First off and foremost I have something to admit.
Something that directly pertains to the following
review: I personally have felt in the past that female
death metal vocals were an act of defilement on par
with nailing a dead rat to a Monet painting. (That’s
taking something beautiful and making it ugly, for
those not metaphorically inclined.) But I must say
that Maria Brink from CA based metal act IN THIS MOMENT
takes my preconception and shatters it. Well, ok,
I still can’t listen to bands like KITTIE without
wanting to jam a shish-kabob skewer in my ear, but
as far as metalcore female vocals go, I’m sold.
(In all fairness, KITTIE’s most recent work
is of a higher caliber, but as for their early efforts….
dear god, my testicles shrivel at the very thought)
Anyhow, this is about IN THIS MOMENT. I’ll
just have to save my “Anti-female-Death-Metal-Vocals
tirade” for another time. On with the review!
The band formed in 2005 and shortly thereafter recorded
their first demo, which had created quite a stir in
their local music scene as well as generating over
a million plays on their Myspace page at of the end
of 2006. And so “A Beautiful Tragedy”,
the bands debut album, was much anticipated by the
metal public. So was all the hype valid? Was it worth
the wait? Who killed J.R.?
As for the first two questions, the answer is a loud,
screaming, resounding “Hell YES!” “A
Beautiful Tragedy” is a dichotomy of beauty
and brawn, featuring Maria Brink’s stunning
ability to sing like an angel and shriek like a vicious
demon. The woman has a friggan set of pipes on her,
to be sure. Her voice is powerful and graceful, no
matter if she’s singing or screaming, as she’s
equally proficient at both. Oh, and she’s smokin’
hot too. But that doesn’t pertain to the music.
(It does, however, greatly enhance researching the
band). Not to be outdone by their formidable frontwoman
the band behind the beauty, consisting of Chris Howorth
(Lead Guitar), Blake Bunzel (Guitar), Jesse Landry
(Bass), and Jeff Fabb (Drums) is equally dynamic and
impressive. We’re talking precision metal, technical
and heavy, but also very melodic and graceful. There’s
a good bit of metal-core going on in here. Think Evanescence
meets Shadows Fall. Just listen to “Prayers”,
it will rip your face off and leave you begging for
more.
Bottom Line – Do you hold firm to the opinion
that “chicks have no place in metal”?
This disc may very well change your mind. Beauty and
brawn, aggression and grace, all of these elements
combine to make “A Beautiful Tragedy”
a superb work of metal and an excellent debut album.
Key Tracks: Prayers; Daddy’s Falling Angel;
When The Storm Subsides
Reviewed by Farron Watson |
