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, it's 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
Moametal
's 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 wouldn't have sounded out of place on
Rosalia
's
Motomami
),
mostly steers clear of the bracing, confectionery kawaii pop of its predecessors. Instead,
mastermind
Kobametal
has constructed a sonic foundation built on pained alt-metal and
Poppy
-esque nu-metal tropes that disinterestedly flirts with the group's more recalcitrant past.
feels like it was pulled through a wormhole from a universe where a committee writes
's metallic pop emissions, intent on flowing with the current instead of against it. ~ James Christopher Monger