BABYMETAL Discuss New Album THE OTHER ONE, the FOX GOD, and 2023 Tour Plans

Spencer Kaufman
·6 min read
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The post BABYMETAL Discuss New Album THE OTHER ONE, the FOX GOD, and 2023 Tour Plans appeared first on Consequence.

BABYMETAL just unleashed their new album, THE OTHER ONE, on Friday (March 24th). In conjunction with its release, members SU-METAL and MOAMETAL took some time to answer a handful of questions from Heavy Consequence.

THE OTHER ONE is the Japanese pop-metal band’s fourth studio LP overall, following up 2019’s METAL GALAXY. The new effort is a concept album that came about when BABYMETAL were “sealed” from the world after they completed 10 years as a band. The album details a “restoration project [that] began to recover the BABYMETAL we never knew existed within a virtual world called the METALVERSE.” Each song on the album represents 10 separate parallel worlds that BABYMETAL discovered within the METALVERSE.

Beyond the concept, BABYMETAL continue to evolve musically, incorporating new sounds into repertoire, including a darker progressive direction on a few tunes, and an alt-metal vibe on other tracks.

BABYMETAL kicked off promotion of the new album with a pair of January shows in Chiba, Japan. They will play two shows in Yokohama on April 1st and 2nd before supporting Sabaton’s UK/European tour beginning April 14th.

So far, their only scheduled US dates are appearances at the festivals Louder Than Life in September and Aftershock in October.

Below, SU-METAL and MOAMETAL offer insight into THE OTHER ONE, how the pandemic affected the recording of the album, and their plans for further shows in North America.

Please tell us about the new album THE OTHER ONE, and how each song fits into the overall theme?

SU-METAL: The overall theme of this concept album THE OTHER ONE is that is portrays the BABYMETAL we never knew existed. At first, you might not recognize the music as BABYMETAL because compared to our past works, it’s more dark and mature but we haven’t changed our style of experimenting with the combination of various genres as well as including comical earworms.

What was your experience like in the METALVERSE?

SU-METAL: In the world of the METALVERSE, we collaborate with our past selves, sit on a royal throne, see our future selves…we experience a whole lot range of things!

How does the FOX GOD fit into the new album?

MOAMETAL: We’ve continually received messages from our FOX GOD and have fulfilled all of his missions. This new concept album was also originally a message from the FOX GOD and we’ve managed to successfully complete this mission also. This time, we were directed to create an all-new feel, a BABYMETAL no one knew existed, and so we strived to demonstrate that. The FOX GOD always allows us to grow in any type of circumstance. He can be a little mean sometimes but I believe that He is always on our side and is there to encourage us.

I feel like “THE LEGEND” which is the last song in our concept album conveys the FOX GOD’s message to us after watching us for 13 years. I’m happy to sing this song with both SU-METAL and I because I strongly feel that it is a special song that only the FOX GOD can write.

Specifically, can you talk about the single “Light and Darkness”?

SU-METAL: I think the structure of this song is very interesting because it begins with a quiet rhythm and it gets gradually louder as the sound layers come together and the constant drum beats help accentuate my vocals and I think these aspects of the song portray the beauty of dualism between light and darkness as each one depends on the other to exist. The melodious piano and the fast-paced guitar sounds in the middle of the song create a beautiful yet heavy sound and I’d love to ask all of you to listen carefully to each and every sound in the song. And not only that, the beat of the kick drum and our dance choreography really match and I feel that the lyrics to this song shine the most in the chorus and so make sure to watch our live performance video on our official YouTube channel!

How did the pandemic affect the making of this album, both logistically and creatively?

MOAMETAL: I think this was the first time we were able to take our time producing this concept album. Due to the pandemic, a lot of our daily lives were restricted and we often faced a lot of uncertainties but the enforced regulations to STAY HOME allowed us to physically take a break and rest. I think it was such a good opportunity for us because what we thought was “normal” and “routine” was no longer available and it really put a lot of things into perspective. It was also a reminder that not only me but everyone to be mindful of their own health and again, it was such a prime time for us to reflect on what’s really important under such restricted circumstances. It was obviously a very difficult time for us all but personally, I learned that no matter what the circumstance may be, I shouldn’t take it negatively but see the situation in a positive manner. I believe that being positive in any situation will continue to bring me good fortune and I can’t wait to see what the future holds!

What led you to tour with Sabaton? And what are you looking forward to the most about the tour?

SU-METAL: We’ve been lucky to have so many opportunities in the past to share our time with Sabaton. They were our special guests for our headline show in Japan back in 2018 and we even had the opportunity to collaborate with Joakim for “Oh! MAJINAI (feat. Joakim Broden)” in our 3rd album METAL GALAXY. And while we were sealed, we were presented the offer from Sabaton about supporting them on their Europe tour and we were so excited to hear from them and gladly accepted. Seems like Sabaton is always there when we challenge ourselves to something new and so I’m quite confident that this tour will be very fun and successful! We can’t wait to not only have the honor of touring with Sabaton but it’s been three years for us to get back into touring internationally so we’re looking forward to reuniting with all of our fans. I’m excited to see Sabaton’s tank up close and also I can’t wait to sing along to their songs as I’m a fan myself!

Can fans look forward to BABYMETAL playing more shows in North America this year beyond the recently announced festival appearances?

MOAMETAL: I’m hoping for the same thing! I hope I can see everyone in North America soon! I hope our fans feel the same way, too. But if don’t raise your voices, we won’t be able to hear you so please express your feelings that you want to see us a bit more louder, okay??

This year, I just want to charge forward. I hope I can count on our FOX GOD…! To everyone in North America, please continue to take care of yourselves and I hope to see you soon!

Our thanks to SU-METAL and MOAMETAL for taking the time to answer Heavy Consequence‘s questions. Stream THE OTHER ONE below, and pick it up on vinyl or CD via Amazon.

BABYMETAL Discuss New Album THE OTHER ONE, the FOX GOD, and 2023 Tour Plans
Spencer Kaufman

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