BABYMETAL - The Other One (2023)^{Release ID: 43441}

It has been just about a decade since BABYMETAL embraced the world with their presence and I think it is safe to say that the controversy around this group is long gone. Their brand of niche metal meets J-pop was a strange combination for most (especially in the west), but one thing you could never accuse BABYMETAL of was not having fun. And now, bands like Electric Callboy and older bands like Alestorm are showing resurgences among the quagmire of the same, boring metalcore breakdowns played to death by every new band.

BABYMETAL's biggest problem on their last album was lack of variety and that does seem to be resolved here, but probably not in the way the group was expecting. This record feels a lot darker than before, with tracks like "Divine Attack - Shingeki -" sounding closer to melodic death metal; and it isn't the only time a song like this appears on the record. Unfortunately the darker tones never feel as if they are fully realized. Metal Galaxy had a track featuring Arch Enemy's Alissa White-Gluz and a feature like that on songs like "Mirror Mirror" or "Believing" might have made them resonate better.

The strange thing is that when BABYMETAL are experimenting with synths and electronics, the hooks are vastly more enjoyable and the compositions feel more complete. "Time Wave" is clearly borrowing from Electric Callboy, while "Monochrome" and "The Legend" are about as close to "pop metal" as you can get (even if I could do without the terribly mixed glitchy pops before the chorus on "Monochrome"). My biggest issue with this however is that BABYMETAL are now closer to the western hegemony of mainstream alternative metal than ever before. While I am all for ditching "quirky" as a describer of BABYMETAL's music, some identity is lost in the process, with "Believing" performed all in English, and the worst example on the record.

In short, I wanted to like The Other One more than I ended up doing so. The darker tones can be a welcome new addition to the music, but always seem to be missing something, and while the electronics do produce the albums better moments, they do reveal cracks in BABYMETAL's armour as the j-pop/metal hybrid they were originally billed as.

Best Songs: Divine Attack - Shingeki -, Time Wave, Monochrome, THE LEGEND