The metal community can be a bunch of gatekeepers at times, and if you are not “true metal,” people can shun what’s new. One of the most divisive bands to come into the metal scene in the last decade must be Babymetal. When they broke into the scene with their hit single “Gimme Chocolate!!,” it set the metal community on fire with fans and detractors. Since then, Babymetal has been welcomed into the community with open arms by some of the biggest names in the scene, and by millions of fans worldwide. They embarked on a 2024 World Tour culminating with a final show at the House of Blues in Anaheim, CA. That show sold out in minutes! Due to the overwhelming support from fans, two additional show days were added at the House of Blues in Anaheim. I was fortunate to be able to make it out to Night 2, where fans came dressed in Lolita dresses, anime apparel, or anything kawaii ready to rock out with Babymetal.

Opening the night was an artist known as Scene Queen, who has originated the music genre now known as Bimbocore. Many of Scene Queen’s songs revolve around feminism and how women are treated unfairly in the music scene, and just in the world in general. Specifically, her song “18+” calls out the constant news cycle of emo and pop punk bands getting caught flirting or being with underage fans. Even her song “Mutual Masturbation” talks about how established women in the music scene get ignored by guys who think they’re just the band’s girlfriend. Scene Queen contrasts this harsh lyrical content with a Malibu Barbie attire and cheerleader perky attitude. It almost comes off as a false sense of security to lure scumbag guys into her trap just to rip them to shreds and call them out for their sexism. Looking into the crowd you could see fans eating up Scene Queen’s aesthetic and intentions. She even took a moment to jump into the crowd and give high fives to everyone she could. Scene Queen kept this love up with other empowering songs like “Pink Push-up Bra,” “MILF,” “Pink G-String,” “Pink Panther,” “Pink Rover,” and ending with “Barbie & Ken.” Scene Queen even made a speech about how she always dreamed about touring with Babymetal, and this tour has been everything she hoped it would be. Scene Queen is worth keeping an eye on as it’s only up from here.

Once it was time for Babymetal to take the stage, the fans cheered with excitement. Babymetal even has their own version of the classic metal devil horns, where you touch your thumb to your extended middle and ring finger, in turn making a fox head. These fox heads infested the House of Blues as the band came out for their opening song “BABYMETAL DEATH.” What makes this band so unique is that the instrumental section is playing Slipknot-esque material. Music that has you headbanging and the mosh pit roaring. While the vocal duties are handled by J-Pop idols known as Su-metal, Moametal, and Momometal singing with clean high pitch cutesy style vocals. Because the singers are idols, they are dressed in matching gothic/metal Lolita dresses and perform with choreographed dance moves. This combination sounds like it should not work, but Babymetal has found the right way to create a new form of heavy metal that fans love. The band even has interactive moments with the song “PA PA YA!!” where fans are constantly twirling small flags or handkerchiefs above their head. Other songs even have choreographed dance moves that the crowd can join in on with the band. One of the biggest sing-along moments occurred when Babymetal performed their latest song “RATATATA” which features Electric Call Boy. As the featured band could not be there to help perform, the music video was projected onto a giant LED screen behind the band, with their vocals being backing tracks that Babymetal could sing with. However, the crowd was singing louder than the speakers filling in for the live co-vocals. All of this excitement was kept up for their whole set which also featured “Distortion,” “BxMxC,” “METAL!!,” “Monochrome,” “Light and Darkness,” “Megistune,” “Gimme Chocolate!!,” “Headbangeeeeerrrr!!!!!,” and ending with “Road of Resistance.”

I still see people online that try and take away any credibility from Babymetal, and all I can say is that they need to experience one of their concerts for themselves. The band clearly has a love and dedication for metal music, and the fans can see it and feed their love right back to the band. Scene Queen is forcibly creating a path for herself in the music industry, and these two bands combined are fighting metal stereotypes and gatekeepers to prove they deserve to be here. Babymetal has wrapped up their 2024 touring with these shows in Anaheim, CA, but when they undoubtedly come back in 2025, stop being a hater and go see one of the most fun shows you can in metal.