THE OTHER ONE

『THE OTHER ONE』は、10周年活動後の“封印”を経たBABYMETALが、復活の物語を10のパラレルワールドとして描いたコンセプトアルバムである。従来の「Kawaii Metal」という即効性のある対比を前面に出すより、低く重いリフ、電子音、広い空間、SU-METALの成熟した歌を軸に、記憶、時間、光と闇、存在の揺らぎへ踏み込む。各曲は「THE OTHER ONE計画」で発見された断片という設定を持ち、アルバム全体が一つの復元作業として進む。華やかな復帰作でありながら、音の表情はむしろ抑制的で深い。 “METAL KINGDOM”は荘厳な行進で新章の門を開き、“Divine Attack - 神撃 -”ではSU-METALが作詞へ参加した言葉が前進する意志を刻む。“Mirror Mirror”の変則的な構成、“MAYA”の硬質なグルーヴ、“Time Wave”の電子的浮遊、“METALIZM”の異国的な反復が世界を切り替える。“Monochrome”は失われた色の中に希望を探し、“Light and Darkness”と“THE LEGEND”が再生の余韻を残す。三人体制の正式な再誕へ至る直前の作品として、過去の喪失を隠さず、静かな強さへ変換した点に価値がある。BABYMETALの物語性と音楽的成熟が最も密接に結びついた一枚だ。

THE OTHER ONE is the concept album through which BABYMETAL emerged from the “seal” that followed its tenth-anniversary activities. Its ten songs are presented as parallel worlds recovered by the THE OTHER ONE restoration project, turning the album into a sequence about memory, time, light, darkness and unstable identity. Instead of foregrounding the immediate contrast usually associated with kawaii metal, the record relies on low, heavy riffs, electronic detail, wide open space and the increasingly mature control of SU-METAL’s voice. It announces a return, but its emotional character is reflective rather than simply triumphant. “METAL KINGDOM” opens the gate with ceremonial grandeur, and “Divine Attack” carries lyrics co-written by SU-METAL as a direct statement of forward motion. “Mirror Mirror” bends its structure, “MAYA” locks into a hard mechanical groove, “Time Wave” drifts through electronic space, and “METALIZM” uses exotic repetition to shift the album’s landscape. “Monochrome” searches for hope inside a world stripped of color, while “Light and Darkness” and “THE LEGEND” leave the story suspended between endings and renewal. Released just before the formal rebirth of BABYMETAL as a new three-member unit, the album does not hide the losses of the preceding years. It transforms them into restraint, depth and quiet strength, making narrative and musical maturity inseparable.