Where Is Metal Going?

BABYMETAL photographed by Dazed Digital

A few weeks ago I watched BABYMETAL at the O2 arena in London, and was amazed. Not just by the main act, but the two support acts as well. It was cool to see an entirely female lineup of metal, and it made me think about the state of metal right now, where it has been in previous decades, and about the future of the genre. It was naturally a lot to think about when I should have been enjoying the music in front of me, but regardless I thought about maybe just enough material to make a little post about it, so here goes.

The first act on the lineup was ‘Bambie Thug’. A very new artist that shot into stardom for a little while because of their brilliant performance as Ireland’s entry in the 2024 Eurovision song contest. Bambie Thug was a shock to the contest, because of their aggressive, death metal appearance, adorned with jewels and corpse paint, and because of the interesting, wild mix of heavy metal and pop elements. This was all naturally on show during the O2 Arena gig, and it was the first time I got to experience this in person. I witnessed a performer bounce from guttural metal growls to a hard hitting drum and bass instrumental. It all felt at war with each other, but that somehow managed to work incredibly well. This performance was what sparked this post, because it felt new and fresh. Obviously we have had many performers mix all sorts of genres, including all on show during Bambie Thug, but Bambie Thug made it seem so effortless. I was witnessing something truly exciting.

Bambie Thug photographed by the BBC

My mind was cast to the various people around me, some having a great time and some looking perplexed. I thought about metal as a genre, and how it feels so stagnant sometimes. So many self proclaimed ‘metalheads’ only like the heaviest riffs and guitar solos, with no room for experimentation or anything that would be considered “weird”. This rings true to almost every genre though, as it seems like most people enjoy their comfort zones and don't want anything more. I think back to the few collabs that came from rapper Lil Uzi Vert, particularly the BABYMETAL collab “The End” which simply angered a huge portion of the rap community because they deemed it too strange (even if it was kind of fun).

The second act on the lineup was ‘Poppy’ who is no stranger to embracing weirdness. She started out as a Youtuber who made bizarre videos where she posed as an android-like character commenting on internet culture and current events. She would then evolve into making art-pop tunes, stuff that would make any metalhead scream in terror. Her evolution felt strange but it definitely was promising, as her 2020 album “I Disagree” proved. This was the album that definitely dove much deeper into metal, but it still had a lot of the early pop cheesiness to it. A song like “Concrete” would go from heavy, chunky metal riffs to upbeat cute pop chants, and then right back to the former. It felt like tonal whiplash but it was so fun it was hard not to nod along and smile. Luckily, all of this was present at her performance at The O2, she came on stage with a band that would tear through thundering melodic chords right before the noise would disappear and a screen with Poppy’s face would begin politely asking the crowd if they were okay, in her old-school eerie android-like appearance. It felt strange but in the best way. I was watching something fun, and something that didn’t need to take itself seriously.

Poppy photographed by Blunt Magazine

As for the headliners, they were brilliant, as to be expected. Non-stop songs being performed with full choreography, lights, fire, a tiny drone flying around filming something that I have yet to learn what it is, and so much more. I knew this going in, as I had caught very brief glimpses of BABYMETAL at various venues and festivals, but this was the first time I could catch a full show and I was more than thrilled. All three girls ran through a blistering set of upbeat, loud and energetic heavy metal, all while dancing from start to finish and engaging with the crowd. The entire thing just made me happy to enjoy metal, like it felt as though it was a nice breath of fresh air. Repeating myself from earlier but it sometimes feels like metal can get so stagnant, and this show was so different and interesting and fun. I watched elements of music combine in ways that usually shouldn't, but they worked spectacularly in every way here.

BABYMETAL photographed by Dana (Distortion) Yavin / Huffington Post UK

I’m arriving towards the end of my ramble, and I don’t really have a point. A part of me thinks I just wanted to brag about a great concert experience, and a part of me genuinely believes I had a greater point. Women are awesome maybe? That’s a solid point. I do really think that metal needs to do more though, as so much of it is rooted in nostalgia. Hopefully there’s more experimentation in the genre, more weirdness and more stuff that shouldn’t work. I’d much rather listen to that than another Slipknot album being claimed to be “heavier than Iowa”.