Saturday July 5, Sonisphere Festival 2014. A huge crowd has gathered in front of the mainstage to witness metal’s equivalent to the moon landing: Babymetal’s first UK performance. The video for Gimme Chocolate!!, their viral, shock-to-the-system breakthrough single had already racked up millions of views online - it would hit 4.5 million a month later – and there wasn’t one person on the field that day who didn’t have feelings about it.
Some were excited. Some were openly repulsed by the concept of hyperactive J-pop mixed with super-heavy industrialised metal, fronted by three teenagers performing synchronised dance moves. Most were simply curious to see if there was anything more than a very effective gimmick going on.
