As it will come to be known down the road, Blood is the album where In This Moment frontwoman Maria Brink will finally join the upper echelon of female heavy metal vocalists. Losing band members is probably the best thing to happen to In This Moment because it gave the band a fresh start and a renewed sense of urgency which is oh so present throughout Blood. Complete with sonic interludes that will either entice listeners or drive them batty, Blood may seem schizophrenic at times but if you sit down and listen to it from beginning to end, it makes sense.
While A Star-Crossed Wasteland was very down and dirty, Blood is more precise and pretty with its delivery of brutality. Brink is the shining star whose serene clean vocals make for the best study in dichotomy especially when she switches instantly to her gut wrenching howl (“You’re Gonna Listen” comes to mind immediately). “Rise With Me” begins and puts listeners in a dream state until the furious first single and title track “Blood” begins. From there it’s mayhem. “Adrenalize” is a jarring guitar riff-led monster (Courtesy of Chris Howorth and Randy Weitzel) that starts one way but ends another. “Whore” is a no-brainer for ITB’s next single as it’s possibly their most accessible and catchy yet while “Burn” is one of the bands darkest but oddly one of the most melodic, too.
“Scarlet” takes the In This Moment sound to a higher plane of existence while “From The Ashes” is touching and anthemic. Further down the road Brink tests out her baritone and her wail on the vicious “Comanche” before “The Blood Legion” and “11:11” close out Blood on a quieter note. For fans looking for more of “The Gun Show” and “Blazin” are in for an album more akin to “The Promise” and “The Road” which suits In This Moment just fine.
Blood is out on August 14th through Century media. Get yours here.
Grade: B