Maps of Music

The Other One (2023)

Where the lyrics of The Other One take you, and where it was really made.

Babymetal framed this fourth album as a concept record, and it became the last album the group made as a duo.

Place unknown

Do you know where this album was recorded, or where its cover was shot? Tell us and we will add it to the map.

The Other One: fourth studio album by Japanese heavy metal band Babymetal
Announced by the band on 11 October 2022 as a concept album
Released 24 March 2023 under Babymetal Records, Amuse, Toy's Factory, Cooking Vinyl America and 5B Records
Last album as a duo; Momoko Okazaki (Momometal) joined the band shortly after release
Suzuka Nakamoto (Su-metal) on lead vocals, Moa Kikuchi (Moametal) on background vocals

Based on a year-long hiatus the members took from music, and on the group's ten-year anniversary
Story: each song describes a parallel world encountered by Su-metal and Moametal during a journey through alternate realities
Su-metal described the album as an attempt to move beyond stereotypical beliefs about the group
Singles released ahead of the album: Divine Attack (Shingeki), Monochrome, Metal Kingdom, Light and Darkness and Mirror Mirror
Before the album, a January 2023 concert at Makuhari Messe was held as a live show themed on this work

Babymetal is a Japanese kawaii metal band formed in Tokyo in 2010, fusing heavy metal with idol culture and elaborate choreography.
It began as the heavy music club sub-unit of the idol group Sakura Gakuin; producer Kobametal, of talent agency Amuse Inc., conceived the project.
The band became independent in 2013 after Suzuka Nakamoto graduated from Sakura Gakuin.

Suzuka Nakamoto (Su-metal): lead vocals and dancing, the main vocalist.
Moa Kikuchi (Moametal): backing vocals and dancing.
Momoko Okazaki (Momometal): backing vocals and dancing; officially joined as the third member in April 2023.
Yui Mizuno (Yuimetal) was a member from 2010 until her departure announced in October 2018 due to health issues.
Session musicians known as the Kami Band perform the instrumentation live.

Early on, the band made its debut appearance at a Sakura Gakuin concert in 2010 and released a first single in 2011.
The major-label debut came in January 2013 with "Ijime, Dame, Zettai".
The self-titled debut album (2014) reached the Billboard 200, and the band played the Budokan in 2014 and Tokyo Dome in 2016.
Metal Resistance (2016) was the highest-charting Japanese album in the UK Official Charts history, and the first Japanese album in over 50 years to chart in the US Billboard Top 40.
Metal Galaxy (2019) made the band the first Asian act to top the Billboard Rock Albums chart.
Metal Forth (2025) became the first all-Japanese band release to reach the Billboard 200 top 10.

Critics gave the album generally favorable reviews on release
Kerrang!: little on the album raises eyebrows or provokes laughter, yet the band never fully ironed out its eccentricity
DIY Magazine: criticized some of the album's glossy production methods, but called it a mostly fun, noisy collection
Distorted Sound: said the album might be Babymetal's best work yet, showing what Moametal and Su-metal can do as a duo
Metal Hammer: called it the strongest compendium of delirium the band has made, though its experiments can get out of hand
Louder: Alec Chillingworth said "Time Wave" sounds like Basshunter with a metal sound

Alternative Press: included the album in its unranked list of the year's top 25 albums in June 2023
Alternative Press described it as the metal version of falling into a weird and wonderful internet wormhole

Divine Attack (Shingeki) is the first Babymetal song for which all lyrics were written by Su-metal.
The Monochrome single came with a lyric video, a first for the band.
The Metal Kingdom single was released on 19 January 2023, the same day the track list was revealed.
The Light and Darkness single used a music video made from one of the group's live shows.
Su-metal said the album aimed to move beyond stereotypical beliefs about the group.