Heavy Song of the Week is a new feature on Heavy Consequence breaking down the top metal and hard rock tracks you need to hear every Friday. This week, the top spot goes to BABYMETAL’s “Light and Darkness.”
The concept behind BABYMETAL’s forthcoming album THE OTHER ONE is a bit of a mind-boggler, incorporating elements of meta-reality and Matrix-esque world building.
To summarize, each of the album’s 10 tracks represent a theme based on “10 separate parallel worlds” discovered in “THE OTHER ONE restoration project,” during which BABYMETAL were “recovered within the virtual ‘METALVERSE.’” One of those parallel worlds is “Light and Darkness” — the fourth single from THE OTHER ONE.
Here, the Japanese pop-metal act explores the “duality in everything,” which is fitting considering the careful balance of pop and metal present in the song. The core structure and sound are straight electro-pop, complete with massive techno drops preceding the chorus. Meanwhile, the underlying instrumentation is mostly metallic in nature, with gained-up guitars and chunky chords.
Of the album’s four pre-release singles, “Light and Darkness” is the catchiest so far, largely due to its overt pop leanings. It’s what put BABYMETAL on the map — it’s their bread and butter. While the prior three singles have subdued the hooks and overall danceability for a more metalcore/alt-metal style, “Light and Darkness” is a welcome return to what the band does best: pop-metal.
— Jon Hadusek,
Senior Staff Writer
Honorable Mentions:
Danava – “Let the Good Times Kill”
Danava are back. The Portland band had been laying low since its 2016 single “At Midnight You Die,” leaving a massive BÖC-meets-Hawkwind-meets-Rainbow sized hole in the heavy psych scene. In fact, it seemed as if the group had disappeared altogether, so it’s great to hear that they’re alive, well, and still recording music. A new album Nothing but Nothing is due out on April 28th and “Let the Good Times Kill” is a blazing comeback track — a reminder of why Danava are one of the best record-collector rock bands doing it in the modern age.
Palms – “Opening Titles / End Credits”
Is it suddenly the early 2010s again? An even more completely unexpected surprise than new Danava was this un-shelved track from Palms — the supergroup consisting Deftones’ Chino Moreno and members of defunct post-metal band Isis. Palms released their sole self-titled album in 2013, and it was a beautiful collection of Moreno-fronted “dream metal,” if you will. The Palms material preluded Deftones’ more melodic efforts with Koi No Yokan and Gore, so it remains required listening for Deftones fans. Even the stuff that was cut is worth a listen.
Puscifer – “Postulous (Re-Imagined by Phantogram)”
Puscifer’s upcoming release Existential Reckoning: Re-Wired (out March 31st) offers reinterpreted versions of songs from the band’s 2020 album Existential Reckoning. Contributors include Nine Inch Nails’ Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, Tool’s Justin Chancellor, and more. The latest track unveiled from the collection is new take on “Postulous” by Phantogram. “It’s always fascinating to hear how other artist’s approach your music, and Phantogram’s contribution to Re-Wired is no exception,” said Puscifer singer Maynard James Keenan of the track.