Since their inception, duo Su-Metal and Moametal, along with producer Kobametal and the ‘Kamiband’, have strived to meld the worlds of idol pop and metal into a glitter bomb of a genre. As a result, they’ve perhaps had to fight harder than most international acts to find their place in the western scene, despite being lauded by Rob Zombie and Judas Priest’s Rob Halford, and embarking on an international tour with Sabaton. Babymetal seem unfazed for the most part, yet as they arrive at their fourth full length release, there’s no feeling of stagnation, rather there’s a palpable feeling of growth. Still by and large driven by the classic premise of Babymetal, ‘The Other One’ is a step up by a more mature band, still packed with fun kawaii metal pastiches that will harken back to the classic sounds of their debut record, but refined and a little more focused, albeit lacking some of the manic energy that originally tipped them for stardom.
As the rock scene has evolved dramatically over the last few years, so too has Babymetal’s influences. Tracks like ‘MAYA’ and ‘Mirror Mirror’ look to the metalcore scene in how electronic music and metal combine. Harkening back to their guest feature on the last ‘Bring Me The Horizon’ record, ‘Divine Attack – Shingeki -’ especially mixes caffeine fueled guitar lines with classic DnB, to hectic results. ‘Time Wave’ takes notes from dance-influenced records like ‘Amo’ and ‘A Flash Flood Of Colour’, for a track that slows the pace down a little without sacrificing heaviness. You won’t find a wildcard experimental track like ‘Shanti Shanti Shanti’ here, but the band are content to instead find depth through a deep dive exploration of their electronic sound.
What results from this focus is a more reserved record at times, content to let the pace slow down to allow the tension to build and play with the listener through these electronic elements. There’s definitely less emphasis on that explosive old school metal because of this (indeed, there are very few, if any rough vocals that harken back to their ‘Megitsune’ days) and it isn’t always a flawless delivery, such as ‘METALIZM’, whose trap drumlines and stabbing electronic harmonies often let the more traditional guitars be overpowered for a grating result.
Whether the infusion of metalcore is for better or worse will be left up to personal preference, but both Su and Moametal have come into their own as performers. No longer the teen idols thrust into the metal scene, ‘The Other One’ presents some of the duo’s best vocal work to date. Perhaps it’s four albums worth of growth, perhaps its the material itself they feel more confident in performing (indeed, this album contains the first tracks written entirely by lead vocalist Su-Metal), but both singers have found their flow, moving between moments of delicateness and rapid intensity and only they have been able to do.
Kobametal and the Kamiband aren’t holding back either. With more electronica to handle than ever, the production has cleaned up massively here, and when given the space, the technically masterfull instrumentation truly shines. ‘Believing’ features some Breaking Benjamin levels of chugging heavy rhythm guitars, while ‘Monochrome’ leans outside of the usual j-pop trends Babymetal pastiches in favour of j-rock tinged metal with a striking drumline. Takayoshi Ohmura and company, similar to their vocalists, have a newfound confidence in their own performances, choosing their moments to kick the track into high gear. All of it comes together for the wholly unique closer, ‘The Legend’, a soaring epic of an album ender with a surprising saxophone solo to catch you off guard right in the album’s final moments.
10 years on and Babymetal continue to have to combat the notion that they are nothing beyond their gimmick, and may just have to do so indefinitely, but every recent release has fought back against the notion that their abilities as live performers have to cover for what their studio releases lack, and they seem to have no plans on kowtowing to the cynics any time soon. ‘The Other One’ is another notch in the cap of the duo and their band, an album that manages to wrangle some form of focus from the group’s experimental chaos with more comprehensive songwriting and production. The messy, frenetic noise of ‘Metal Galaxy’ is missed at times, but Babymetal remain as energetic and full of variety as ever, with no sign of slowing down.
FIACHRA JOHNSTON