In This Moment – Black Widow

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“Black Widow is a metaphor for this innocent young girl who gets infected with life, traumas, experiences, and the balance of light and darkness,” explains Maria. “She becomes this poised and powerful creature. That’s the album.”

On November 17, In This Moment will unleash the latest chapter of their continuing musical saga entitled Black Widow. As with their last three studio albums, In This Moment turned to Kevin Churko to handle the production aspect on this new release. The band’s connection with Churko has undoubtedly helped to elevate the band’s creativity to an entirely different level with each sequential release. Black Widow is the follow-up to 2012’s highly successful album Blood, which clearly demonstrates the perpetual evolution of the band and their innate ability to think outside of the musical box in which many artists choose to confine themselves.

I felt as if I was taken on a journey while listening to Black Widow, with the central theme along the majority of the way being the quest of finding a way to the light through the darkness. The band continues its fusion of industrial and metal and pushes the envelope even further than they did on Blood. I’m going to come back to the four songs that have been made available for download already and those are “Sex Metal Barbie,” “Big Bad Wolf,” “Bloody Creature Poster Girl” and the first official single/video “Sick Like Me.” But first…

The title track is catchy as hell with an infectious groove and riffs that would make even Rob Zombie jealous. “Sexual Hallucination” was one of the songs that I was most anxious to hear as it’s a duet with Brent Smith of Shinedown. The two bands toured together on the Uproar Festival in 2012 and the Carnival of Madness tour in 2013, forming a deep friendship and mutual respect for each other’s craft. That bond allowed for this amazingly sexy collaboration between the two artists and the band collectively, and is a true standout on the album.

In This Moment have dabbled a bit with ballads in the past and when they do, it’s a pretty powerful and emotional odyssey that you get taken upon. “The Fighter” is pure Maria Brink sitting at a piano – exposing her soul and accepting who she is, imperfections and all, just like all of us. The song grows with intensity as the entire band eventually joins in to build this amazing wall around Maria’s commanding vocal delivery.

I really liked the song “Dirty Pretty” which has a Manson-ish “Beautiful People” era vibe to it, but with a hook that’s just as infectious, if not even more so.

The album’s closer, “Out of Hell,” is another piano-driven ballad that’s going to pull on a lot of heartstrings and probably hit home with many listeners who have been in the exact same place in their lives.

As for the four songs mentioned earlier that have been released for download:  the lead-off single “Sick Like Me” is a unique hybrid which blends the reminiscent tone of early In This Moment with the latest sounds heard on Blood. Maria’s vocal delivery on “Big Bad Wolf” could be an ode to Mike Patton and old-school Faith No More. “Sex Metal Barbie” calls out all the haters and trolls who feel empowered to spew their venom as they sit behind a keyboard. “Bloody Creature Poster Girl” is a track that really shows the band pushing the musical envelope. If it doesn’t hook you immediately, then give it a couple of listens to let it sink in.

Black Widow is a beautiful demonstration of the evolution of a band that refuses to remain complacent or create an album on which every song sounds exactly the same. Yes, they may have lost a few fans along the way who wanted In This Moment to retain the Beautiful Tragedy–era sound and remain there, but this is a band that has been growing and evolving ever since that album was released. For those of us that have been there since the beginning, it’s been a true pleasure to see the creativity and exploration that has evolved, which has resulted in them gaining millions of fans worldwide.  Having said that, I will admit that some of the songs on Black Widow surprised even me; some hooked me immediately and others took a listen or two to be fully appreciated. And fully appreciate them I did, because if there’s one thing In This Moment is not – is predictable,  and quite frankly it’s refreshing to be surprised in this day of cookie-cutter music.

Overall, it’s a solid album that showcases a band that continues to elevate its game as well as rise to the challenge of the doubters and haters. Will everyone enjoy it? Well, you would hope so, but there will always be haters. I just hope listeners will give it an honest listen and be open minded and they will probably be surprised with how much they like it.

Check out the Show Review and Concert Photos from IN THIS MOMENT’s Black Widow Tour 2014 by Thomas Woroniak here!

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Review by Johnny Price, Senior Lead RockRevolt Magazine Journalist