lsIandofDomination
In This Moment has come a long way, first starting out as a melodic metalcore band but soon ditching that sound for more of a gothic-industrial metal feel such as presented on their fifth studio album, Black Widow. While this album may turn some older fans away with the stylistic change and partially sexual lyrics, but it's sure to bring in new fans. Black Widow is an energetic, angry, and emotional experience that will more than likely relate to anybody in some way. The album starts with an eerie intro entitled "The Infection" before jumping into "Sex Metal Barbie", a fun pop inspired industrial metal song addressing the hypocrisy of the sexist and rude comments made towards frontwoman Maria Brink. "Big Bad Wolf" holds a 90's/early 2000's nu-metal sound as well as being heavy and headbanging inducing, as it ends we're then introduced to a rather calm, catchy, empowering, Marilyn Manson-esque track entitled "Dirty Pretty", which is one of the main highlights of the album. The song's intro is sampled from old television commercials, as well as the next track having an intro sampled from a documentary of the black widow spider, which brings us to the title track.
"Black Widow" is another highlight, a fun and energetic song that never gets tiring. "Sexual Hallucination" and "Bloody Creature Poster Girl" are growers, one might not like them very much for having too much of a pop influence, but afterwards both tracks become enjoyable. "Sexual Hallucination" actually features Shinedown's Brent Smith, and his voice really compliments Maria's. "Sick Like Me" is perhaps the best song on this album. It's beautiful, melodic, heavy, and just a great song altogether. "The Fighter", "Bones", and "Natural Born Sinner" are all also worth mentioning. All three songs are emotional and inspirational, "The Fighter" is about rising above from hate and proving that you are strong, "Bones" is quite similar though it also seems to deal with the loss of a loved one, and "Natural Born Sinner" supports the LGBTQ+ community. After an interlude titled "Into the Darkness", it brings to the final tearjerking track - "Out of Hell".
In "Out of Hell", there's no guitars provided by Chris and Randy, no bass provided by Travis, and no drums provided by Tom Hane, but rather it's just Maria and her piano. The song is about the everyday struggles people go through and how they shouldn't feel alone, as they'll always have someone there for them. Overall, Black Widow is a phenomenal album. It may not be In This Moment's absolute best album, but it's definitely close.
Best tracks: Big Bad Wolf, Dirty Pretty, Black Widow, Sick Like Me, Natural Born Sinner, Bones, The Fighter, and Out of Hell