Babymetal, “The Other One.”

One of heavy music’s unlikeliest of imports returns after a four-year absence. Su-Metal and Moametal, known better collectively as Babymetal, are back with another collection of kawaii metal on their fourth album, The Other One. While the record still offers plenty of head-banging opportunities and metal to spare, this latest work also expands the group’s horizons, offering up a sound that’s both melodic and punishing.

The duo’s time away from the limelight—this is its first album since 2019’s Metal Galaxy—was marked by a collaboration with alt-rock heavyweights Bring Me The Horizon, which is a decent reference point to some of its new material, especially on tracks like opener “Metal Kingdom.” The song packs a punch with electronics, militaristic percussion and big-time riffs. While the majority of the record is sung in Japanese, there are a few English-language lyrics sprinkled in.

“Raise your head to the lord/ Raise your sword to the sky/ Raise your fists,” the duo beckons on the opener.

“Divine Attack – Shingeki” strikes with a punk-like swagger and a flowing energy that lives up to the song’s title. As always, the choruses are soaring and the band is tight. Babymetal particularly excels at fitting a lot in these tight spaces. That brings a kinetic energy that elevates the track.

The Other One is a concept record about 10 parallel worlds within the lyrics. It fits well with the alternate timelines of the Marvel Cinematic Universe or “Everything Everywhere All at Once.”

The first truly unrelenting track is “Mirror, Mirror,” featuring light-speed double-bass drumming, pinpoint riffing and a darkly brooding melody. The track is also one of the few primarily English-language numbers on the album.

“Mirror, mirror make my wish come true,” the duo sings in harmony over a blanket of musical aggression.

Babymetal experiments with various vocal stylings, adding extra electronics, phasing and other effects at the right times. The track is followed up with another modern rock pounder in “Maya,” an anthemic track with a memorable chorus that once again enters into the BMTH  realm. “Time Wave,” a fist-pumping rocker with some pop elements like an effective electronic bridge, offers a different side to this band. The vocals also have an interesting chopped-up effect that makes for an interesting and unusual cadence.

“Believing” is a soaring and anthemic hard-rock tune that fuses alt-pop with phased-shifted, robotic-sounding vocals. It actually sounds a bit like Evanescence in the way it adds orchestral elements. The adventurous and ambitious “Metalizm” is a valiant battle cry with theatrics, and it sounds like it was picked from a video game soundtrack. It’s both brutal and vibrant, with some unusual guitar and synth lines thrown in.

Speed-metal-turned-mid-tempo-rocker “Monochrome” then recanters the album with hard rock built on infectious melodies. Whether the tracks are sung in Japanese or English, the musical soundscape is so intricate that it leaves the meaning open to interpretation. Songs like “Light and Darkness” simply explode, while poppier tracks surge through the vocals of the protagonists.

The record closes with “The Legend,” an expansive track that ties Babymetal’s heavy riffs and ethereal mid-tempo alt-pop verses together.

Follow writer Mike DeWald at Twitter.com/mike_dewald.