Seriously, what is Babymetal?

By REYAN ALI | August 1, 2012

Ultimately, the whole shebang is the kind of stylistic clusterfuck that could make a killing off a Warped Tour-style audience. Babymetal's genius/evil lies in how this project fixates on grabbing attention through stunts and marketing everything based on its novelty value. If you had no reason to distrust Babymetal before, just realize how they revamp one of metal's most sacred gestures. "Their sign is not what you know as 'Devil Horns,'" a promotional video informs when the stars appear to be throwing just that. "It is their original 'Fox Sign.'"

< prev 1 | 2 |

Topics: Music Features , Dance, Kyoto, Japanese, More

| More

Most Popular

The Current Issue

Table of Contents

Cover Archive

Masthead | Authors | Contact us

Blogs

Where To Follow Me
Talking Politics | March 24, 2013 at 11:09 AM

Mo Takes His Turn
March 21, 2013 at 12:59 PM

[Q&A] KMFDM's Sascha Konietzko on art, Columbine and having balls
On The Download | March 18, 2013 at 3:22 PM

See this film series: The Belmont World Film Series @ Studio Cinema in Belmont
Outside The Frame | March 18, 2013 at 11:00 AM

See this film: This is Spinal Tap [with post-film talk by expert from Acoustical Society of America] @ the Coolidge
March 17, 2013 at 12:00 PM

ARTICLES BY REYAN ALI

MARNIE STERN | THE CHRONICLES OF MARNIA | March 13, 2013
In the arena of charming and entertaining indie-music figures, Marnie Stern stands unopposed.

NO REST FOR BLACKBIRD BLACKBIRD | March 13, 2013
Blackbird Blackbird's 2012 EP Boracay Planet takes its name from two sources: Boracay — a beach-filled, postcard-perfect island in the Philippines — and a dream Mikey Maramag had about the tourist trap, despite never having visited.

WILD BELLE PUSH MAGICAL BUTTONS | February 11, 2013
Wild Belle's multi-ethnic allegiances — Afropop, reggae, and rocksteady — fuse into American indie-pop and classic rock. Results are, at varying times, tropical, tepid, and tempestuous.

THE LUMINEERS AIM FOR THE RAFTERS | February 01, 2013
Jeremiah Fraites isn't famous — at least not yet. The drummer of the Lumineers, the folk trio who experienced an outrageously fruitful 2012, is talking to me two days before appearing on the January 19 Saturday Night Live, but he doesn't sound convinced that his band have crossed the fame threshold.

PHANTOM GLUE COME INTO FOCUS | January 23, 2013
Variations of "nightmarish" and "psychedelic" come up repeatedly as Matt Oates describes his band's work — which makes sense, given that Phantom Glue trace their roots back to Slayer, the Jesus Lizard, and cult post-hardcore act KARP.