Review: BABYMETAL @ AEC Theatre 14/03/26
Witnessing a BABYMETAL show is an immersive experience like no other. Check out what went down when the Japanese kawaii metal band took over Adelaide.
Words Will Oakeshott // Images Skye Sampson
BABYMETAL w/Bloodywood & Magnolia Park @ AEC THEATRE 14/03/26
“To me, very much of what is artistic is people's very creative and inventive ways out of impossible situations.” – James Taylor.
It could be argued that Boston’s cherished singer-songwriter and guitarist, James Taylor, would more than likely not have had a considerable affiliation with any of the acts that performed at this stupendous event. However, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee undoubtedly commands a wealth of knowledge about artistry - his achievements alone speak highly to this. Therefore, when it comes to the utilisation of artistic integrity to remarkably reshape, re-establish, re-imagine or even revolutionise a genre (or subgenre) of music, the six-time Grammy Award winner’s above quotation speaks in significantly loud volumes.
For the three genre-bending and inventive outfits on show this night, their creativity encompasses the potential to make what was thought impossible an astounding actuality.
A 45-minute delay to the commencement of the showcase resulted in an understandable amplification of tension and anticipation for the spectators that reached agonising levels. When a sudden darkness overtook the theatre, a cheer of relief was expressed from the rapidly growing audience. An eerie heartbeat motivated soundtrack enriched by euphoric electronica irradiated from the speakers, and although the anticipation had generally eased, the abundant tension still remained at a peculiarly escalated level.
When the statement “Join The Vampires Magnolia Park” lit up the blacked backscreen with blood red lettering, the tension immediately transformed to exhilaration. Orlando’s Magnolia Park entered the stage area swiftly. We had all waited too long for this moment, and not one more second was going to be wasted.
‘Animal’ sparked off the demonstration with a vicious nu metal rapcore bite. Guitarist Tristan Torres was borderline volatile, crab-walking with murderous intent, while guitarist and vocalist Freddie Criales and frontman Joshua Roberts exchanged maliciousness and melodies in determined tenacity.
A demanded “wall of death” did not quite go to plan, as the onlookers were more driven by fascination than frenzy. Despite this, when the track hit its peak in the midst of a latter chorus, Josh snared all of the spotlight with an extended acapella delivery of the poetic statement,
“I AM THE ANIMAL!” which momentarily silenced the audience. This was until the techno-motivated-metalcore breakdown erupted ferociously, channelling the influential Architects in their marvellous modern era.
‘Cult’ fused Bring Me The Horizon with Loathe and The Word Alive rather sublimely and emboldened the audience to ramp up their involvement with jumping, singing and magnetised clap-alongs to the powerful percussion of Joe Horsham.
“Tristan is going to join you in the crowd and show you how to do a circle pit properly,” Joshua explained as the guitarist descended from the theatre’s enormous platform into the dancefloor section of the arena. ‘OMEN’ was to be the metallic cyberpunk take-off for the circular crowd race, blending the popcore instruction of Boston Manor with the electropunk lunacy of The Prodigy. At this juncture, it was apparent that Magnolia Park had accomplished what was thought to be almost impossible; they engaged the concertgoers to partake in the madness.
‘CHASING SHADOWS’ showcased a more passive, pop-metal ballad motif rather similar to a Dayseeker collaboration with Owl City. ‘DANGEROUS’ undertook a near Childish Gambino instruction to begin, before moving towards a Too Close To Touch djent-pop orientation with cutting-edge R&B essence. The closer, ‘SHALLOW’, escalated everything that Magnolia Park’s creative approach executes with exceptional refinement.
In all honesty, from the distressing delay and confusion, the chemistry of the exhibition was rather rattled. To Magnolia’s credit and inventive musical ways, they soared through those ‘Storm Clouds’ mystically.
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Shortly after the conclusion of the opening set, almost unforeseeably, the Entertainment Centre’s lights faded out, as well as the backscreen. A deafening roar exploded from the now-capacity crowd, but this was soon to be discovered as a false start. Irked, but very inspirited, the thousands of showgoers commenced a “Bloody-Wood” chant of soccer stadium status.
The proper introduction then eventuated and the resulting reaction was, simply put, hysteria.
Percussionist Vishesh Singh stormed the stage first, instantaneously attacking his drum kit with immeasurable vigour. Dhol player (and multi-instrumentalist) Sarthak Pahwa came promptly after with a beaming smile and embarked upon his party-inciting rumbling. Guitarist and multi-instrumentalist Karan Katiyar, bassist Roshan Roy, and co-vocalists Jayant Bhadula and Raoul Kerr then made their charge – Bloodywood were here, and they were ‘Bekhauf’ (‘Fearless’) in making Adelaide Entertainment Centre their new home of metallic divinity.
‘Gaddaar’ was Adelaide’s initiation to the metal ceremony that is a Bloodywood extravaganza, and their impact was incredibly imposing, sensationally spiritual and charismatically captivating. The sextet bounced, head-banged, windmilled and ambushed the theatre’s platform like a pack of vicious Asiatic lions, with the enthusiastic South Australians within the venue becoming the sextet’s very willing prey. Matter-of-factly, if David Attenborough were to do a feature-length documentary of the aforementioned predatory feline species, this folk nu metalcore Bengali bombardment SHOULD be the opening musical chapter.
“How the fuck are we doing, ADELAIDE?” Jayant Bhadula bellowed to the thousands of adorers.
“We put everything on the line, because metal is not big in our country, but thanks to Australia, and all around the world, WE ARE STILL FUCKING GOING!” Raoul Kerr screamed in elatedness.
‘Aaj’ was a thrashtastic electro nu math metalcore adventure that featured guitarist Karan Katiyar on a traditional flute – this elaborately excellent composition justified that Bloodywood are already at stadium band status. The following rapcore exodus ‘Dana-Dan’, which discusses the harmful effects of and necessity for action against sexual assault, was dazzlingly decorated.
“…what is artistic is people's very creative and inventive way.” This is BLOODYWOOD’s magnificent modus operandi.
After a small blunder of referring to Adelaide as the wrong city, the band launched into ‘Bekhauf’ – their dance-core collaboration with headliners BABYMETAL. This scintillating single built the magnificent mania to impossible levels; it was very difficult to believe that this was Bloodywood’s first Australian tour, and that they were, in fact, the support act.
“Welcome Adelaide to Nu Dehli,” both vocalists yelled as the six-piece ROCKeted into ‘Nu Dehli’ and instructed South Australia to “open up the pit” – at this point, the pit was permanently in that state anyway. Essentially, it was only intensifying, and the In Hearts Wake groove enriched the powerful presentation majestically.
‘Halla Bol’ was a rampage of disco-metal until the final minute of the song, where the resounding “NEVER KNEEL” scream brought upon a delightful breakdown devastation that felt like it nearly collapsed the venue’s floor underneath the 3000 devotees.
At the announcement of their final song, a tidal wave of sadness crashed upon the AEC, but thankfully, it was short-lived.
“Adelaide, you are fucking fabulous, together we are BLOODYWOOD!” Bhadula exclaimed in rhapsodic ecstasy.
‘Machi Bhasad” went beyond “hard to the core” as lyrically described. A literal onslaught of rap, jangular nu metalcore beatdowns, “Hey!” chants, sirens, folk, dance and rhythm – it sounds practically and technically implausible. However, this was political musical artistry that went above “creative and inventive”.
A headlining return tour is not just requested, it is required, and in a bigger venue as soon as possible.
A BABYMETAL experience is not just a concert, it is ritualistic. Trailblazers of the Kawaii metal genre, blending elements of metal with J-pop, their exhibitions are lavish, sophisticated exposés of pop-metallic grandeur. If there is a faultless exemplification of James Taylor’s “what is artistic is people's very creative and inventive ways out of impossible situations”, it is Suzuka Nakamoto, Moa Kikuchi and Momoko Okazaki’s dreamlike genre-blending and inventive creation that has become an astonishing reality of global adoration.
The passionate enthusiasm for BABYMETAL radiated throughout the entirety of South Australia. During the setup process, System Of A Down’s ‘Chop Suey!’ provoked a venue-wide sing-along that silenced the Thunderbirds netball game occurring next door.
The backscreen lit up with an animated short film that was almost hopeless to understand due to the crowd’s volume in both noise and numbers.
“Whether this encounter was by coincidence or by fate, there’s no way anyone would know, only the Fox God knows. Are you ready to headbang? Now is the time for the METAL FORTH with BABYMETAL!”
That was the announcement…
The trio’s entrance was the dynamic destruction.
Pyrotechnics, theatrics, smoke cannon machines, masked musicians – it wasn’t the opera, but perhaps a metallic J-pOpera. Nevertheless, this was monuMETAL.
‘BABYMETAL DEATH’ was the gargantuan opener that pulsated and devastated in rapturous heaviness. There was no time to catch one’s breath, or even blink. Soon after ‘from me to u’, the prodigious Poppy collaboration, was blindingly brilliant in brutiful blissfulness.
It should be highlighted that the focus for this night’s demonstration was the latest BABYMETAL: opus Metal Forth released in 2025. The LP (like many BABYMETAL releases) hosts an array of magnificent metal musicians, and to clarify, many were not actually present for this astounding exhibition. However, the utilisation of the act’s renowned film clips, backing band and artistic integrity created an experience unlike any other present in this magical musical realm.
‘Doki Doki ☆ Morning’ had a video game charm, with cartoon breakfast show wholeheartedness and terroRIFFic ruination. Su-metal, Moametal and Momometal’s synchronised dance movements were above inventive and undeniably electrifying.
A comic book animation including a thunderous atmosphere and a bear led into the HERoically hellacious single ‘song 3’ featuring Slaughter To Prevail. A rap-deathcore savagery guided ‘BxMxC’ roaringly – this whole production emitted an aura that exceeded reality, truthfully, the showcase did transport us to another universe. Thankfully, BABYMETAL not only bend rules, but they make “impossible situations” very REAL!
Bloodywood’s Jayant Bhadula and Raoul Kerr jumped back onto the embellished platform for ‘Kon! Kon!’, which was above charismetallic. ‘METALI’ raged, especially with the Tom Morello inclusion on-screen with his charming, unique guitar solos. ‘My Queen’ was a ‘Tsunami Sea’ of djent destruction featuring Spiritbox’s metal empress Courtney Laplante. Then ‘Monochrome’ opened the skies up with its power metal ballad delivery, even though this venue was in fact indoors. The lightning factor was beautifully emblazed by the sold-out audience (of all ages) illuminating the venue with their phone’s flashlight.
The energy changed to rave-mode for the Electric Callboy collaboration ‘RATATATA’ that presented an atmosphere of deranged Daft Punk psychosis with HEAVY riffs and gymnastic jumping. ‘PA PA YA’ was a whirlpool of melody and madness, especially with HERO’s trapcore inclusion.
Where it all began, ‘Gimme Chocolate!’ put the EXTRA in extravagant. How this pop-thrash extreme endearment has not appeared in the Olympics for an athlete’s gymnast routine or a skateboarder’s theme music is practically inconceivable. This is an anthem, with no need for nationality – that’s what BABYMETAL does best, they unify people of all cultures, ages and demographics via timeless original artistry.
A faultless place to conclude the ritual, but gratefully this wasn’t, the single ‘Headbangeeeeerrrrr!!!!!’ commenced with an organ introduction that encompassed a Tim Burton cinematic presence, with puppet dance theatrics causing this exposé to be truly out of this universe.
To conclude, ‘Road Of Resistance’, which combined the drametallics of Dethklok with the elegance and splendour of an award-winning contemporary ballet. Remarkably, this composition could be considered a reimagination of Frozen, or better yet, a ruination of that fantastic film by a metallic masterpiece.
On that note, Disney, if you are reading, BABYMETAL are your next focus for a metallic masterpiece movie.
“WE ARE BABYMETAL!” Suzuka Nakamoto shrieked as each member held up their Australian tribute BABYMETAL flags signalling the end of this memorable metallic J-Popera blockbuster.
What a “very creative and inventive” way to turn an “impossible” musical dream into a breathtaking reality.
Want more pics of the gig? Check out our full photo gallery here.
