Across two decades, In This Moment have stayed ahead of the curve, embracing movements in the metal world before they were vogue. Vocalist Maria Brink has helped to champion femmes fronting bands, especially in subgenres like metalcore who were mostly boys clubs when the New York outfit were cutting their teeth. Their signature "hellpop" sound was refined on 2012's Blood and 2014's Black Widow, helping to cement Brink and Co.'s place atop the game.
From their 2017 album Ritual onwards, the band have adopted a more spiritual, witchy vibe, but in a way that doesn't feel like appropriation or chasing clout. To that end, their ninth studio album is titled WITCH, though summing up the band's or the frontwoman's modus operandi with just one term is doing a disservice. In many respects, this record, the band's first with Better Noise Music, is a culmination, a coming to a head of all that the band have put forth in their decades of decadence and being, as the song from Black Widow goes, dirty pretty.
There are no less than two songs that could be considered sequel songs, with "Sleeping With The Enemy" feeling like a successor to "The In-Between." Brink's verses are quasi-rapped, with the melody feeling eerily similar to the Mother cut. As far as dyed-in-the-wool nu metal, it may be as close as the band have ever been to it, all they need is a "go!" if they could fit one in. The second sequel track comes in "Father," a nod to the title track of 2020's Mother. Where that song was a tribute to Brink's mothers, who also sing backing vocals on the song, "Father" is full of mourning what was and what could have been. Instead of "Mother, I won't let you fall," it is "Father, we'll bring you home." It is deeply personal, devoid of gimmick, just emotive and tugging at the heartstrings, something that we sometimes forget Maria is good at doing when she wants to (see "Into The Light" and "Out Of Hell," for example).
To that end, "Without Me There Is No You" reflects the album's more personal, down-to-earth nature. While the band are indeed honoring where they came from, things are stripped down, as if the gimmick this time is no gimmick at all. Look at the music videos for the singles and the color palette is simple: black, white, red. These colors are all prominent in middle- and later-era ITM, but in their own way, this is muted for them.
Most fans, as mentioned before, may have found In This Moment following Blood, and songs like the opener "Shame" and the second single "Crawl" feel like they could have come from that era. They're big, loud, and intense, with Brink switching between her belts and her barks at a moment's notice. That's not to say they won't acknowledge their first two records, as "I Want To Believe" sounds like something that may have popped up in the time of The Dream, with "Into The Dark" boasting a dreamy, deep backdrop of sound. "Heretic" bridges a gap in this regard, even if Kim Dracula's feature does little for the overall product.
The two covers on the album are feast and famine, respectively. Their take on Nine Inch Nails' "Something I Can Never Have" manages to hold up against the original version, with Brink's vocals offering a more restrained approach. She could have very easily gone dramatic and emotive, but instead she dials it back just enough to make things work better than they have any right to. Conversely, their version of "Another Brick In The Wall" by Pink Floyd is a nothing burger with fries, with the part of the fries played by disgraced makeup maven and reality star Kat Von D. Not every one can be a winner, but at least the NIN cover more than makes up for their uneven take on "Closer," which was a bonus track on the Blood LP over a decade ago.
This is In This Moment's first step into a new era, but before they move forward, they've taken a moment to reflect, looking at the proverbial corkboard to reminisce on what's brought them this far. It is in this respect that WITCH works, not as a game-changing, groundbreaking record, but as a celebration and a commemoration. With the upcoming Taste of Chaos tour revival (more on that below), not to mention a presumed 20th anniversary of their debut album Beautiful Tragedy coming before long, this is the album that In This Moment needed to make, and in that respect, it more than succeeds. What comes next is anyone's guess, but it is clear that their roots run deep into the hollow, and they've laid them all bare here.
WITCH is available now via Better Noise Music.
In This Moment are set to revive the Taste Of Chaos Tour this fall alongside Hollywood Undead, with the following dates and cities announced:
09/22 Charlotte, NC – The Fillmore
09/23 Raleigh, NC – The Ritz
09/25 Virginia Beach, VA – The Dome
09/26 Reading, PA – The Theatre at Santander Arena
09/28 Silver Spring, MD – The Fillmore
09/29 Worcester, MA – Palladium
09/30 New Haven, CT – College Street Music Hall
10/03 Milwaukee, WI – The Rave / Eagles Ballroom
10/06 Grand Rapids, MI – GLC Live at 20 Monroe
10/08 Omaha, NE – Steelhouse Omaha
10/09 Waukee, IA – Vibrant Music Hall
10/11 Chicago, IL – Aragon Ballroom
10/13 Kansas City, MO – The Midland Theatre
10/14 Chesterfield, MO – The Factory
10/16 Houston, TX – House of Blues
10/17 Dallas, TX – The Bomb Factory
10/19 Denver, CO – Fillmore Auditorium
10/20 Salt Lake City, UT – Rockwell at The Complex
10/21 Garden City, ID – Revolution Concert House and Event Center
10/22 Reno, NV – Grand Theatre at The Grand Sierra Resort
10/24 Maricopa, AZ – Harrah’s Ak-Chin
10/25 Las Vegas, NV – The Theater at Virgin Hotels Las Vegas
10/26 Anaheim, CA – House of Blues
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