Babymetal’s 2014 single Gimme Chocolate!! was a breakthrough viral hit for the Japanese metal trio, even though a vocal sect of metalheads were cynical about the band’s presentation and J-pop influence.
Talking in the new issue of Metal Hammer, co-vocalist Moametal (Moa Kikuchi) and producer/founder Kobametal (Key Kobayashi) look back on the response from their detractors, with the singer admitting that she and her bandmates were scared by some of the online hate they received.
“We were just kids who didn’t know what ‘authentic’ metal was supposed to be,” remembers Moametal. “We jumped into the metal world without knowing what ‘normal’ was, so we just believed that this was the path everyone had to take. Having people fire unfamiliar words at us, even when we didn’t understand the meaning, was really frightening.”
She adds: “But in hindsight, I think the adults around us were probably more worried than we were. Those scary memories from back then are still deeply engraved in me, so I always think about treating the next generation of artists with as much kindness as I possibly can.”
Kobametal argues that the backlash the band received was due to them bringing new sounds and ideas to metal.
“They are a band that didn’t exist before,” he states. “Whenever a new type of sound appears in the metal scene, it’s always criticised, but then they overcome that criticism and become something big.”
Gimme Chocolate!! hit YouTube on February 26, 2014, and had racked up 12 million views by the following summer. Amidst all of the attention, the band were booked to play the main stage of now-defunct Knebworth-based festival Sonisphere that July, which marked their UK live debut. Moametal remembers the set in the Hammer interview.
“I could only see a crowd of people with stern expressions,” she says. “I remember I took a deep breath. My in-ear monitor went silent. Crossed-armed figures stared at us. Bottles sailed toward the stage. Looking back, I’m amazed my younger self even stepped out there!”
Talking to Hammer in 2021, Sonisphere promoter Alan Day said he booked the band immediately after seeing the Gimme Chocolate!! video.
“Initially, I had them playing the tent,” he recalled, “but it soon became clear that it’d be dangerously packed if we did that. So, we managed to free up a slot on the main stage, and it’s the biggest crowd I’ve ever seen for a set in the afternoon.”
Despite the naysayers, Babymetal would enjoy lasting success in the metal scene. Their self-titled debut album, released the same day as Gimme Chocolate!!, topped the US World Albums chart and went to number four in Japan. Their second album, 2016’s Metal Galaxy, charted at number two in Japan.
Now hot off the release of their fourth album Metal Forth, Babymetal are gearing up for their return to the European festival circuit, which will include a stop at Download in the UK next month. They’ll headline a North American tour in the Autumn before playing Latin America at the end of the year. See details and get tickets via the Babymetal website.
Read the full story of Gimme Chocolate!! in the new Hammer. The issue features HIM frontman Ville Valo on the cover, as he looks back on their whirlwind career 30 years after the release of their debut EP. Order your copy now and get it delivered directly to your door.
