapore, Jakarta, and Taiwan; 2014 was the first year they did a true international tour), and sold out almost every venue they have headlined. The girls hold several records in Japan and elsewhere as the youngest group to play at [insert venue or show here]. They are to-date the first and only Japanese group to headline London's Wembley Arena, as well as to perform on American late-night television during The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. They are also the first Japanese act to make it onto Billboard USA's main Top-40 list since 1963^note  (the last being Kyu Sakamoto with the jazz hit "Sukiyaki") with their second album Metal Resistance.

In addition to their headline shows, which can range from the stripped-down (most of their foreign shows plus 2017's Five Fox Festivals) to the incredibly elaborate (Budokan 2014, Trilogy, Tokyo Dome, Legend S), they have also served as opener to several bigger acts they have met and sometimes become friends with during their travels to various music festivals over the years. This includes Lady Gaga, Metallica, Red Hot Chili Peppers, and Korn. They have also collaborated with DragonForce (with whom they are close), Sabaton, and Rob Halford of Judas Priest. The undeniable musical chops of the Kami Band coupled with the professionalism and pleasant personalities of the girls has led to the group earning the approval of many of the top names in metal and hard rock.

Babymetal, like any band, has also suffered setbacks, most notably in December 2017 when Yui was forced to pull out of Suzuka's 20th birthday concert due to an undisclosed medical issue which eventually led her to officially withdraw from the band in October 2018. Her absence was followed by the death in January 2018 of Kami Band lead guitarist Mikio Fujioka. Since then, the group has adopted the mantra "Just Keep Moving Forward" while they, aesthetically, spent the entirety of 2018 in a self-proclaimed "Dark Side" period.

In 2019 the question of how to replace Yui was resolved for the time being by filling her empty slot with three rotating and theoretically anonymous "Avengers" who made first-appearances at shows between June and August 2019. Of course it took about a millisecond for fans to identify them. They are, in order of debut:

• Riho Sayashi (鞘師里保) – Former Morning Musume member who attended Actors School Hiroshima at the same time as Suzuka; oldest (5 months younger than Su) and shortest Avenger
• Kano Fujihira (藤平華乃) – Sakura Gakuin's 2019 Student Council President; youngest Avenger
• Momoko Okazaki (岡崎百々子) – Sakura Gakuin graduate, Class of 2017; tallest Avenger

All three Avengers took fans completely by surprise for various reasons. Though almost no one saw them coming, they were warmly and often enthusiastically received in preparation for the band's major two-stage world tour. A worldwide pandemic caused Japan to close its borders one day after they returned from their final tour stop in Eastern Europe and forced them to cancel a planned third stage in Southeast Asia. During the lockdown, Riho and Kano left to pursue their own careers, leaving Momoko as the sole Avenger.

After their 10-Year anniversary shows in Winter 2021 (performed under strict pandemic guidelines), Babymetal took an official hiatus they called "Closing The Seal". It reopened about 21 months later, at the start of 2023, after a few months of music snippets teasing a new album.

On April 1st 2023, eight weeks after a last-minute concert teaser that caught fans off-guard, the band announced Momoko would be upgraded to full member, taking the stage name MOMOMETAL, reestablishing once and for all the group's trinity formation. Additionally, they announced a few world tour dates. The first area on the list; Southeast Asia, right where they left off.

As to what the future holds for Babymetal? Well, Only The Fox-God Knows!

The group also provides the theme song for the Unikitty! cartoon.

Compare and contrast to Kyary Pamyu Pamyu for a similar Internet phenomenon. Along with Perfume, which is also an Amuse act employing choreographer Mikiko-sensei. More info about the girls themselves can be found on the Character Sheet of their former parent group, in the 2013 (Su), 2015 (Yui/Moa), and 2018 (Momoko) Graduates sections.

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Discography

Singles

• "Doki Doki☆Morning" (2011)^note  (DVD-only; the track itself debuted on Sakura Gakuin's 2010 Nendo album)
• "BABYMETAL × Kiba of Akiba" (2012)^note  A-side was "Iine!", its MV is linked here; B-side was "Answer for Animation with You"
• "Headbangeeeeerrrrr!!!!!" (2012)^note  B-side was "Uki Uki★Midnight"
• "Ijime, Damé, Zettai" (2013 – the group's major debut)^note  B-side was "Catch Me If You Can"
• "Megitsune" (2013)^note  The first single produced independently of Sakura Gakuin – B-side was "Akatsuki" in the regular edition and "Onedari Daisakusen" in the limited edition
• "Road of Resistance" (2015)^note  Digital release, but was later included on EU/NA release of Babymetal
• "Gimme Chocolate!!" (2015)^note  (UK release only)
• "Karate" (2016)^note  (digital release only)
• "Distortion" (2018)^note  (released digitally May 7th 2018; a limited vinyl release followed that November)
• "Starlight" (2018)^note  (released digitally October 19th 2018, which happened to also be the day Yui officially left the group. She is not on this track or "Distortion")
• "Elevator Girl" (2019)^note  (only released digitally)
• "PA PA YA!" (2019)^note  (physical version bundled with Dark Night Carnival Bluray only available via preorder for The One members; released digitally a few days after that)
• "BxMxC" (2020)
• "Divine Attack" (2022)
• "Metal Kingdom" (2023)

Albums

• Babymetal (2014)
• Metal Resistance (2016)
• Metal Galaxy (2019)
• The Other One (2023)

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Tropes da o!

• Abbey Road Crossing: They did it for the 2014 London documentary.
• Alter-Ego Acting: In multiple print interviews, Suzuka has referred to Su-Metal as almost a separate person inhabiting her body, allowing her to accomplish things she never could as regular Suzuka, and that it was only around the time of Tokyo Dome that she felt she was able to gain some control over Su-Metal so they could progress in tandem. Officially, the band's management says that onstage, their "Metal" personas take over as the Fox-God guides their movements.^* In psychology, this is known as the flow, colloquially known as "getting in the zone". Not uncommon amongst artists and athletes.
• Alternate Character Reading: In the official lyrics for "Road of Resistance", the last chorus line is written as 燃える鋼鉄魂 (moeru koutetsu tamashii "burning steel soul" or more commonly "burning metal spirit") but the given reading (and what Su always sings) is 燃えるアツいハート (moeru atsui haato "burning passionate heart").
• Animal Motif: Foxes. Most prominent is their version of the heavy metal horns, the Fox sign, which is the traditional fox hand gesture in Japan. Their backstory is that they are chosen by the Fox God to unite the world through their music. Several album covers (e.g. Babymetal × Kiba of Akiba and Megitsune) feature foxes on the cover, and foxes appear a lot in their stage design.
• Arcadia: The 2019 song "Arkadia" tells about the titular promised land.
• Ascended Extra:
  • They're more popular than their parent group, Sakura Gakuin, especially outside Japan. Although Babymetal's popularity has gotten some international fans interested in Sakura Gakuin. It is amusing to see English comments on SG music videos from avowed metalheads trying to reconcile their "metal street-cred" with their enjoyment of a group of young girls singing and dancing to upbeat J-pop. Amusingly, this is exactly what Yui said she hoped would happen. Some examples:
    - excuse me while I PUNCH A FUCKING WALL to get my Manliness back!!!
    - Now I have to burn down 27 churches to get my metal cred back.
    - Dammit! I'm going from Babymetal down the Sakura Gakuin rabbit hole, like others warned. Next thing you know I'll be buying their nendo CDs. Help me!
    - Now I'm questioning my toxic way of life and want to be more friendly.
    - I keep a porn tab open while watching Sakura Gakuin in case my parents come in. The porn's easier to explain.
    - Nothing beats trying to explain to my mom that this is what her metalhead son listens to.
  • In 2023, Avenger Momoko Okazaki was promoted into a full member and given the stage name Momometal.
• Asian Fox Spirit:
  • The main theme of "Megitsune" (literal translation: female fox/vixen). The song itself insists on the distinction: as they explain it, when a woman catches a guy's fancy and she turns them down, men often call her "megitsune". If she turned them down because she wants to lure them in further and is really just playing hard to get, she's the traditional kitsune, who were after all famous for turning into women and seducing men. If she turned them down because she just simply has no interest in them from the start and no means no, she's not seducing them so she's a megitsune.
  • As described in Animal Motif above, kitsune features prominently in the band's lore and visuals.
• Audience Participation Song:
  • In the album, "Ii ne!" has a part in the middle where the girls rap to Trap Music. In concerts, this part is where they engage in call-and-response with the audience, shouting out the venue or city name.
  • Before "Ijime, Damé, Zettai" is performed, a short video is played, commanding the audience to form a Wall of Death.
  • When entering the final chorus to "Karate", Su-metal will give the command, "Everybody jump!" Most of the time, everybody jumps. Including BOH the bassist.
  • During live performances of "Road of Resistance", as can be seen in the music video, the band often extends the "woooah" part for the audience to sing together on Su-metal's command. Before the song starts, she performs a hand parting gesture to signal everyone to form a Wall of Death.
  • In the interlude of "Monochrome", Su often asks the audience to turn on the flashlights on their phones so that the venue looks like a starry night. She also did this for "Starlight". In short, she really likes seeing the audience providing light (as previous generations did with lighters), which has gotten her and the audience into trouble a couple of times with venues not expecting it.
• Bilingual Bonus:
  • Many songs contain the occasional English word or phrase, but the most notable example is their concert opener, "Babymetal Death" - a deliberate bilingual pun, since what they're shouting is 「ベビーメタルです！」 ("We are Babymetal"), but the pronunciation of desu is similar to the English "Death", a fact not lost on the promoters. Or the girls, who will sometimes say "death" when introducing themselves as an intentional pun – Moa in particular likes to do this.
  • "The One" has more English in it than Japanese. The international edition of the song is entirely in English. This is now the version performed even in Japan. The original bilingual cut is only on YouTube and the domestic (Japan) releases of Metal Resistance and The Trilogy.
  • "Pa Pa Ya!!" features a verse of Thai rapping by Thai rapper Fucking Hero, or F.Hero for short.
• Bound and Gagged: Suzuka was tied up with rope when she was put on the cross to be crucified during the finale of Legend 1997, albeit in more of a badass sacrificial martyr sense than the traditional damsel-in-distress one, and without a gag.
• Catchphrase: When asked something they cannot (or are not allowed to) answer in interviews, their go-to answer is "Only the Fox God knows". Fans shorten this to OTFGK in Reddit and other online forums.
• Chiptune: Featured in the video game-themed "↑↓←→BBAB". The title is also a reference to the Konami Code.
• The Chosen One: Their backstory is they're chosen by the Fox God to unite the world through their music.
• Coordinated Clothes: All three girls' pre-2018 costumes are a metal take on the Gothic Lolita fashion style, complete with fancy hair decorations, petticoats, and poofy dresses.
  • Yui's and Moa's outfits were perfectly mirrored – Yui's glove is on her right hand, Moa's is on her left. Several of their dance moves also mirror each other. They make the Fox-Sign mirrored too – Moa's is left-over-right; Yui's is right-over-left.
• Costume-Test Montage: "Yava!" is about a girl struggling to decide between similar things, which many fans believe to be clothing.
• Cover Version:
  • The Legend 1999 & 1997 Apocalypse shows had all members singing songs released in their birth years. Su covered the Evangelion song "Tamashii no Refrain" and Speed's "White Love", Yui sang "Chokotto Love" by Petitmoni, and Moa performed Morning Musume's "Love Machine".
  • In the Babymetal x Kiba of Akiba joint single, they covered the latter's "Animation with You" while Kiba covered "Doki Doki Morning".
  • In the Legend D concert, they covered Karen Girl's' "Over The Future".
  • In 2016, they performed Judas Priest's "Painkiller" and "Breaking the Law" with Rob Halford himself.
• Creepy Crosses: They use it a lot, both during big shows and in merch. Special mention goes to the "Legend 1997" concert on Suzuka's 16th birthday, when she was crucified in front of what appeared to be a giant statue of the Virgin Mary, which promptly shattered. Since that concert, Su has been crucified no fewer than four times.
• Crossover:
  • The album Metal Galaxy features Alissa White-Gluz of Arch-Enemy, Joakim Brodén of Sabaton, Tim Henson and Scott LePage of Polyphia, and Tak Matsumoto of B'z.
  • They are also featured in the 2020 Bring Me the Horizon track "Kingslayer".
• Damsel in Distress: In the lore of Legend D, Moa and Yui are 'captured' by the evil idols of Akiba and sentenced to death by crucifixion. Su sacrifices herself in their place.
• Darker and Edgier: Compared to other Idol groups, when they were still a subunit of Sakura Gakuin. Explicitly invoked in 2018 following Yui's illness/injury and Mikio's death. The shows that year were based around the concept of a "Dark Side" of Babymetal. Su and Moa donned costumes that resembled dark armor and wore their hair down. The Kami Band retained the black robes they'd switched to at Legend S.
• Distinct Double Album: Metal Galaxy was released as a two-disc album in Japan. The first disc represent the light side (Sun) with international elements to music, while the second disc represents the dark side (Moon) that contains more of the heavier tracks.
• Double Meaning: More than one instance.
  • During Legend S, Suzuka's narration explicitly invokes this about Light, referencing a "Light of Hope" and a "Light of Despair". It's a veiled reference to the atomic bombing of her hometown (Hiroshima) 72 years earlier, an incident still commemorated annually there and which her ancestors survived.^*When in Sakura Gakuin, she did a presentation about the bombing and had also asked her fellow members to observe a minute of silence on August 6, 8:15 AM, as practiced annually in Hiroshima but not elsewhere in Japan. She has strong personal feelings about the event.
  • "Elevator Girl" has fans speculating about its true meaning, due in part to some differences between the original and the English version (though the spirit is the same in both). The original gives the image of an elevator descending to Shinto hell; the English adaptation uses the elevator as a metaphor for stress or mental illness – a Western reviewer called it a song about "a mentally unstable elevator operator". Fans have speculated the song could be referencing the group's uncertain situation in 2018, or perhaps (especially in the English lyrics) a stealth reference to Su-metal's older sister Himeka Nakamoto, formerly of Nogizaka46, who was diagnosed with a form of severe depression in 2016 which led to her having to retire from showbiz in late 2017.
  • "Starlight" is also believed by many to be a farewell song to Mikio Fujioka, who was known to enjoy stargazing (Mikio died after he fell from an observation deck while doing so). It's also interpreted as a farewell to Yui, as it came out mere hours before her departure was announced.^* Of course, that means the song was completed way before then, but Yui mentioned that she deliberated for a long time before she decided to bow out. Coincidentally, Yui was also known to enjoy looking at the stars.
• Drum and Bass: "Awadama Fever" starts with an electronic drum-and-bass rhythm which then melds into industrial metal riffs.
• Early-Installment Weirdness: Their first song, "Doki Doki☆Morning", has a more distinct "Idol-like" sound than their following songs. "Doki Doki☆Morning"'s MV had a very low budget – and most of that probably went to the music. The costumes used in the video were made from a combination of the girls' own clothes plus some from a staff member for Suzuka. The next video, "Iine!", has them in the same getup. The third video, "Headbangeeeeerrrrr!!!!!", sees them in costumes that are recognizably related to their established look.
  • In a very early interview with Scoopers (Sakura Gakuin's journalism subunit), they used a different logo (pink colored, but already has the hearts and skull) and introduced themselves by their real names and school grades.
• Eldritch Abomination: The monsters in the video for "Distortion" look like something that would not be out of place in the Upside Down.
• Epic Rocking:
  • "Ijime, Damé, Zettai" from the Self-Titled Album (6:07). It also has the toughest choreography for Yui and Moa. This is why it was usually used as a show-closer prior to Metal Resistance.
  • "Road Of Resistance" – 5:17 on the album, but usually much longer when performed live due to Su's love of call-and-response.
  • "The One" from Metal Resistance (6:29). When paired with its companion song "Tales of the Destinies" (5:35), as on the album and at Tokyo Dome Red Night, the spectacle is over twelve minutes.
  • The version of "The One" performed at Legend S was an eleven-minute epic by itself. A slightly shortened version was used during music hall shows in their 2018 mini-tour.
• Fading into the Next Song: Happens at the end of both Metal Resistance and Metal Galaxy
  • "Tales of the Destinies" → "The One"
  • "Shine" → "Arkadia"
• Four Is Death: The Black Babymetal song "Song 4", which uses a lot of wordplay surrounding the readings of "4" in Japanese, seems to refute this with a line in the chorus stating that 4 is not synonymous with death.
• Fusion Dance: Their collaboration with Rob Halford in AMA 2016 starts with visuals depicting the fusion of the Painkiller and the Fox God.
  Opening Narration: The Fox God and the Metal God. Their meeting was not a coincidence. Nothing happens by accident. When Babymetal, the Chosen Ones by the Fox God, are awakened by the Metal God, a new legend is born. Right now, at this moment.
• Genre Mashup:
  • Combines the hardness and energy of heavy metal with the catchiness and appeal of J-pop and an aesthetic taken straight out of Gothic Lolita and Visual Kei.
  • The theme of Metal Galaxy is combining metal with other genres. For example, "Future Metal", as its title suggests, mixes metal with Future Bass, "Shanti Shanti Shanti" is inspired by Indian music, and "BxMxC" is Rap Metal.
• Genre Roulette: Fairly uniquely for a pop-metal band, the actual metal isn't tethered to a specific subgenre. It varies from Black Metal to Melodic Death Metal to Thrash Metal to Nu Metal to Progressive Metal to Djent to Grindcore and beyond. As a result, this site categorizes them under Avant-Garde Metal.
• Girlish Pigtails: Prior to 2018, Moa and Yui wore pigtails and the style for all three girls is darkly feminine. Suzuka wore this style until 2012, when she switched to the single high-set ponytail seen in the photo above.
  • As of 2019, Moa is back in pigtails but the Avengers are not, likely a visual cue that they're not full members (lack of microphone is another).
• Good Girl Gone Bad: According to the video shown at and prior to the Budokan concerts, Yuimetal and Moametal were corrupted by a trickster sprite to become the greedy girls in "Onedari Daisakusen".
• He Who Must Not Be Heard: On the rare occasion Koba has an on-camera interview, all he does is mumble and subtitles of what he's actually trying to say are shown. Even when he appears onscreen at the beginning of major Japanese shows, his voice is heavily processed.
• He Who Must Not Be Seen:
  • The musicians during the early years wore skeleton costumes in the music videos and while appearing in public. Except in the "Megitsune" MV, where they wear long black wigs and masks. In reality, they were just faking playing to a backing track.
  • Starting in 2019, the Kami Band starting wearing masks during live shows. It turned out there was a practical reason for this — a majority of regular Kami members were unable to join the USA tour due to other obligations, so Koba hired American musicians he knew (mostly from Star Wars tribute band Galactic Empire) for that tour.
• Hime Cut: When the girls let down their hair, it resembles this style and, given their genre of Heavy Metal, it makes quite the contrast with the trope's usual connotations of tradition and elegance. Suzuka plays it straightest (figuratively, given her leadership, and literally too), and she's done so in certain music videos like "Megitsune". They phased out this style after Yui's departure.
• "I Am" Song: "Babymetal Death" is an extreme example, since the only lyrics are the group introducing themselves. The word "death" is a homophone of the Japanese desu which in this context means "I am".
• Iconic Outfit:
  • The black tops & tutus which were standard from late 2012 through 2017. The photo at top shows the version used during Metal Resistance, but the best-known version is probably their post-Budokan version with the red tutus used in 2014 through 2015, seen in this video and on their Funko Pop figures.
  • Babybones' skeleton costumes are easily recognizable by the fans.
  • Loose white robes & corpse paint for the Kami Band until Legend S.
• Idol Singer: All three members were members of the junior Idol group Sakura Gakuin, and the band itself started out as one of several clubs (sub-units) within that group. When Suzuka was set to graduate Sakura Gakuin in 2013, Babymetal was spun off into an independent unit^* (not unlike how Mini-Pati was absorbed into Sakura Gakuin when its entire lineup – Raura, Nene, Marina, and Suzuka – became part of S.G.) so that the project could continue with Su as lead singer. They are sometimes still called "Idol Metal" or "Idol fusion metal band" by the media.
• "I Hate" Song: “Sis. Anger”
• Inconsistent Spelling: "Yava!" is a stylized romanization of "yaba!" ("oh no!").
• Instrument of Murder: Su's microphone in the "Megitsune" music video contains a dagger.
• In the Name of the Moon: They have introduction lines and pose they use during interviews and award ceremonies. For those unfamiliar with the ritual (such as public officials), this may be confusing.
  (said in turn while holding the fox sign) "Su-metal Death! Yuimetal Death! Moametal Death!"
  "We are... (posing as shown in the top image) Babymetal Death!"
• I Will Find You: "Kingslayer" can be interpreted to be about finding the titular Kingslayer, or Angel of the Blade, and help them defeat a "silly program" that has taken over the world.
• Job Song: "GJ!" ("Good Job!") tells about the lives of everyday people, such as going to work or school in a packed train and hunting for discounted items at the supermarket to make ends meet, and finally reminds them to relax once in a while.
• Kayfabe: Enforced in several ways.
  • Since graduating Sakura Gakuin, the girls are always referred to in print or on video by their stage names. Even when they were still the Heavy Music Club, their stage names would be used when talking about Babymetal. Nobody has interviewed Suzuka Nakamoto since 2013, or Yui Mizuno and Moa Kikuchi since 2015.
  • The girls' handlers apparently have a Long List of topics considered off-limits to interviewers, especially non-Japanese ones. This results in the trio never breaking character on camera. Although given the extremely limited range of things that can be asked, there's not a lot of character to break. On the other hand, the girls still usually give genuine answers to most questions they can understand and can answer. (the tell they're not is if they answer "Metallica" or "Only the Fox-God Knows!")
    • According to some who have interviewed them post-pandemic, things aren't as strict as they used to be, though personal questions are still off-limits – this is more a Japanese thing than specific to Babymetal – and only one Western interviewer got away with discussing Yui with Su and Moa, mostly because he had met the original trio several times so had a different perspective than newer press people.
  • Babymetal used to be listed separately from Suzuka Nakamoto, Yui Mizuno, and Moa Kikuchi in the Amuse website, unlike other groups like Perfume and ONE OK ROCK which do not have individual member bios. As of April 2019 the individual profiles for Suzuka and Moa no longer appear - they are listed under the Babymetal profile, consistent with other Amuse groups. Yui's profile continues to be listed separately as a solo artist.
  • Members of the Kami Band and the Avengers rarely mention their involvement in the group, and only make thinly-veiled references even when they do. A photo of Kano wearing a Babymetal hoodie on the Sakura Gakuin official Twitter had the logo blurred.
  • Averted for the American Kamis, as it is not exactly a secret that the personnel are involved with Babymetal, but all of them are tied to other bands (mostly Galactic Empire, as well as Chris Kelly being a founding member of Alustrium and Anthony Barone being a studio member of Beneath the Massacre and a now-former member of Shadow of Intent and A Night in Texas).
• The Leader: Suzuka, as the oldest girl and lead vocalist.
• Lighter and Softer: Than most heavy metal bands. To wit, one of Amon Amarth's songs was about the fated clash to the death between Thor and the World Serpent ("Twilight of the Thunder God"), one of Judas Priest's songs was about the circumstances that lead people into a life of crime ("Breaking the Law").^* For the record, Suzuka likes this song and has performed it with Rob Halford, as well as by herself during a couple of Babymetal shows. What is Babymetal's most popular song about? Chocolate.^note  Well, one can argue it's actually about body image, as the singer must balance her desire for sweets with concern about gaining weight in a society that values thinness.
• Loudness War:
  • Their inaugural album is brickwalled and almost pure clipping from start to finish. This may be an intended effect though, as even the vinyl versions have little dynamic range.
  • The production of the second album Metal Resistance is better than the first, although the dynamic range is similar.
• Lucky Charms Title:
  • "Doki Doki☆Morning"
  • "Uki Uki ★ Midnight".
  • "↑↓←→BBAB".
• Money Song: "Onedari Daisakusen" ("Begging Strategy") offers practical advice to teens on how to extract extra pocket money from one's father with a well-timed shoulder-massage/flattery combo. Said flattery include praising him for his hard work and ultimately declaring that one wants to be her father's bride (obviously in a Like Parent, Like Spouse sense, not Parental Incest). Audiences have been known to make it rain with fake money whenever this song is performed. The video interlude before this song at the 2016 Wembley concert strongly implied that as the girls were growing up it would not be performed in future; however, it was performed at the 2016 Tokyo Dome concerts as they were going through all their album songs (Japanese versions) over the two nights, and again by Moametal during the 2021 10-Budokan concert.
• Music for Courage:
  • "Road of Resistance", made in collaboration with DragonForce's Herman Li and Sam Totman.
    Our hearts are one.
    If you believe in your way,
    Keep going even if there's no road ahead!
  • "Arkadia" from the third album also has this theme, as well as similar power metal influences.
    Be faster than light, be stronger than steel
    and go without fear towards your mission!
• Never My Fault: The second verse of "Sis. Anger" is about how Moa and Yui hate guys who are never serious and make excuses for their failures.
• No Name Given: The individual names of the Kami Band and the Avengers are never officially mentioned, but they're famous musicians and current/former idols, so fans quickly identified them. Some of the Chosen Seven have also been identified.
• Odd Friendship: The girls are known to get along with just about every musician and band they meet, but this probably applies best to Bring Me the Horizon, who Moa said she was a fan of in 2016. Fast forward to 2019 and BMTH are at SummerSonic taking the stage before Babymetal and Oliver Sykes goes on a drunken rant in between songs about how much he loves Babymetal and how everyone in the crowd should support them – a photo of BMTH playing arcade games with Su & Moa emerged a couple days later. A few months later, BMTH opened for the girls during their Japan shows in Saitama and Osaka.
• Oni: "Catch Me If You Can" is about a hungry Oni who wants to eat the girls, who spend their time during the song playing hide-and-seek and basically trolling it. ^note  They're playing the "Tag-extra" version of hide-&-seek; in Japanese, the seeker in both games is called the oni; tag itself is called onigokko – literally, "game of the Oni".
• Opening Narration: Most of their shows start with one, which tells of the group's lore. Occasionally the members themselves provide the narration.
• Power Ballad: "The One", "No Rain, No Rainbow", "Shine".
• Precision F-Strike:
  • "Sis. Anger" has "Kirai da!" ("I hate [you]!") and Baka yarou!" ("You dumbass!").
  • Their collaboration with Bring Me the Horizon, "Kingslayer", has multiple F-bombs, although they're in BMTH's parts.
• Producer: Kobametal, real name Key Kobayashi. A lifelong metalhead who always covers himself with a skeleton costume for interviews, although plenty of photos of him out of costume exist. International fans have made it into a game to try and spot him during headline shows, as he's never backstage – he's usually somewhere in the audience or at the soundboard.
• Punctuated! For! Emphasis!: The title for "Ijime, Damé, Zettai" is written in katakana and punctuated to invoke this – 「イジメ、ダメ、ゼッタイ」. Rendered in English as "No More. Bullying. Forever."
• Punny Name: The band's name plays on the Japanese pronunciations of the words "baby" (bēbi) and "heavy" (hebii). It didn't hurt that the girls were 12 (Su) and 11 (Yui/Moa) when the project began. However, the "baby" part was primarily meant to symbolize the "birth" of a new kind of metal.
  • Unfortunately, too many Western fans assume the pun was only on the girls' ages when they started and make the (unfunny) joke that they should change their name to "Ladymetal" or "Teenagermetal" (even though as of 2019 the original trio have all passed 20; Momoko did so in 2023, four weeks before her official promotion).
• Pretty in Mink: Black Babymetal wore what looked like fur-lined coats in the Legend 1997 performance of "Onedari Daisakusen", due to its greed-oriented theme… and also the concert happening four days before Christmas.
• Rap Metal: "BxMxC" is this, and the MV features Su and Moa in a rap and dance battle called the "Tenkaichi Metal Budokai", with similar Bali imagery to its Dragon Ball counterpart.^* Although the Hindu temples in the background are actually the Prambanan in Yogyakarta, around 500 km from Bali.
• Rated M for Manly: The inversion of this trope is the whole point of this band, by having three cute girls performing aggressive music traditionally associated with masculinity.
• Recurring Riff: "Over The Future", the opening song for the anime adaptation of Psychic Squad, comes up quite a bit in the group's early years. The song is Suzuka's first single as a member of an Amuse group (Karen Girl's), and inspired Yui to become a singer.^* According to her, this and other Karen Girl's songs helped her endure when a member of her family was critically ill. Yui and her good friend Moa auditioned for Sakura Gakuin by performing a dance cover of that song.^* Since Suzuka was the third and youngest member, her spot in the choreography was left vacant by the two, which some fans see as Foreshadowing. Finally, the three of them performed a metal cover version of the song, called the "Rising Force version", as Babymetal in 2012.
• Red Oni, Blue Oni:
  • Explicitly name-dropped in the lyrics to "Catch Me If You Can".
    "Aka'oni-san, Ao'oni-san: Suteppu, suteppu (one, two! one, two!)" {Red Oni, Blue Oni, take your steps. 1, 2! 1, 2!}
  • Yui and Moa often had this sort of vibe onstage – Moa (Red) is outgoing and emotional, quick to react; Yui (Blue) is comparatively restrained and reserved, rarely speaking unless spoken to and famously slow to react.
• Red Sky, Take Warning: The video for "Distortion" has a red sky over the ruined city.
• Red String of Fate: "Akatsuki" mentions that even though their string of fate may have disappeared, the singer would keep cherishing their love.
• Running Gag: Su and Moa took to making funny faces to each other during the interlude of "Megitsune", when Su's face is obscured to the audience by her fox mask. Kano was even briefly distracted by one of those exchanges. During the 2019/20 Metal Galaxy Tour, Moa would often mouth the name of a food, sometimes related to where they were performing (i.e. "Crêpe Suzette" in Paris).
• Shout-Out:
  • The line "nametara ikan ze yo" in "Megitsune" is a reference to the 1982 yakuza movie Onimasa.
  • The lore revealed in live performances mention mysterious figures such as "Death Vader".
  • "Akatsuki" is a tribute to X Japan's "Kurenai", while the theme of "No Rain, No Rainbow" is similar to "Endless Rain". The repeated "metal" in the end of live performance intro videos is also similar to X Japan's intro.
  • The barrier between universes in the Metalverse lore is called the Fox Field and looks a lot like the AT Field.
• Silly Love Songs: Some of the songs can be interpreted this way.
  • "Akatsuki" describes a turbulent romantic relationship and the singer's commitment to stay on despite the ups and downs.
  • "Syncopation" is about the many emotions felt when falling in love, called the "syncopation of love". The live performances usually begin with a Heartbeat Soundtrack, complete with ECG (heartbeat monitor) visualization.
  • "Amore" can be interpreted as describing motherly love, with symbolism about carrying a new life and eventually letting it go its own way.
  • "No Rain, No Rainbow" is about losing one's loved one or heartbreak.
• Silk Hiding Steel: "Megitsune" explains how women, especially Yamato Nadeshiko, are actresses who are adept at hiding their true feelings and should not be underestimated. Literally invoked in the music video, where Su's mic contains a dagger.
• Something Something Leonard Bernstein: Outside of it being entirely in English, pretty much the only thing the fandom can agree on in "From Dusk Till Dawn" is the "Break" before the drop.
• Song Style Shift:
  • "Iine!" has a Trap break near the middle complete with hoodies, Gratuitous English, and Kanye West sunglasses.◊ We are completely serious. Apparently it's done as a Take That! to Swag Rap.
  • "Uki Uki ★ Midnight" has a Dubstep break, also near the middle.
  • "Song 4" features a reggae section.
  • "PA PA YA!" has a rap section just after the middle that's performed by F.Hero.
• Special Guest: Metal Galaxy has several tracks with guest artists: Tak Matsumoto on "Da Da Dance", Joakim Brodén on "Oh! Majinai", Tim Henson and Scott LePage on "Brand New Day", Alissa White-Gluz on "Distortion", and F.Hero on "Pa Pa Ya!!".
• Step Up to the Microphone: Two variants.
  • This was one of the purposes of Black Babymetal — Yui & Moa performed lead allowing Su to take a break backstage. The first two albums feature two BBM songs apiece.
    • In 2018, the BBM song "GJ!" remained on the setlist despite Yui still being too ill to perform or tour, so Moa did it solo, taking this trope even further.
  • Whenever Moa (or Yui when she was still around) celebrated a milestone birthday, Su would give her the microphone to sing "Headbanger!". The most recent instance as of this edit was at Legend M for Moa's 20th birthday.
• Sure, Let's Go with That: At the beginning of the group, Koba was trying to teach the girls the heavy metal horns gesture. They misinterpreted the description and made a 'kitsune sign' instead. The whole Fox God mythology of the group probably stems from this.
• That Syncing Feeling: An unusual entry for a group now known for doing a lot of things live. But this wasn't always the case.
  • Early live shows were mostly lip-synced, with some live vocals blended in (common for idol performances). Later on, Suzuka did more and more live, followed by Yui and Moa. The production of the Live at Budokan albums (2015) makes it very easy to hear that the backing vocals are confined to a few parts of the Black Babymetal songs – mostly parts with strenuous choreography, as well as Su's pre-done harmonizing.
  • The very first Juonbu performance from November 2010 sounds double-tracked – Su is singing live over her own pre-done vocals a few times.
  • Su has a weird tendency to invert this. She tends to mouth lyrics even when she isn't meant to be singing. The full-group dance of "Motteke! Sailor Fuku" from that same 2010 show is a good example, as is her duet with Rob Halford nearly six years later where she mimed his part of "Breaking The Law".
    • The Avengers, who are not mic'd, have been seen either mouthing or possibly singing what would originally have been Yui's part several times.
  • Many fans complained that the dubstep remix of "Headbanger" at Legend 1997 was playback. However, it is the only part of that entire 80-minute concert where Su didn't sing live (not counting death screams), and she sang the song live later that same concert.
  • For "Metali!", Momoko's kabuki bridge is lipsynced as its unique diction isn't easy to flip to after a lot of heavy dancing. The death-scream (not on the studio track) she performs immediately after – "ARE YOU READY!!" – is also mimed, but is clearly her.
  • The official videos on the band's YouTube channel using concert footage give off this vibe, as oftentimes the studio track replaces the original live vocals. "Gimme Chocolate!" is a good example. So is "The One". "Pa Pa Ya!!" is another major one, as F.Hero's live vocals sounded very different from the studio version.
• Title Scream: Happens at the very end of "Headbanger!" And also in the middle right before the bridge.
• Twin Tropes: Intentionally invoked with regards to Yuimetal and Moametal. Koba's original vision for Babymetal had always included "Twin Fairies" dancing around the lead singer. This is why their outfits and many of their dance moves are mirrored.
  • Averted with Momometal as she's taller than both Su-metal (by a little) and Moametal (by a lot), although her voice is somewhat similar to the latter.
• Uncommon Time: Given the group's forays into more esoteric subgenres of metal, this was bound to happen.
  • "Tales of the Destinies", the group's stab at Dream Theater-style music, constantly switches time signatures and tempo at the drop of a hat.^* To put this in perspective, a sample of the opening in Young Guitar magazine showed it starts off in 11/8, switches immediately to 6/4 for two measures, then to 4/4 for two measures, then a measure of 3/4, then another measure in 11/8, then two measures of 12/8, a measure in 4/4, and finally a measure in 5/4. Most of the rest of the song is just as nuts, although the parts where Su sings are easier to follow, as is the end. It's such a complicated song that many wondered if it was even possible to perform it live. They did so at Tokyo Dome Red Night.
  • TOTD's companion song, "The One", is mostly in 12/8 (or a fast 4/4), but the bridge mixes it up being mostly in 6/8 with a single fast 4/4 bar thrown in every fourth measure (or 4/8 depending on how you count it). The tempo also subtly changes.
  • "Shanti Shanti Shanti" is mostly in 4/4, but the bridge is in 3/4 with a single measure of 6/8 at the end of both halves of it before switching back to common-time for the rest of the song.
• Yamato Nadeshiko: Features heavily in the song "Megitsune" (vixen, female fox), which says that girls and women nowadays are forced to reembrace the aspect of this archetype that is about keeping a calm front and going on despite turmoil even though the turmoil here is internal rather than external (or as they put it, "smiling on the outside, crying on the inside").

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