Review Summary: Missed it by *that* much.
If there's one thing that always manages to get my goat, it's watching hugely talented musicians making bad or, even worse,
mediocre music. In the case of In This Moment, the band was always one step away from either exploding with creativity and greatness, or simply making a hard left into a huge mess.
Blood, the bands fourth major label release, does have moments of brilliance that are simply weighted down with just too much milquetoast. There's nothing particularly bad about the album, but the talent that they've displayed in the past (and sometimes display right here on this album) just makes this a big disappointment, not entirely horrible.
First up, always the subject of debate (for some reason) is the lovely and now self-aware Maria Brink. If there's any question on this lady's vocal chops, a quick listen to '11:11' will put that to rest; the girl can sing her ass off. My biggest complaint is the vocal accents on this album and some terrible lyrics (The title track to this album is a full-on display of this). In the past, her small vocal quirks exuded emotion and "realness", for lack of a better term. Now, they feel calculated, especially on the single 'Whore'. When she is full-on and straightforward, her voice has enough character and natural tone to convey anger, sadness, triumph, and even hypersexualized metaphor in a way that you can't help but listen to and feel exactly what she is feeling.
The instrumentation here has had a noticeable change from previous works. It's a bit more mellow, more textured, but still sharp and cutting when it wants to be... and for what it's worth I do appreciate the band exploring different sonic textures and constructions. The guitars are thick and crushing, the drums pounding, and the compositions themselves often venture somewhere between Killswitch Engage, Lacuna Coil, and even old Marilyn Manson in their feel and execution. The problem here is that it can get a bit repetitive and feels mechanical; there's little in the way of fills and accents and one-time instances and everything seems to repeat. I had a similar complaint on Scar Symmetry's
Holographic Universe. This is an effective methodology for stripping the organic feel from a record, which seems to be the opposite desired effect of an album that often reminds you it's rooted and grown in the thick emotions portrayed in the lyrics.
Not all seems to teeter between the gap of great and crap, mind you. Songs like 'Adrenalize' and 'Burn' are effective and nuanced songs that carry the emotional weight of Ms. Brink's often caustic word delivery. 'From the Ashes' is an effective belter of a metalcore tune. '11:11' is both a stunning display of vocal prowess and a good song to boot.
In This Moment is a band in flux and constant change, grasping for identity and not afraid to experiment with their sound. One can only hope they find what they're looking for because they have the potential to be an amazing act.
