In This Moment "Blood"

 

Female fronted metal band In This Moment has never released the same album twice, which is only one of the many things that makes them unique to most modern metal bands. Their first album, 2007’s Beautiful Tragedy was an aggressive standard metalcore album, but Maria Brink’s voice made the band worth a listen. The album mixed melody with screaming, something not many female vocalists were doing at the time. 2008’s The Dream focused more on the melodic side of her voice. Still an absolute metal album, but with less screaming, and it remains a gem in their catalogue. 2010’s A Star-Crossed Wasteland saw the band go completely balls out (so to speak) with some of the most aggressive songs the band ever released. These albums do all have one thing in common; they all revolve around the concept of pain and anger.

That brings us to Blood, released in August of 2012 with a new line-up, save for Maria and lead guitarist Chris Howorth. The album is yet another one that departs from the style of the previous album. Unfortunately this album will involve required taste. The album, while still very much a metal album, concentrates FAR more on the electronic side of making an album. Imagine a Disturbed album, and then triple the amount of electronics they use. The result is a slight disappointment.

Songs such as the title track, and Whore (a rap metal track), are practically 95% electronic. It is unclear whether or not instruments are actually being played in these songs or if they are just sounds coming out of a computer. Songs such as Adrenalize and You’re Gonna Listen, however, do a very good job at mixing the electronic aspects of the album, yet they can still be taken very seriously as metal songs.

It is the very middle of the album that the band shows that they are still the heavy metal band that their fans came to love, tracks such as Burn, Scarlet and From the Ashes. Burn is one of the most intense songs on the album, while Scarlet, the most melodic song off f the album, sounds like something that could have been off of their second album. From the Ashes sounds like it came from the textbook the band followed to make their debut.

The album then goes back in to its highly electronic-metal sound, ending the way it started to remind the listener of the direction the band has decided to take. Beast Within and Comanche are good tracks, both very much metal tunes with strange electronic arrangements. The final tracks, The Blood Legion and 11:11 end the album on an almost gothic, dark and soft note.

This album, while highly experimental, still has a good amount of upsides. Brink still sings a lot about the pain she has experienced in her life. Even tracks such as Blood and Whore you can tell she means exactly what she is singing about. For the listener who has never heard an In This Moment album before, this album is NOT the one I’d recommend to start out with. If you already have heard this album before the others, I’d urge you to give the others a listen as well, but for the fan of the band who has yet to hear this album in full, if you truly are a fan of the band, then pick it up. It has more good moments then bad ones.

ALBUM HIGHLIGHT

“You’re Gonna Listen” – Of all the albums tracks, this is the perfect first song to listen to. The listener will get an idea of the electronics that have been added to the album, yet they will also hear just how metal this album can be. This song is probably the angriest Brink’s voice is on the whole album. It has a fast and intense beat, and a chorus that, while simple, can easily be sung along with (mostly just Maria screaming “shut up”).

 

"Burn" is another I'd recommend, due to it's amazing melodies, yet intense vocals. The song best shows how the band still remembers what they used to be.

 

FINAL RATING

6.5 (Out of 10)

 

Track List:

1.	"Rise With Me"	2:07
2.	"Blood"	3:27
3.	"Adrenalize"	4:15
4.	"Whore"	4:05
5.	"You're Gonna Listen"	3:43
6.	"It Is Written"	0:30
7.	"Burn"	4:44
8.	"Scarlet"	3:50
9.	"Aries"	0:41
10.	"From The Ashes"	4:26
11.	"Beast Within"	3:49
12.	"Comanche"	3:17
13.	"The Blood Legion"	4:29
14.	"11:11"	4:51