For those who don’t know about the group In This Moment, they are an alternative metal band with legendary songs of rage and despair performed by frontwoman Maria Brink, lead guitarist Chris Howorth, bassist Travis Johnson, guitarist Randy Weitzel and Kent Diimmel. Brink’s voice is powerful, with screams that urge you to tap into your anger and slow songs that send shivers down your spine.
Seeing that they released a 10 track new album, “GODMODE,” on Oct. 27 was so exciting since I hadn’t realized they were working on anything new. I’ve loved the band since my dad first showed me their music. This is why, upon listening, I found myself disappointed.
The album starts with a song of the album’s namesake, and the introduction is filled with mechanical beeping and whirring. From there, Brink’s voice is layered over with vocal effects, making her dragged lyrics drone as she sings. I appreciated the message of the song as she sings about not taking mistreatment from people and persevering, thus making her feel like a god. However, the effects made her lose that edge from before.
This theme continues through the rest of the album. Personally, when I put on In This Moment, I do so to embody Brink’s powerful voice. So, listening to an entire album in which she alters her voice with odd, mechanically fabricated harmony…was a letdown.
Therefore, instead of going through the songs, I will discuss the songs that I found came close to breaking free from this monotony. Which only consists of three: “SKYBURNER,” “SANCTIFY ME” and “FATE BRINGER.” I will also mention “DAMAGED,” simply because it features Spencer Charnas.
“SKYBURNER” did not deviate much from the recipe the band follows throughout the album. The main chorus brought this song back from the clutches of redundancy. The harmony makes it sound like an ascension is happening as Brink sings, “Fall into the flames / Skyburner burn away / Burst into a blaze / Skyburner, skyburner.”
“SANCTIFY ME” was my favorite song on the album. At first, I thought it would be identical to the second track, “THE PURGE,” since both featured her growling the lyrics at the beginning in an extremely similar fashion. Then, she started her iconic screaming as she went ham on the lyrics. I could feel the rage as she connects with the listener, finding solace in both of us feeling angry at the world. My favorite part was when she screamed, “Feel the force / the chaos, engage / Don’t you forget / We are the same.”
“FATE BRINGER” was another that didn’t pull away much, but had a single moment that allowed it to escape the repetition. The way she sang the line “You don’t have control” was reminiscent of the song “Natural Born Sinner” from the album “Black Widow” in my ears. As someone who loves that older track, thinking of it during this song certainly made it one of my favorites in this album.
Finally, “DAMAGED” suffers in the throes of vocal editing, but it was pretty cool listening to the style in which Brink and Charnas were singing. They alternated lines, singing about how they are both, well, damaged and should end the relationship. Their emphasis on certain words allowed the despair over their situation to come through despite the vocal clarity faltering.
Overall, the album was good when you look at the lyrics and meanings of the songs. If you’re angry about an unfair situation, being mistreated or losing your faith, then these songs, like many of the bands’ other ones, are great. But solely relying on lyrics can only do so much when every song rhythmically sounds the same. I still love In This Moment, but I will say I haven’t been able to get into the music following their album “Black Widow.”
2/5 Stars
pbortner@ramapo.edu
Featured photo courtesy of @inthismomentofficial, Instagram
