Black Widow | In This Moment

I've been following In This Moment's career ever since its birth with their 2007 debut Beautiful Tragedy. Their sound has changed and evolved with every album as many metal bands often do. I am almost always supportive with changes even if I still hold preference to the older material - this goes for bands like Within Temptation, Nightwish, and Tristania, who have all sparked quite a bit of controversy based on the changes in their music. But I still loved it. That was how I felt about all of In This Moment's albums from Beautiful Tragedy to Blood.

 

But there's only a limited amount love in my heart for Black Widow. The way the sound has changed overall by adding occasional synths in the midst of the melodic metal doesn't bother me one bit, but it's the songwriting and some of the vocal styles that make me dissatisfied with a number of songs

 

This album begins with a creepy intro called "The Infection," which sort of sounds like a horror film advertisement. It certainly sets a tone, and as it crescendos it builds anticipation for what's to come... But then we finally make it to the first song where the band is really present, "Sex Metal Barbie," (yes, that's what they called it) and it is quite an anticlimactic start. Maria Brink sounds like a robot at the end of the chorus but I'm not entirely sure what she's trying to accomplish vocally in the verses. It's sort of a mocking sound, which suits the song lyrically as she's addressing the spiteful things people say about her on the Internet, but it just doesn't sound great. Just when I think I might like the middle eight, Brink is just repeating "Sex! Sex!" and all I can think is that they're trying way too hard to catch someone's attention.

 

The Brent Smith duet "Sexual Hallucination" irks me in a similar way. The duet actually sounds very good, the music itself sounds pretty decent, but again, I just feel like they're trying a little too hard in this department. Lyrics like "This is what I crave / To be your slave" (rather demeaning, eh?) have me rolling my eyes in utter disappointment. Not to mention "We both converge as one."

 

Fortunately this issue doesn't really repeat. The most common issue with Black Widow is that some of the songs often reach for the stars and fail. Their lead single "Sick Like Me" started out in such an interesting way with the sirens and the guitar-heavy breakdown before the verse begins, but then the rest of the song doesn't live up to the intro and ends up being rather boring, and this is the same problem I had with the title track. "Sick Like Me" is really just a combination of "Blood" and "Adrenalize." The ballad "Out of Hell" would have been very pretty with its subtle piano, but Brink's vocals manage to detract from the song: She's quite whispery. I have no problem with soft singing, but one needs the diaphragm more than ever when singing softly.

 

However, there are a few songs that managed to win me over. Their second single, "Big Bad Wolf," is quite heavy with its thrashing guitar riffs packed full of energy. Maria Brink's voice gets a chance to shine in different ways - especially that powerful chorus and that killer middle eight where she screams "PIG!" Her vocals in the verses are unconventional, ragged, and choppy and it definitely works in this setting - Brink is a force to be reckoned with here.

 

"Bones" has most recently caught my attention as a standout track and it tells the story of a rather reliant relationship. It's my favorite song from Black Widow. The verses are more subtle with a dark and eerie vibe while the explosive chorus sounds simply amazing... This is the type of quality I expect from In This Moment. It's heavy but easy to sway to. The lyrics remind me of the crazy relationship between Heathcliff and Cathy in Emily Bronte's novel Wuthering Heights: "You are my god / You are my soul / You're my savior in a devil's world / And I can't exist without you / I can't exist without you / [...] I'm gonna lie with your bones forever."

 

"The Fighter" is definitely one of the best songs Black Widow has to offer. At first I wasn't fond of it because it sounds like Brink is really straining (quite painfully) in a lot of parts, but techniques aside, this song brings chills. This piano-led powerhouse is reminiscent of their older song "The Blood Legion," for they both have an epic chorus that's of a similar chord progression. I immediately liked "Natural Born Sinner" as the vocal line is extremely similar to that of "Beast Within," which was one of my favorites from Blood, but "Natural Born Sinner" definitely takes a more serious turn. I'm sure many will shout "Amen" as Brink challenges "GO AHEAD AND POINT" and states in the chorus that she's against the oppression and labeling of LGBT individuals.  The main issue is that I'm more likely to listen to the songs they're reminiscent of - musically, they aren't the most unique.

 

So, there are occasional strong highlights in the midst of what I consider to be a disappointing album. Unfortunately Black Widow suffers from some uninteresting songwriting and some vocal flubs, and it surprises me that In This Moment actually managed to make an album I can't be very enthusiastic about... But, they change with each release so perhaps I'll like the next album better. Time will tell.

2014: The Year of Female-Fronted Metal

From left to right: Sharon den Adel of Within Temptation, Cristina Scabbia of Lacuna Coil, Simone Simons of Epica, Dianne van Giersbergen of Xandria, Elize Ryd of Amaranthe.

It's no secret that 2014 was a huge year for female-fronted metal bands. Nearly all of the biggest names ranging from metalcore to symphonic metal released an album this year, with the exception of Nightwish, who are preparing to release their first studio album with Floor Jansen next year. I listen to so many of the groups that had new releases this year, so my ears were made quite happy by a portion of these albums. Even when an album seemed to fall flat in my opinion, it's always wonderful to anticipate new releases from favorite artists.

Right at the beginning of the year symphonic metal fans had a reason to be excited with Within Temptation's Hydra. With a killer lead single and a tantalizing album trailer, I was counting down the days until a copy would be in my hands. Every one of Within Temptation's albums tend to sound different from one another, and Hydra is no exception. The sound is heavier than the previous album and there's plenty of variety; between "Silver Moonlight," a song with growls like in the days of Enter and The Dance EP; "And We Run," a duet with rapper Xzibit; and "Edge of the World," an extremely powerful ballad with an intense second half. Within Temptation impressed me once again.

 

A few more albums were released in the spring, starting with Lacuna Coil's Broken Crown Halo. I overall have respect for Lacuna Coil, but a lot of their songs are hit-and-miss for me. This was generally the case for Broken Crown Halo (that poor, unfortunate album title) though I see it as a step of improvement from Dark Adrenaline, with highlights like "Nothing Stands in Our Way" and "I Burn in You." Epica, on the other hand completely floored me with The Quantum Enigma. This album is phenomenal. It's easily my favorite of 2014; it was in my CD player for two months straight and has made plenty of trips back in there since then. I'm not exaggerating. Catchy and complex tracks fill this album in a way that puts it in the same league as even The Divine Conspiracy and Design Your Universe, and the way everything is mixed sounds so crisp!

 

Also in the spring, Xandria released their latest album, Sacrificium. Unfortunately I haven't had a chance to really listen to this album yet aside from three tracks, but from what I've heard thus far, I'm sure it's a great piece of work. While I'd always heard of Xandria, I never heard many of their songs. I know they've had quite a few singers in their past, and I'm sure they were all fine musicians, but I never heard them receive so much unabashed praise until Dianne van Giersbergen joined. Based on what I've heard, I can understand why. Her voice is very well-honed and very beautiful.

 

Fast forward to October: the still up-and-coming modern metal band Amaranthe released Massive Addictive, the third studio album they've recorded since their debut in 2011. I only began listening to their music this year, and while Massive Addictive has a number of incredible tracks, like "Dynamite," "Digital World," "Massive Addictive," and "Drop Dead Cynical," I just don't hear enough variety between many of their songs. Not bad, but they could be better.

 

The final major release of the year is the one that manage to truly disappoint me: Black Widow by In This Moment. I've been listening to this metalcore band since 2007 and have therefore been a fan for seven years, but I only liked about two songs from Black Widow. They're trying too hard to form an image and I find the music under par for my taste.

 

In addition, metal fans were treated to a wonderful cover of "The Power of Love" that we were to donate money to purchase in order to raise money for the Red Cross. This single consisted of several Dutch metal artists, including Simone Simons, Dianne van Giersbergen, Anneke van Giersbergen, Floor Jansen, Charlotte Wessels, and more. Within Temptation released their fourth live DVD of two shows in late fall called Let Us Burn: Elements and Hydra Live in Concert, and DVD releases from them will always get me pumped since they're one of the best live acts EVER. Delain and Tarja also released albums this year (I don't listen to either much), and even though she isn't part of the metal world, many fans of female-fronted metal enjoy Amy Lee's music, and she released Aftermath (containing songs from a movie she scored called War Story). Unfortunately nothing new from Nightwish was released in 2014, but their next album is scheduled for the first half of 2015. This will be their first album with Floor Jansen, and while I always get excited to hear new music from them, I am especially excited to hear how their music will evolve with Floor.

But alas, 2014 completely spoiled female-fronted metal fans so much that I'm afraid next year may seem anti-climatic in comparison. Just think of the loads and loads of new music we got this year! I can't imagine a niche audience ever being so pleased. 2014 will certainly be remembered for its remarkable set of releases.

Blood | In This Moment

American metal band In This Moment is back with a new album, Blood, which was just released August 14th. Though this new direction is darker and a bit different lyrically, the sound is definitely still representative of the band in more ways than one.

First on the album is an intro entitled "Rise With Me," which is electronic based, effective, and epic. Soon, Maria Brink comes in with her signature vocals, belting out repetative lyrics in a way that doesn't make them sound repetative. This intro certainly promises a dark atmosphere to the album.

With an intro like that, the album's title track seems a bit more, dare I say, fun? But not quite out of place either. "Blood" took a while to grow on me, particularly the verses, which do not feature much singing nor screaming, but yelling. The chorus is what saves this song, as well as the guitar solo during the bridge. As "Blood" can cause headbanging, I'm sure it'll do well as a single on the metal charts for a while.

"Adrenalize" comes next, with a heavy intro. Anyone will know what awesomeness they're in for when Brink says "Adrenalize me" in a nearly robotic way. Quickly, the verse comes in, where Brink's voice is a bit synthed-up amid the (totally cool) guitar riffs. Just about every listener should feel like a badass when listening to this song, or at least overwhelmed as if one just saw Kate Beckinsale in Underworld for the first time. "Adrenalize" is a track that'll get people pumped, even more so than "Blood." Honestly, this better be used in a movie trailer sometime soon.

"Whore" is the fouth song, bearing the loveliest of titles. Though it opens with a semi-mellow guitar line, the verse soon becomes quite emotional in the most obnoxious way. Maria Brink is not singing, but only sometimes screaming. Much like the verses of "Blood," it's more like yelling. However, she does actually sing and scream in the chorus and pre-chorus, which sounds much better. The chorus is very powerful sounding (musically) with tortured lyrics.

If listeners thought the theme couldn't get any angrier after "Whore," the next song proves them wrong. "You're Gonna Listen" demands attention, with Brink screaming "Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!" during each chorus. The verses aren't even half as heavy as the chorus, and Maria is singing quite nicely during that time, but this is still one of the heavier songs.

As if introducing a more sinister side of Blood, "It is Written" is the creepiest thing In This Moment has ever created. With that, it's the most effective interlude I've ever heard. Am I sure if I like it? Not really. It's great that Maria Brink is talking about the measures of her passion for music, but it's lyrically a bit extreme.

The seventh song is called "Burn," and it is by far my favorite. It opens with an eerie piano before the guitars come in for the rest of the intro, but the piano part returns for the verse. More than anything, the chorus is what blows everything else on this album away in some way. It just feels so nostalgic to me, taking me back to the time I first discovered my own love for rock and metal music as well as the time I started listening to In This Moment. Plus, Maria Brink's voice soars. In some way, "Burn" reminds me of the general vibe of the music on Beautiful Tragedy, In This Moment's debut album, except Maria's vocals have improved so much since then. Also, the bridge has a heavy breakdown that I found enjoyable.

"Scarlet" comes next, opening with acoustic guitars. For whatever reason, the vocal line almost sounds familiar, but perhaps it's just catchy in its own right. Eventually, the tempo picks up and the vocal line gets even better with the great guitar line, making it stand out more than I initially expected.

Another intro/interlude comes next, "Aries," which is also creepy, though not as overly sinister as "It is Written." Really, it's not sinister at all. It brings a hopeless sense of longing as Brink narrates in echoes.

Just in case fans missed elements from In This Moment's sophomore album, The Dream, they incorporated a song on this album called "From the Ashes." Like the music found on The Dream, "From the Ashes" is lighter. Unlike the other tracks on this album, it's more free-spirited and positive. Although it momentarily breaks away from the darkness of Blood, the track is not out-of-place. It's still relatively heavy, especially the guitar riffs of the bridge. In other words, it's still In This Moment.

"Beast Within" is the eleventh track of the album, and I must say I have a love/hate relationship with it. Musically, it's fantastic. Lyrically... kind of annoying amid some brilliant lines. What irks me about it is that the band is practically trying to throw a random attempt at sexiness in your face. The verses and pre-chorus don't really affect me at all; it's the chorus that kind of makes me wonder. Musically, I love the chorus. And I love almost all of the lyrics, but I strongly feel as though the third line had been misplaced. If you take the third line from the chorus, it sounds like vengeance.

The next song is "Comanche." Immediately, I am reminded of Marilyn Manson due to the way Maria Brink's voice is electrified. Following the typical Blood pattern, I'm not particularly enthusiastic about the song until the chours, which is filled with screams "...do or die, let me hear your war cry!" But, it's definitely not the best from the album.

"The Blood Legion (Legion)" is the last of regular tracks, though not the last song. Again, I am reminded of the vibes from the albums The Dream and A Star-Crossed Wasteland as the song begins. Maria's voice sounds nice in this mellow setting, which consists of quite a bit of the song before it changes over to heavier guitars and drums. "The Blood Legion" does what In This Moment does best, as it is a song filled with great riffs as Maria Brink's empowering voice fuels wonderful lyrics of strength.

Honestly, they could have just ended the album there; it would have been a great closer. However, In This Moment decided to be a little more creative with closing the album with "11:11." Or so it would seem. Right away, the song grabs my attention, for it reminds me of the eerie music found in the movie The Woods. The song consists of airy effects and Maria vocalizes in multiple layers, like a choir of Marias. But then the lyrics come in. "Baby baby baby baby baby..." are majority of them. Not impressive. I'll give them credit for the meaning of the song and for the Beautiful Tragedy reference (which are all found in between the series of baby-ing). Unfortunately, Maria's voice (the top layer singing the lyrics, not the choral-like vocalizing) doesn't sound so wonderful on this track.

Well, In This Moment definitely got more creative during Blood, and I loved to see their music get a bit darker than usual. There were a lot of standout tracks on this album, and I do believe that Blood is superior to their previoius work. (Funny how I say that everytime they release a new album.) Amid all this praise, I will say I don't know how I feel about the multitude of songs without standout verses, but then again, all those epic choruses kind of make up for it.

Though I love this album more than A Star-Crossed Wasteland, I'm unsure if I will grant it .5 less than A Star-Crossed Wasteland. Why? Because while they experimented more and I liked the general direction better, I feel there were a couple of flaws on Blood. While A Star-Crossed Wasteland's good songs weren't as good, there weren't really any slip ups. So... 4.5/5 or 5/5 Stars?

If I cut technicality and went with my In This Moment-loving heart, I'd probably say 5/5 Stars. But, you can decide for yourself.

A Star-Crossed Wasteland | In This Moment

In This Moment has been one of my favorite bands for a short while now. I first heard the amazing single "Beautiful Tragedy" from their debut album (also called Beautiful Tragedy) and enjoyed that album, despite it's flaws. Their second album, The Dream, really showed me what this band is capable of. In This Moment is every extreme - from heavy to melodic, and from softness to screaming.

In This Moment's third album released yesterday, A Star-Crossed Wasteland, did not fail to show these extremes.

The first song and single from A Star-Crossed Wasteland is the heaviest song In This Moment has ever done - that is not only my opinion, lead vocalist Maria Brink has said the same thing. In fact, this song actually managed to give me a headache. It's called "Gunshow" and its heaviness isn't the only thing that makes it different. It's lyrics are also extremely different than the typical poetry of In This Moment - cowboys are the center of the whole thing, and no singing is heard. That's right. It's all screaming. Despite Maria is probably the best screamer I've ever heard, this song isn't the most tolerable if you're not in the mood to hear her make up for the loss of screaming in the previous album all in one song.

"Just Drive" is the next track. This song reminds me a lot of older In This Moment songs, and it's good to have a bit of their old sound back. Even though they've evolved, In This Moment can still pull off showing off the style used in Beautiful Tragedy.

Third comes "The Promise"; a combination of singing and screaming. The guitar riffs are especially cool in this song, and we all get a surprise. Fabulously sung male vocals from one of the guys! Both voices fit together perfectly.

Next, we have "Standing Alone". Something about this song is empowering, yet it is sort of saddening. Heavy, epic riffs echo behind Maria's strong vocals (and occasional screams).

The title track of the album, "A Star-Crossed Wasteland", is my favorite track of the ten, and the very middle of the album. Heck, it may even be their best song EVER, to my opinion. It opens with sweet, dark piano, and slowly picks up the pace. Maria's voice is especially haunting, sewing itself into the fabric of the music. And somehow, the chorus, though with more major chords, winds itself in just as well. If you were to combine In This Moment with Evanescence, it could sound something like this.

The sixth track is entitled "Blazin'". In all honesty, the bubble-gum title made me afraid of this song at first. But, In This Moment still remains hardcore, with plenty of screaming in store. This is what I would call a metalcore party song. "We're not gonna stop tonight, we're gonna burn this city down!"

"The Road" is definately not the heaviest track, but it is still In This Moment. Again, we have more backing male vocals that fit well with Maria's voice, which is quite sweet in this song. This song fades out during an impressive guitar solo that would probably blow us away during a live performance.

"Iron Army" is addictive. It's quite powerful, in term of lyrics, melody, Maria's vocals, and even the additional male vocals. It's machine-like rythm gives a Tool feel, but since it's melodic, it makes it In This Moment.

As I mentioned for "Gunshow", cowboys seem to be the center of attention. In "The Last Cowboy", you know right away. No surprise there. But, Maria does a lot of narrating in the verses, speaking of one particular cowboy. She does this very well; she should do something with narration in films. Of course, she does not narrate the entire thing. When she sings, it's the same Maria we know and love. She holds notes out and does very well, as usual.

The last song is opened with a pretty piano part. "World In Flames" is the mellow song from A Star-Crossed Wasteland, even though its title makes it seem like it would be a heavy apocalypse theme. Instead, it's about having someone there for you, even when the world is enflamed. I really should have known, because this In This Moment always ends their albums delicately with a slow one. At the end, you hear Maria below it out like never before. Between her voice and the guitars, I got a couple chills.

A Star-Crossed Wasteland is In This Moment like never before. Maria is like Superwoman, being able to both sing and scream so well. Each song is very different, whether it's about cowboys or something so, so much deeper. It is a mixture of sounds that all speak for themselves, yet they are still threads of In This Moment.

I think this may be the best of In This Moment's three albums.

5/5 stars