Review by Shadowdoom9 (Andi) for In This Moment - Mother (2020)
At this point, In This Moment are starting to embrace their electronic influences much more to the point of starting their transition into a more industrial alt-metal sound. Mother would begin that transition before the sound is set in stone with their new album Godmode. Barely any of the blues rock elements in Ritual remain for the most part, and you might think it's Blood and Black Widow all over again...
Of course, you can't be too certain. Their music is quite unpredictable, as are their live shows. Guitars and electronics make a strange yet intriguing combination with the unique vocals of Maria Brink who can switch from an ice queen to a fire queen in no time flat.
The droning intro "The Beginning" lets you know about the ride through dark hellfire you're gonna take, "I am the god and the devil around you, I am the Heaven and Hell you crave". For the first actual song, "Fly Like an Eagle", the band took a Steve Miller song and covered it to make it dark and beautiful. Maria Brink's vocal power is incredible! The intro itself is almost a cover of the Terminator theme. I f***ing love it! "The Red Crusade" is another cinematic interlude, "Holy war, I'm in between". It segues to "The In-Between" with lots of distortion in the vocals, guitars, and synths. It has a beautiful powerful chorus, "I'm gonna bring a little Hell, I'm gonna bring a little Heaven". Then "Legacy" has more beautiful emotion for your ears to absorb.
"We Will Rock You" lights up the fire as an epic cover of the Queen hit, featuring Lzzy Hale (Halestorm) and Taylor Momsen (The Pretty Reckless). F*** yeah, that's the female-powered anthem we need alongside Evanescence's "Use My Voice"! The title track has a spoken prayer in the intro followed by quiet piano before the powerful vocals explode in with tender moments. "I'll give you my everything, I'll never let you fall". Then "As Above So Below" has sharp industrial angst. Heading down into "Born in Flames", Brink's vocals fit well with the keyboard synths, "Don't you know you're a king raised by queens, born in flames?"
Sweeping through is "God is She" in which guitars boom in alongside Brink's sinister vocals stirring up lively imagery, "I am the nightmare you've been crawling through". Next up, "Holy Man" bounces through different riffs and more of Brink's vocal harmonies ("Show me a savior, show me something I understand, even the worst kind of sinner is a holy man") before ending with eerie organ. "Hunting Grounds" stands out with its pummeling heaviness and Brink's duet with Joe Cotela of Ded, whom Brink is currently in a relationship with, as the vocal harmonies bleed well into guitar melodies, "One of us is going down, let's do this anyway". Then we have "Lay Me Down", a nice rush through the closest we have to the blues rock vibe of Ritual. Ending things of an eerie note is one last cover, their take on "Into Dust" by Mazzy Star that lingers on in darkness and floats away into the unknown.
Industrial alt-metal darkness is starting to shape up in Mother. Most of the songs have a lot of love and are worth repeating again. Though it's not until their next album Godmode when the band's new sound finally takes true form....
Favorites: "Fly Like an Eagle", "The In-Between", "We Will Rock You", "Mother", "Born in Flames", "God is She", "Hunting Grounds"