Clap-clap, clap-clap-clap, clap-clap-clap-clap, “Yon yon!” Clap-clap, clap-clap-clap, clap-clap-clap-clap, “Yon yon!” The chant fills the thick air of the windowless, wood-panelled restaurant as 130 Babymetal fans at an aftershow party raise their glasses and cheer. Some have painted their faces white like Babymetal’s backing musicians, the Kami Band, and many sport official merch or custom t-shirts. All are ecstatic.
Metal Hammer are in Chiba prefecture, 30 miles east of Tokyo. It’s Sunday January 29, 2023 and we’ve just witnessed the second of two consecutive Babymetal shows at the Makuhari Messe convention centre in the company of 15,000 other fans. As with every Babymetal gig we’ve seen, they were loud, colourful and unlike anything else out there.
