BABYMETAL, a band that some people really love and then there are some who hate them.

One person who is a staunch defender of the band is Opeth singer/guitarist Mikael Akerfeldt. Akerfeldt was recently interviewed by Asq.me, and when prompted for his thoughts on them, here’s his response:

“I love Babymetal. They have a song called “Gimme Chocolate.” I think it’s a great influx for metal. It shakes everything around. If you listen to them, really, established metal bands who would take the p*ss out of them… they wouldn’t know what they’re talking about. It’s a heavy band. The format is not something I sit around and listen to on a daily basis if I’m perfectly honest.

Mikael further revealed how BabyMetal helped his daughters get over Justin Bieber and One Direction. He said:

When I heard them, because I have two daughters, and my oldest daughter is 10 years old, and I was thinking “she’s going to love this.” Maybe I can get her off Justin Bieber and One Direction and maybe I can get her into Babymetal. And it worked. She loved the songs that she heard, and I got my friend to send her a Babymetal hoodie.

I think it’s great, but not something that I personally listen to too much. Good musicians! The guitar player plays with Marty Friedman, I think, so I enjoy them. I do!”