Babymetal @ The Hordern Pavilion
The spirt of heavy metal traversed across the world
Photos & review by James Gough
Friday night. Long weekend. Where else would you rather be?
The Entertainment Quarter in Sydney is buzzing with another diverse crowd. As I sit at Mary’s across the road from the Hordern Pavilion, one of the coolest things I’m noticing is the number of kids in the line. If Babymetal are the gateway drug for youth to discover riffs and live shows, so be it.
The family next to me are having a very wholesome night out with burgers, chips, and patched up jackets. Undoubtedly helped by mum & dad who clearly aren’t at their first show either. Another family walk past dressed in their best babymetal cosplay, with dads jacket a clear indication that death metal is his flavour.
Maybe it’s because I’m a dad and I’m dying to bring my daughter to shows, but this is soul food for me to see, and I hope more folks start bringing their kids to shows.
This year I’ve seen the best and worst from security at shows. Before anything’s kicked off it looks like tonight will be lending itself to the better kind. I don’t think I’ve seen a security guy walk along the line having genuine conversations with punters, giving out water & snakes, asking about their flags, who they’re here to see and even asking me about the band playing over the PA.
First up Reliqa. The Sydney four piece have been grinding since their inception and considering how young the band is, they’ve earned themselves a dedicated following.
When I first saw them (I won’t lie), I wrote them off as a young ‘battle-of-the-bands’ sounding metal band, and expected to not hear from them again. They have since matured into a solid outfit, stepping up with their sound, song writing and stage presence. Guitarist Brandon Hutcheson’s chops are something special, almost shadowing the rest of the band. While singer Monique Pym absolutely crushes it. Her presence on stage reminds me of another powerhouse front-woman I’ve seen recently in Coutney LaPlante. I’m happy to eat my words. I’m genuinely impressed & stoked to see a female fronted Sydney band doing so well. They deserve to be on this stage and I can’t wait to see what they bring in the future.
So this is what a sold out Hordern Pavilion looks like. The never ending merch line ride is over and everyone has filled in space and taken their seat. I’ve been asked by punters to take more iPhone photos than ever before and it’s nothing but smiles down the front.
Babymetal have a reputation as a must see live act and it showed from the second the lights dimmed. With a Star Wars inspired intro the mood is set and the masked band enter the stage to a roaring ovation. I think it gets forgotten that musically there is a very talented band behind Babymetal and they showed that as they launch into “BABYMETAL DEATH” a five minute riff heavy intro where all members get to flex.
Enter the incredibly talented Su-metal, Moametal & the newest member of the trio, Momometal.
The three have the crowd jumping and raising their horns in unison with their perfectly choreographed set. Before launching into the catchy as hell power ballad ‘Megitsune’. Whether you speak Japanese or not, it’s hard not to be bouncing and singing along to the chorus.
Track three! ‘Line!’ The genre spanning 4-minute epic that starts off sounding like something straight from a Dragonforce record before breaking hard left into a game soundtrack from the 90’s, cue hard riffs, a hip hop section & the biggest breakdown the band have before seamlessly returning to the catchiest J-pop chorus.
Visually the set is stunning. From the digital backdrops ever changing imagery, perfectly set lighting and the energy the girls bring from start to finish. Babymetal contuine charging through songs ‘Mirror Mirror’ ‘BxMxC’ & ‘PA PA YA’. It’s hard to call anything a crowd favourite with every song getting the reaction of a normal hit single.
The last 12 months I have been fortunate to see & shoot various bands from different parts of the world bringing their own unique sound influenced by their country of origin with The Hu & Heilung to name a few others. If this is a new trend I’m all for it and it’s obvious crowds are as well. The diversity these shows & bands bring are a much needed breath of fresh air. Weather it’s die hard fans, kids, people who may just be curious to see something different. I’ll quote the intro to Babymetal’s set as it sums it all up
“The spirt of heavy metal traversed across the world. Rose above language barriers. Went beyond generations. And created countless legends. Life & Death. Beginnings and endings. In this infinite loop the spirt goes on living. Are you ready to head-bang. Now is the time for the metal-verse with BABYMETAL”
