Photo credit: Raymond Flotat

Today, heavy metal group Babymetal teamed up with fellow metal group Bloodywood to release a new single, titled “Kon! Kon!” The track comes off Babymetal’s upcoming album METAL FORTH, set for release on August 8th. “Kon! Kon!” not only is one of many singles released in anticipation of the full album, but it’s one of many collaborations with their peers in the metal scene. A video for the track can be found on the group’s YouTube channel.

Babymetal are often considered the pioneers of “kawaii metal”- a take on heavy metal with the concepts of Japanese idols and cultural aesthetics of soft, cute things. On the flip side, Bloodywood began by mixing Bollywood tracks and Indian folk songs with the sounds of nu-metal and rap metal popularized by groups like Linkin Park before creating their own original tracks. A collaboration between these two is already a unique melding of two cultures when you leave out the thrashing guitars and chains that come with metal – yet it’s also surprisingly not the first time these two groups have come together to serve up their own flavor of metal. Compared to their prior outing, “Kon! Kon!” seems to take a little more from Bloodywood’s use of constantly shredding guitars, chanting crowds and electronic synths over traditional instrumentals, but just like before it creates an unforgettably unique sound intersecting English, Indian and Japanese cultures into one rocking tune. The video for the track features both groups performing live, with Babymetal performing flashy dance moves in tune with the track.

Babymetal is currently touring across North America. Fans of this culture-crossing metal collaboration will be happy to know that Bloodywood is set to appear at a majority of these showings.