In this moment – Blood

It’s been an eventful year for In this moment.  Two of the bands founding members (Guritarist Blak Brunzel and Drummer Jeff Fabb) quit the band as did their long term manager. While Brunzel and Fabb work with an American Idol contestant, Singer Maria Brink and Guitarist Chris Howarth have rebuilt the band as well as writing and recording a new album – Blood.  Given the turmoil in the band then it’s only natural to wonder if they might have been distracted from the writing process.  Happily though from listening to the album I can assure you that the changes in the band have not affected the quality of the new album in a negative way – in fact this could well be the best album from the band yet.

“Blood” is the bands fourth album.  Despite the lineup changes and change of manager, one constant is the choice of producer – this is their third album with Kevin Churko producing.

There is nothing predictable about this album – they really have gone to town when it comes to experimenting, and there are lots of unexpected twists and turns and changes of direction.  With some albums this could really be off putting with things not working well together, but that’s not the case here.  Here everything ties together very well, and those changes all add extra interest to things.

Vocally you get Maria Brinks at her best, one minute screaming for all she’s worth, and the next doing spoken word vocals, and pretty much everything in between.  Musically you’ve got plenty of heaviness but without overpowering the melodies.

Brief comments on a few tracks..

“Rise with me” is a short introduction to the album.  Clocking in at just over two minutes it is a soft drumbeat and gentle keyboards while Maria Brink sings.

“Blood” is the first song in the main part of the album, and what a song it is – the screaming vocals of Maria Brink work so well here and the guitars add plenty of punch to the song.  It’s a very addictive song that you’ll want to listen to again and again with its strong chorus.

“Comanche” is a great track with its spoken vocals gradually building up to the screaming “Let me hear your war cry” chorus – the lyrics just fit so perfectly with the changes in the vocal styles here.

“11:11” is a very different track.  A soft drum beat in the background is all that accompanies the vocals of Maria Brink.  This time though there’s no screaming – instead we get her doing a souldful singing style, with a more choral vocal backing.  This layering of the vocals really gives the song a richer feel, but still focusses the listeners attention on her leading vocals.  It really shows how good her voice is, and how versatile it is too.  The song pairs nicely with “Rise with me” – the opening track of the album with its similar emphasis on the vocals with just gentle background music.  A fantastic song that is one of my favourite tracks on the album.

An excellent album – in my view it’s their best yet.  Now all we need are some UK tour dates

Rating 9/10

1. Rise With Me
2. Blood
3. Adrenalize
4. Whore
5. You’re Gonna’ Listen
6. It Is Written
7. Burn
8. Scarlet
9. Aries
10. From the Ashes
11. Beast Within
12. Comanche
13. The Blood Legion
14. 11:11