Smashing It Out Of The Park With BABYBEARD

Interview by Kris Peters
Heavy Metal and J-Pop are two genres which, for all intents and
purposes, should not be joined in sonic matrimony, but try telling
that to Australian-born Japanese sensation Ladybeard and the two
girls who make up Babybeard.
Since 2020, the powerful trio has existed in some form or another,
spearheaded throughout by wrestler turned DJ turned vocalist
Ladybeard, who brings not only a sense of danger to the group, but
also an abundance of energy and fun that has seen their music
transcend barriers the world over. Children who have never liked
metal before suddenly think it's cool because Babybeard do it, and
on the other side of the fence, metalheads who would have
previously been embarrassed for anyone to witness them listening to
J-Pop now have a legitimate reason due to the two worlds
colliding.
It is a brand of music that unites genres and defies expectations,
all wrapped in a pretty pink bow and pigtails. Sound strange? Well,
take a listen and tell me I'm wrong…
After decimating Australian audiences in 2024 with their Adorable
Assault On Australia tour, Babybeard return to reclaim their throne
with a special one-off performance at SMASH Convention 2025 in
Sydney over July 12 and 13. Spread over the weekend, Babybeard will
be doing a showcase performance as well as a meet and greet
question time, along the way ushering in brand new trainee member
Mizuki, who is not only performing with Babybeard for the first
time in Australia, will also be making her international performing
debut of any kind.
As long-time friends of HEAVY, when we found out Babybeard were
coming Down Under once more, we harassed Ladybeard until he agreed
to an interview, with the effervescent frontman once again
providing a plethora of delights.
"There's something for everybody," Ladybeard promised. "There's
drama, there's tragedy, there's comedy, there's no romance. But,
you know, apart from that, there's something for absolutely
everyone."
When talk turns to last year's tour, Ladybeard reveals something
totally unexpected.
"Last year in Sydney - for the first time ever - we had a wall of
death at one of our shows," he laughed. "It was awesome. It was our
first show in Sydney, again, it was a weeknight, so it was not the
biggest show that we had. But we're there, we're leading into the
last song, and there had just been a shoey, so the stage is wet and
everyone was feeling frivolous, and as I was just introducing the
last song, someone in the audience yells out, 'wall of death!' So
we're like, okay, if you guys want to. The girls have never seen a
wall of death before because in Japan, we do shows for idol fans,
right? So that was their first ever wall of death. It was
interesting because there was a bunch of loose chairs on the floor,
so it was a pretty dangerous wall of death, but they got through
it."
In the full interview, Ladybeard reflected on their previous tour
in Australia, sharing memorable experiences and expressing
excitement about returning to connect with fans. The conversation
highlighted the unique blend of Japanese pop and heavy metal in
their music, emphasizing the importance of creating a community
atmosphere during performances that encourages audience
participation.
We spoke about the live show and what to expect, the drafting of
Mizuki into the band, their expectations of Australian crowds, how
blending heavy metal and Japanese pop is accepted in Japan, milking
Kangaroos and more.


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