For their second studio album The Dream, Maria Brink and company did away with much of the metalcore-oriented formula that bombarded the band's debut release; in its place is more harmonization and a pop-centric feel. In This Moment, however, didn't shed their roots entirely given that screams still present themselves, most noticeably on "The Great Divide". Chris Howorth and Blake Bunzel are at least a step behind Maria during the record: these two employ riffs which make the choruses to most tracks pretty good fun, though they don't necessarily provide anything else. Brink's vocals are undeniably the highlight, as she doesn't sound as forced here as she did on Beautiful Tragedy or uneasy like Blood. This offering isn't ready to create imaginary voids anytime soon, but for what it's all worth, I'd say The Dream was the closest ITM ever got to recording a true knockout, with the group's latest Black Widow also being a worthy contender.
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