Baby Metal / Civic Hall / Wolverhampton

As we approach the festive season, the shows don’t seem to be slowing down at all. Tonight, a trip across the midlands, from East to West and a first trip to the Civic Halls in Wolverhampton. Having fallen foul of the traffic on the M6, we wisely take the A5 to get there in time, and what a venue it is. Great sound, fantastic friendly staff, a balcony with views to die for.

We’re here for the visit of Baby Metal from Japan, with their unique blend of J-Pop and heavy metal. I’ve not heard much of their work, but was intrigued to see what it was like live. Walking out of car park would show me just how popular they are, with the queue snaking round the roads before the doors opened ! It was interesting to see a really diverse mix of fans, from battle vest wearing metal heads to teens with their parents.

But first up, we have a treat in the form of Scottish band Vukovi (Croatian for Wolves, quite apt for our venue tonight !) which is the dup of Janine Shilstone and Hamish Reilly. Quite a contrast from tonights headliners, I was really impressed with Vukovi’s set. Janine, has an air of confidence about her as she freely struts round the stage delivering the vocals, and easily interacting with the audience at every opportunity.

Their style is bright and bouncy, but with a heavy undertone to it, which makes it accessible to a range of fans. Janines vocals are fantastic with great tone and clarity which sits perfectly above the technically skilled guitar playing from Hamish. Top track for me was Mercy Kill.

Quite the perfect warm up, engaging the already excited crowd and raising the temperature even more. Vukovi struck me as an incredibly talented outfit, and one I hope has a big future ahead of them.

Setlist

Creep Heat

Lasso

Tainted

Mercy Kill

Slo

I Exist

La Di Da

Baby metal released their first, self-titled album in 2014, and was instantly a worldwide hit with their unique mix of styles. This was followed by 2016’s “Metal Resistance” 2019’s “Metal Galaxy” and their most recent album, released earlier this year entitled “The Other One”. The band are simply known as the Kami Band, and the band members all wear masks, to keep their identities secret, something akin to the Nameless Ghouls in Ghost. The singers are Su-Metal (Suzuka Nakamoto), Moametal (Moa Kikuchi) and Momometal (Momoko Okazaki) the latest member to join in 2023.

The lights dim, and the crowd screams (not so much the battle vest wearers!) a large screen lights up at the back of the stage, with a short intro video sequence, almost like the start of an anime film, the lights flash and the Kami band take their positions on the stage, before the girls join them to a wall of flashing lights.

The girls form a v shape on stage, with the primary singer at the back, as they perform intricate choreographed dance moves, blending pop moves with more traditional Japanese forms. The band explode into life with the high intensity track Babymetal Death, as red lighting washes over the set. Next up is fan favourite Gimme Chocolate from their debut album which has the die-hard fans jumping and shouting from the stalls. What is so impressive about Baby Metal, is the quality of the musicianship of the Kami Band, who blast out some intricate and impeccably timed heavy metal riffs. The girls vocals drift over the heavy backing effortlessly, and it is a hypnotic mix.

Distortion is incredible, with some sick heavy riffs and chest pounding drum beats, and is the perfect demonstration of their ability to blend such diverse genres. With some vocal sections in English, the crowd sing along when they can.

The huge screen projects images throughout the set, but for joins in providing virtual guest appearances through the set, from Thai rapper F.Hero during the performance of Pa Pa Ya! And the one and only Tom Morello, who recorded the track Metali! With the badn earlier this year, which sends the already excited crowd, over the edge. Metali! is a brilliant track, and you can hear the Morello influence, and it’s quite the experience seeing a giant Morello moving around behind the band. This is perhaps what Baby Metal do so well, blending a pop-sense, and dance element, with some downright brilliant rock and metal. Its strangely engaging, and immense fun.

As well as Metali! highlight tracks included Mirror Mirror and Monochrome which both have huge guitar riffs and chant along ‘woah’ sections. The girls stepped forward to the edge of the stage before Monochrome and wave and smile at the crowd, and ask everyone to get their phones out. Everyone obliges and I turn to see a sea of lights waving slowly in the air. Its quite a magical sight.

The set concludes with Road of Resistance which starts with a classic old school guitar riff before a brutal drumbeat kicks in. The speed of the guitar playing is relentless and the drums keep going at an insane pace. If the roof was loose in any way, this would finish it off !

And that was it, a set of about 80-90 minutes from, quite frankly, a world class outfit. The performance is spectacular, both in terms of production and delivery. Japanese pop-culture remains so popular, and Baby Metal, have managed to tap into something new and unique, that appeals to audiences right over the world. They blend modern J-Pop, traditional and metal…… what’s not to like ?!

One for the ages, and a band that look set to dominate for years to come.

Setlist

BABYMETAL DEATH

Gimme Chocolate!!

PA PA YA!!

Distortion

BxMxC

Mirror Mirror

Brand New Day

Monochrome

METALI!! (preceded by KAMI Band solos)

Megitsune