Review Summary: Every time I enjoy a metal album, an angel gets its wing... I've just given out my first wing in a long while.
Anybody who knows me knows that I am not a fan of heavy metal. I know that it has it’s audience, and I can understand what they see in it. But, I’ve just never enjoyed it much. So, imagine my delight when I put in this on, and I actually liked it. Of course, that’s not saying that I love it. It does have some flaws, and there were even some parts where I thought it might turn into another generic metal album. But, in the end, it was far more consistent, interesting, and beautiful than the majority of metal albums that come out, these days. For the most part, that’s due to Maria Brink.
Remember when Evanescence came out with their debut, seven years ago? Well, it wasn’t exactly the most critically acclaimed album, but I really enjoyed it. Why did I enjoy it? Amy Lee. She had an incredibly gorgeous voice, which isn’t something that you come across much in metal. After hearing Maria Brink, I am convinced that I like female metal singers a lot more than male metal singers. But, as good as Amy Lee is, I think I actually prefer Maria.
The album opens with “The Gun Show” which, from what I hear, is the first In This Moment song where the vocals are completely screamed. Maria Brink belts out in a way that makes your voice hurt as you listen to it. Her screaming is so fierce, Corey Taylor would be jealous. And, unlike Corey Taylor, I actually enjoy her gnarling vocals. That’s what separates Amy Lee and Maria Brink. Maria Brink knows how to scream, and she has to be one of the few metal singers who’s screaming doesn’t make me want to shut off the music.
The second song on the album, “Just Drive”, is probably my favorite track, due to great vocals (both screamed and sung) and a decent instrumental opening. But, what makes the song is the ending. I’ve already established that Maria Brink has a great voice, whether she’s singing or screaming. The finale of “Just Drive” is fantastic, because it sounds as if her lovely singing voice and her ugly snarling are going up against each other. A metaphor for good versus evil, perhaps? Probably not.
The album has kind of a turn around for me, as my favorite song on the album is followed by my least: “The Promise”. As I said before, this album has proven to me that I prefer female metal vocalists to male ones. “The Promise” was the song to prove it. It’s a duet between Brink and Adrian Patrick of the band Otherwise. I’ve never heard Otherwise before, and this song didn’t make me want to. The song is okay in and of itself, but every time Patrick comes on I really wish it was just Maria singing. He does a bit of screaming too but, unlike her, it’s completely indistinctive.
The rest of the album is great, for the most part. The title track starts as a ballad, and builds to a fascinating climax, “Blazin” is both one of the louder songs and one of the better ones, and “The Last Cowboy” has possibly my favorite vocal performance here. This could probably be my pick for metal album of the year. I guess I’ll just have to wait and see.
