Vitalizing tunes that work faster than a stream of caffeine
5 January 2026
In 2025 Japanese kawaii metal-pop sensation BABYMETAL celebrated 15th years
as a band. Wow, time flies supersonically. The girls were still kids back then.
Moametal, one of the members toldKerrang: “Despite everything we’ve been
through, I’m grateful and relieved that BABYMETAL is still standing strong.
There are times that I just wanted to give up and moments I just wanted to run away,
but the thought that the team I love may fall apart if I walk away kept me going. Before
I knew it, I was doing everything I could to protect BABYMETAL.”
The turbulent Tokyo trio also released their new,
5th full-length called Metal Forth last year.
To kick off 2026 and to mark 15th years ofBabymetal again they
re-recorded 2015 single HEADBANGEREEEEERRRRR!!!!! from their
debut LP.
I’m not a dedicated fan/follower of the genre, but when Babymetal strikes
I can’t resist doing some crazy moves and enjoying the bombastic spectacle.
Still suffering from a New Year hangover?
This volcanic blow-up will get you over it.
In order to not miss a beat Turn Up The Volume scans the musical
horizon daily (doing it for years now, actually) to stay in touch with
all new things sonically great and shares the results on a weekly
basis.
Check the 10 new rad cuts just
added to this rad 2023 playlist.
This sharp-rap-cutting Los Angeles duo released their highly acclaimed riot-gun album Mid Air last month. This 3rd single is nothing less than fucktastic, with a sickly sticky flow, a killer guitar riff and the tandem’s adrenalized vocality.
2. ‘What’s The Point In Life’ by COACH PARTY (England)
These young British punk-pop gunslingers will follow their blistering 5-track debut EP Parasite with their debut LP Killjoy on 8 September. It will surely crank up the (justified)
hype around this mean rock machine. Can’t wait to see them live (in Belgium).
The kawaii metal girls teamed up with Rage Against The Machine guitarist Tom Morello
for this new head-banging blast. Their mix of catchy metal, pop-punk melodies and
pithy/screamy vocals is a is infallible formula.
4. ‘S l o w l y, L o n g’ by VIRGINS (Belfast, Ireland)
Their 2022 debut EP Transmit A Little Heaven made it loud and
clear that these young shoegazers like to turn up amps and speed.
S l o w l y, l o n g confirms that sonic taste with layers of scintillating guitars going
everywhere fast and a swirling drummer who never backs down. And singer Rebecca
Dow‘s hallucinatory vocals add both a ghostly and sensuous feel.
Hippocandy is a railroad journey, insistent repeating rhythm and wailing blues harp,
growly voice and Rock n Roll feel guitar all adds up to a crazy mixed genre that hints
of Folk, Bluegrass, Rock, Gypsy, Industrial, hip hop and post punk.
The crazed harmonica play, the raw punk-blues pace, the bewildering
groaning/howling vocals. The ghost of Captain Beefheart is omnipresent.
VvV is the musical project of Michael Wynn. Last summer inspired him to write
this new piece, in the voice of someone who is looking for purpose, and some
sort of legacy in their life.
Not The Man is a rollicking earworm your eager ears just can’t resist.
It’s a glorious-amplified pop tune, that in a normal world, should be
a hit.
Rian is a seasoned troubadour/songwriter who likes to stir the sounds of Roots, Country and Folk into a nice pot of musical soup. Along with his band he released a new album, titled Midwest Boy.
Highlight Jim Bristol made me instantly think of Johnny Cash going to Reno, and killing
a man just to watch him die. Well, that’s what the late icon told us when he had some Folsom prison blues.
Unveiling an audacious blend of post-punk and alternative rock in a dark
and gritty sonic landscape, TV People are set to make waves in the
indie music scene with this deeply profound new single.
Die Down reflects on cyclical patterns of love, conflict, and resolution in a relationship.
It is written from the perspective of a person who feels trapped in a negative cycle in their love life, where unresolved issues repeatedly cause pain to both them and their partner despite the immense love and support that flows between them.
Expect an electrical, layered guitar-driven track that changes speed along
its moody course while heartfelt vocals going through the relationship crisis.
They talk about it in an interview with Kerrang! Some quotes here.
One of the singles off the album is the
bombastic banger METAL KINGDOM.
Watch/listen.
*Kawaii, also named idol metal, cute metal, J-pop metal or kawaiicore is a musical genre that blends elements of heavy metal and J-pop that was pioneered in Japan in the early 2010s.
Japanese teenage metal sensation BABYMETAL will
play two massive concerts in January in Chiba.
The band’s management just announced that they will be sectioning off an area in standing called the SILENT MOSH’SH PIT, for fans who have children or “who are not confident in their physical strength, etc”. In this silent pit, gig-goers are encouraged not
to shout, cheer, talk loudly or participate in any other behaviour “that may be an inconvenience to other customers”.
Also wearing a mouth mask is required. All visitors will receive Saviour Mask,
which is the official dress code and is required to be worn on top of your own
mask.
Weekly series of five rolling ripsnorters to go bananas to this summer…
Summer holiday is over! Let’s have a final big bang to end these summer series
in noisy style! Here are 5 roaring festival performances from this past summer…
1. ‘Bigmouth Strikes Again’ by JOHNNY MARR – Glastonbury UK
2. ‘Drain The Blood’ by THE DISTILLERS Reading + Leeds, UK
