I've finally figured out what's rubbing me the wrong way with 'The End', Lil Uzi Vert's collab with BABYMETAL. First, the song attempts to recapture BABYMETAL's child-like quality of 10-13 years ago, which in itself isn't a bad thing. But given the part they got to play in this song, it's just a caricature or a stereotype, at best, of the band they once were that this song is summoning.
The chorus in which we hear the girls' voices (or is it just SU's?) is cute and catchy, which is what we remember, but the lyrics are so literal, they're not even close to the relative sophistication of 'Doki Doki Morning', or their Sakura Gakuin songs from even earlier. 'Lalala... sing a song... sing along... love is all you need... we love all music' are just prosaic lines that mean exactly that. There's nothing to interpret, nothing to exercise the brain, or excite the heart, other than the solid hard-core metal behind them.
What I am most disappointed with is that this song fails to take seriously BABYMETAL as they currently are, and what they can now do. Instead, the production process to me feels like the girls were given some sheet music and told to sing it into some recording device for processing later, and the girls were nice enough to oblige. Looking at their world tour schedule for this year, perhaps that was all the time they had, anyway.
In comparison, 'Kingslayer' (harsh language warning) sounds more like a true collab between Bring Me the Horizon and BABYMETAL with the integration of their different strengths: sounds, styles, lyricism, imagery. There's thought and discussion apparent, resulting in a seamless throughline and a deliberate sense of artistry that synergizes the two bands in this one song.
Having said that, I still wish Lil Uzi all the best success in Pink Tape, their fourth album. Finding a new direction is difficult. I applaud the inspiration and courage behind the song, and appreciate its positive spirit. BABYMETAL started the same way.
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