The Other One＜Clear/Black/White Splatter Vinyl＞

Babymetal venture into "The Metalverse" on their fourth long-player, a self-styled "restoration project" that aims to reveal multiple iterations of the band within parallel worlds. Outside of an aesthetic that hews closer to the darker end of the J-pop metal spectrum, The Other One seems to have been crafted in a world very much like our own. At its core, its a beefy, slick, ornate, and occasionally crushingly dark set of songs that pair the high-drama goth rock of Within Temptation with the winking, finger-heart death metal of Aggretsuko. "Metal Kingdom" leans hard into the former persuasion, administering operatic levels of symphonic pageantry over Su-Metal and Moametals anthemic declarations of unity. "Divine Attack" follows a similar trajectory, delivering crushing djent-styled breakdowns and soaring melodies amidst a vast minor-key skyline. Apart from the syrupy delights of "Believing" and "METALIZM" (the latter wouldnt have sounded out of place on Rosalias Motomami), The Other One mostly steers clear of the bracing, confectionery kawaii pop of its predecessors. Instead, Babymetal mastermind Kobametal has constructed a sonic foundation built on pained alt-metal and Poppy-esque nu-metal tropes that disinterestedly flirts with the groups more recalcitrant past. The Other One feels like it was pulled through a wormhole from a universe where a committee writes Babymetals metallic pop emissions, intent on flowing with the current instead of against it. ~ James Christopher Monger

〈時空を超えて存在する10個のパラレルワールド〉をテーマに据えた初のコンセプト・アルバム。今年1月のライヴでもここから新曲を披露していたが、大人びた佇まいで内側に秘めたエモーションを前面に出したアプローチが光る。〈立ち上がれよ KINGDOM〉と力強く歌い上げる冒頭曲"METAL KINGDOM"から勇壮な雰囲気に溢れ、SU-METALの初作詞曲"Divine Attack-神撃-"と続く流れを聴いても、過去作とは一線を画した色合いだ。ほかにオリエンタルな響きを持つ"MAYA"と"METALIZM"、透明度の高いメロディーに心を奪われる"Time Wave"や"Light and Darkness"も強くオススメしたい。
bounce (C)荒金良介