EDITORS’ NOTES

The Japanese group BABYMETAL are premised upon the unlikeliest of contrasts: Vocalists SU-METAL, YUIMETAL, and MOAMETAL harmonize sweetly while bludgeoning riffs crash and explode, and they apply that approach to a wide range of subgenres on their second album. The majestically bouncy “YAVA!” races along on a ska-inflected beat, the jittery “Gj!” nods to nu-metal, and “No Rain, No Rainbow” is a straight-up power ballad, complete with guitar solo. On “Awadama Fever,” which combines grinding guitars and hyperactive drums with a triumphant chorus, BABYMETAL further compress the distance between metal and pop.