Metal purists spent the better part of a decade insisting these bands didn't belong.
Japanese idol pop mixed with blast beats? Indian folk instruments over nu metal breakdowns? Not real metal, apparently. Except now both acts are headlining arenas worldwide, collaborating on each other’s albums, and proving that the gatekeepers were wrong all along.
Japanese kawaii metal pioneers Babymetal return to Australia in March 2026 with Indian metal innovators Bloodywood for five arena shows.
You don’t have to look very hard to see why this pairing makes sense. Both acts spent years being told they weren’t proper metal, both proved the gatekeepers wrong on a global scale, and now they’re touring together after swapping guest spots on each other’s 2025 albums. This isn’t just a support slot situation either. It’s two bands that rewrote what heavy music can sound like sharing stages across Perth, Adelaide, Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane.
Babymetal and Bloodywood
- 12 March – HPC, Perth
- 14 March – AEC Theatre, Adelaide
- 17 March – John Cain Arena, Melbourne
- 20 March – Hordern Pavilion, Sydney
- 22 March – Riverstage, Brisbane
- Destroy All Lines Presale: Tue 11 Nov, 10am (local time)
- GP On sale: Thu 13 Nov, 10am (local time)
- Tickets here
Stay up to date with what’s happening in and around Melbourne here.
When genre fusion actually works
Babymetal spent 15 years turning sceptics into believers. What started as a subunit of Japanese idol group Sakura Gakuin in 2010 became something much bigger once producer Kobametal realised lead vocalist Suzuka Nakamoto needed her own project. The concept seemed ridiculous at first. Take three teenagers who’d never heard metal before, dress them in gothic lolita costumes, and have them perform over crushing riffs delivered by session musicians in skeleton outfits.
The band’s 2014 self-titled debut arrived like a Molotov cocktail thrown into the metal establishment. Tracks like Gimme Chocolate paired blast beats with J-pop melodies, creating something that shouldn’t have worked but absolutely did. When original member Yui Mizuno departed in 2018 due to health issues, Babymetal continued as a duo before adding Momoko Okazaki as a full member in 2023. She’d been rotating as a backup dancer since 2019, so the fit was natural.
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Their trajectory kept climbing. Metal Forth dropped in August 2025 and became the first all-Japanese album to crack the Billboard 200 top 10. The record featured collaborations with Tom Morello, Spiritbox and Electric Callboy, but one track in particular set up this Australian tour. Kon! Kon! brought Bloodywood into the Babymetal universe, establishing a creative connection that made touring together inevitable.
Just weeks ago, Babymetal sold out the Intuit Dome in Los Angeles, becoming the first Japanese act to headline that venue. The show was livestreamed to 47 theatres across Japan. When a band can pull that off while their latest single The End becomes the first Japanese-language track to chart on US rock radio, you’re watching something historically significant unfold.
The corporate lawyer who quit to destroy pop music
Bloodywood’s origin story reads like someone made it up. Karan Katiyar was working as a corporate lawyer in New Delhi in 2016, spending his spare time uploading metal covers of Bollywood songs to YouTube. He couldn’t find a decent vocalist until meeting Jayant Bhadula at a local gig. Bhadula was managing talent at an entertainment company, not performing, but his vocal range convinced Katiyar to quit his legal career and form a band with one stated goal: destroying pop songs.
Their 2017 cover of Linkin Park’s Heavy caught international attention when Metal Hammer declared it what the original should have sounded like. More covers followed, including a bhangra version of Tunak Tunak Tun, but things shifted in 2018 when they released Ari Ari with rapper Raoul Kerr. Bollywood actress Ileana D’Cruz shared it with her millions of Instagram followers, and suddenly Bloodywood had an audience that wanted original material.
The band responded by writing songs about depression, bullying and sexual assault. Their 2019 track Jee Veerey came with 60 free counselling sessions for fans. When they toured Europe that year, they donated all profits to buy an animal ambulance for a local NGO. We reckon this is just how they operate.
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Their 2022 debut album Rakshak made them India’s first metal act to chart on Billboard. The record balanced social commentary with traditional Indian instrumentation, proving you could sing in Hindi and Punjabi while delivering nu metal breakdowns. Track Dana Dan ended up in Dev Patel’s action thriller Monkey Man. Not bad for a band that started as YouTube joke covers.
Nu Delhi arrived in March 2025 as a love letter to their hometown’s music scene. The eight-track album featured Babymetal on Bekhauf, a trilingual banger sung in Hindi, Japanese and English. When three women from Tokyo can seamlessly integrate with a New Delhi metal band singing about fearlessness, you’re watching genre boundaries dissolve in real time.
Two different roads to the same stage
Babymetal played Knotfest Australia in February and March 2025, hitting Melbourne’s Flemington Racecourse and Brisbane Showgrounds. Those festival slots came between headline sideshows at Fortitude Music Hall and Enmore Theatre that sold out quickly. Australian crowds have seen them three times now, starting with Good Things Festival in 2018 and continuing through their first headline tour in 2023.
Their live show is pure spectacle. The triangle formation with Su-metal at the centre flanked by Moametal and Momometal creates visual symmetry that amplifies the choreography. Between songs, they freeze in position or turn away from the crowd, maintaining an otherworldly presence. Instead of throwing devil horns, they use the kitsune fox gesture after initially mistaking photos of the metal hand sign for a fox head. Management decided the error was perfect and kept it.
The backing band evolved from the Babybones, nameless session players in skeleton costumes who mimed to backing tracks. Now the Kami Band are respected musicians who actually play the instruments, giving performances genuine heaviness. When Babymetal headlined London’s O2 Arena in May 2025, becoming the first Japanese act to do so, they proved arena-level production could serve kawaii metal just as effectively as any traditional metal act.
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Bloodywood haven’t toured Australia yet, which makes this run their proper introduction. Their live reputation precedes them though. European crowds at Wacken Open Air and Download Festival got the full experience of dhol drums, flutes and tumbis cutting through nu metal aggression. Vocalist Jayant Bhadula handles the harsh vocals while Raoul Kerr delivers rapid-fire verses in multiple languages, creating a dynamic that keeps crowds locked in.
The band documented their first European tour in Raj Against the Machine, a YouTube documentary showing three musicians from Delhi’s suburbs navigating sold-out shows and hurricane evacuations in Russia. Fans bring flags to shows, get lyrics tattooed and create personalised gifts. This level of devotion built organically through music that addresses real issues while maintaining hooks that stick in your head for days.
Why March 2026 matters
This tour arrives at a moment when both bands are riding genuine momentum. Babymetal signed with Capitol Records and spent 2025 touring constantly, while Bloodywood locked in a deal with Fearless Records and released an album that critics called their strongest work yet. Neither act is coasting on past success. They’re actively pushing boundaries and expanding their sound.
The venue choices reflect confidence in ticket sales. John Cain Arena holds over 10,000 people. Hordern Pavilion fits around 5,000. These aren’t club shows. Pre-sale registration opens 11 November with tickets going to general sale 13 November.
Both bands represent modern metal’s refusal to stay in one lane. Babymetal proved heavy music could incorporate idol pop without losing its edge. Bloodywood showed folk instruments and nu metal belonged together. Together on the same bill, they’re making the argument that metal in 2026 has room for everyone willing to bring something genuine to the table.
For metalheads tired of the same recycled sounds, this tour offers something different.
For more information, head here.
This article was made in partnership with Destroy All Lines.
