BABYMETAL spoke to NME at Download 2024 about collaborating with some of biggest names in metal and their evolution over the past decade.

The trio – comprised of founding members Su-Metal and Moametal, and new addition Momometal – caught up with us backstage at the Donington Park festival, shortly before they took to the stage for a huge performance on Saturday (June 15).

It came on the heels of the band joining forces with Electric Callboy for the huge single ‘RATATATA’ last month – the latest of their many star-studded collaborations and their first track to make its way onto the US charts.

“It’s only been a month since we shot the music video, so, it doesn’t feel real,” Moametal told us about the massive response to the song in America. “I still can’t believe it, but I had so much fun making it. I’m so happy [with how it turned out] and so glad that many people have listened to it.”

The track arrived after the band welcomed new member Momometal into the line-up, following the departure of Yuimetal in 2018. Real name Momoko Okazaki, she joined having being a contestant on Girls Planet 999 and one of the band’s backup dancers since 2019.

“We’re having fun together every day, she’s amazing – as is Su-Metal,” said Moametal. “I’m so happy to be working with them and so happy to be here. We’re excited to keep on working with such a great team.”

Since joining, the band have gone on to collaborate with some of the biggest names in the metal world – including Rage Against The Machine and Audioslave icon Tom Morello. Creating the track ‘Metali’ together last year, the group told us what it was like to work with the guitarist on a song that they hoped would make to crowds form a circle pit at this summer’s festivals.

“When I heard the demo from Tom, I thought it was magical [because] I got sucked into his world. I still can’t believe that we worked on it with him,” explained Su-Metal, adding that the two had caught up backstage moments earlier. “We met him again lately and he just said ‘I’m a really big fan of BABYMETAL’, so I was just so happy to hear that.”

Praise from the metal world has also come from the likes of Bring Me The Horizon frontman Oli Sykes, who had teamed up with the trio numerous times already, including at their recent set at Sick New World. During the slot, they came together to deliver a blistering rendition of their 2020 collab with Sheffield, ‘Kingslayer’. “I was very happy to join them on stage again – when we headbanged together it was such a happy moment that I don’t even know how to put it into words,” Momometal explained.

Following their mammoth set at Download 2024, the group are set to play a huge co-headline show with Bad Omens on June 23, where they will head to France’s 11,000-capacity Zénith Toulouse Métropole. This will be followed by a series of headline shows across North America, kicking off in Florida towards the end of the year. While they were reluctant to share any details about what surprises may be installed for the tour  – telling us “only the fox God knows” for sure – the band did reiterate that they don’t want to deviate too far from their roots.

“You know what? We haven’t changed at all,” explained Su-Metal, looking back at the band’s evolution, 10 years after their debut album. “We have always been BABYMETAL, the way we are and we still have a long way to go. [Being here now is] all thanks to everyone who supported us, whether it’s our fans, the media, staff, or even other bands we’ve met before.”

BABYMETAL will perform with Bad Omens in France on June 23, before heading to the US for a run of headline shows later this year. Find remaining tickets to all their upcoming tour dates here.