Babymetal announced tour dates for the spring today that reach across the U.S. and Europe. The heavy metal rock band formed in Japan in 2010, and have come to embody what is now known as ‘Kawaii Metal.’ The band has three members and each has a stage name. Suzuka Nakamoto goes by “Su-metal”, Yui Mizuno by “Yuimetal” and Moa Kikuchi by “Moametal.”

The three hard rockers conceived of this out-of-the-box project as a mix between the sounds of heavy metal and aesthetics of Japanese idols. “Kawaii” is typically understood to mean ‘cute.’ Babymetal therefore attempt to turn a certifiably un-cute genre into something on par with J-pop. However, ‘cute metal’ is just one of their monikers. Critics regularly describe their music as ‘death,’ ‘speed,’ or ‘power’ metal.

The trio all perform vocals as well as dance, while a backing band—Kami Band—takes charge of the instruments. Establishment metal bands have given Babymetal their nod of approval, saying that they’ve managed to make metal cute without taking away its edge. This upcoming tour will be the group’s first tour since the death of Kami Band guitarist, Mikio Fujioka, who passed away earlier this year.

Babymetal Tour Dates:

05/08 Kansas City, MO – Uptown Theater

05/10 Austin, TX – ACL Live at The Moody Theater

05/11 Dallas, TX – House Of Blues Dallas

05/13 Houston, TX – Revention Music Center

05/15 Atlanta, GA – Tabernacle Atlanta

05/17 Charlotte, NC – The Fillmore

05/18 Nashville, TN – Marathon Music Works

05/20 Columbus, OH – Rock On The Range
06/01 Nurburg, GER – Rock am Ring

06/02 Nuremberg, GER – Rock im Park

06/04 Innsbruck, AUT – Music Hall

06/05 Utrecht, NET – Tivoli

06/09 Derbyshire, UK – Download Festival