Album Review: In This Moment - 'Black Widow'

In This Moment, throughout their career, have slowly grown to become a popular and respected band in the metal community. With their fifth studio album, ‘Black Widow,’ the band has demonstrated their musical evolution and desire to push the musical box all while creating something infectious and engaging.

This infection works through the agency of a creepy opener with whispering, strange noises and mixes of electronics. It sets up the dark path that the album takes the listener on throughout. The album continues with the group's industrial and metal fusion - a greater production and an intensely atmospheric sound.

‘Sex Metal Barbie’ is hypnotic, mixing the aforementioned slow industrial sounds with ferocity coming from Maria Brink. ‘Big Bad Wolf’ continues this ferocity with the emotional screams that Brink produces and mixes with slow seductive cleans that lures you into her reach.

‘Dirty Pretty' has a very Manson-esque vibe to it, with the prominent vocals and an ideal hook this track furthering the record's grip. Contrastively, ‘Bloody Creature Poster Girl’ mixes up things with its lighter tone. ‘Out Of Hell’ is a satisfactory way to conclude the album with a tear jerking piano ballad that resonates for long after it finishes.

In This Moment have certainly gone through some musical evolution and they have come out on top with ‘Black Widow’.

‘Black Widow’ is a great example of how a band should evolve. Maria Brink's vocals on their own are completely dynamic, while the piano and seductive electronics mixed with heavy and bad ass metal instrumentals come together to form an album that will impress.

1. The Infection
2. Sex Metal Barbie
3. Big Bad Wolf
4. Dirty Pretty
5. Black Widow
6. Sexual Hallucination (Feat. Brent Smith of Shinedown)
7. Sick Like Me
8. Bloody Creature Poster Girl
9. The Fighter
10. Bones
11. Natural Born Sinner
12. Into the Darkness
13. Out of Hell