It’s been about a week since April Fool’s Day, and we actually fooled a few people with our story that Phil Anselmo had signed J-pop/metal teen sensations Babymetal to Southern Lord Records. Today, however, it was announced that the band have signed a proper American deal with RAL/Sony Music Entertainment. We can’t say we’re surprised, as they’re a legitimate sensation in Japan, and have managed to sell over 17,000 copies of their self-titled album as an import over the past year.

The band’s 2014 album will be re-released in America with two bonus tracks: “Road of Resistance” (the song that features DragonForce’s Herman Li and Sam Totman), and a live version of “Gimme Chocolate!!”  It will be out digitally on May 12th and physically on Tuesday, June 16th.

Here’s what VP of Marketing at RAL/Sony Music Entertainment Bill Richards says:

“After witnessing the band’s sold-out New York show, we knew we wanted to be involved. The core metal fans and metal press seem to get BABYMETAL, which shows how the language of music transcends boundaries. They hit all the entertainment buttons and are really fun to watch.”

We’re curious to see how it sells here, given that American fans have been able to purchase the album digitally (minus the two tracks, of course) for over a year. With a physical release for the first time in the States, it’ll  be interesting to see how that sells first week.

Here’s here they’ll be playing on their “The Dark Knights Begin” tour. Note that there are only three North American dates.

5/09 Mexico City, Mexico @ Circo Voladar
5/12 Toronto, ON @ Danforth Muysic Hall
5/14 Chicago, IL @ House of Blues
5/16 Columbus, OH @ Rock on the Range
5/29 Munich, Germany @ ROCKAVARIA
5/30 Gelsenkirchen, Germany @ ROCK IM REVIER
6/01 Strasbourg, France @ La Laiterie
6/03 Zurich, Switzerland @ X-Tra
6/05 Bologna, Italy @ Estragon Club
6/06 Vienna, Austria @ ROCK IN VIENNA
6/21 Chiba, Japan @ MAKUHARI MESSE