Babymetal

Sometimes extreme metal can get a little too serious for its own good, which means it’s time for a good pants-kicking. What better way to do that than by combining the genre with idol-based J-Pop? The brainchild of producer Kobayashi Kei, Babymetal’s debut combined some seriously brutal metal (courtesy of fox-masked session pros) with the alternating angelic/devilish singing and dancing of the trio of teenage girls in front. Other acts have tried the same thing since, but they lack one thing – the sugary meat hooks of songs like “Megitsune,” “Gimme Choko!!,” and “Headbanger!!”