In This Moment – Godmode (BMG) [Zak Skane]
Opening up this ten track album The Purge greets us with the seductive pulses of electronic 808 kick drum rhythms, which lures us in to Maria Brinks venomous rap styled vocals which transcend into silky smooth vocal harmonies in the choruses. The guitars and drums lay down sledge hammer weighted grooves to the let the style of electronic arrangements glaze the track into it’s new direction. This is just the beginning to this new bands direction.
Sky Burner brings in some sexy swinging riffs matched with some swooning half time grooved melted with some sleek shoegazing choruses that would please any Deftones fan. Maria Brink strictly reminds us that she is not retiring the harsh vocals anytime soon in Sanctify Me, with it’s gruesome gravelling verses to it’s sharp tearing classic screams that echoes of the nostalgic era of the band, whilst bringing in some Meshuggah influenced bowl rumbling riffs and precise double kick grooves. The angry sexy vibes of Sacrifice brings in some euro dance inspired 808 beats, filtered guitar effects and additional vocal layers, which takes some notes from Nine Inch Nails. To close the first half of the album the cinematic piece I Die For You which has been featured in the Keanu Reeves stared movie John Wick 4.
The track brings typical cinematic tropes that would originally feature in film score compositions with its big reverbed percussion and moving strings to co-exist with the bands ballad. Highlights on the second half of the album are Fate Bringer which brings in poppy swinging rhythms and catchy choruses, whilst Everything That Starts And Ends With You comes in as a personal highlight with one of the best songs in their back catalogue with it’s throbbing and grinding synth riffs, polyrhythmic snare beats accompanied with fuzzy guitar riffs and soaring choruses. The rap laced verses of Damaged showed some chilling trade offs with Spencer Charnas of Ice Nine Kills and their closing track Army Of Me brings in crushing riffs, industrial pulses and the tearing vocal lines.
It’s safe to say that this is most electronically driven album that the band have delivered to date, but it’s an album that is still thrives with In This Moment style. The guitar riffs and drums are bombastic as ever, the vibes are as sleazy and sexy like they were on their 2012 and 2014 releases Blood and Black Widow. This is also an album that shows the band still growing in their 18 year career, Maria and crew are still growing as musicians and especially as songwriters.
The opening track The Purge and The Sacrifice showcases the band exploring into more electronic influenced arrangements, to highlighting songwriter moments with Everything Starts And Ends With You and finally to new career heights with their major film featured song I Die For You. If you think this band have covered it all, trust me they are just getting started. For fans of Deftones, Nine Inch Nails and Bad Omens. 10/10
Elm Street – The Great Tribulation (Massacre Records) [Paul Hutchings]
Whilst Elm Street sit with the thrashers, there is a wider style to their approach, with a combination of styles that switch from the punk tinged Take The Night, to the impressive opener Seven Sirens, which at 11 minutes long is an ambitious way to open any release.
The longer songs allow Elm Street to expand on their writing style, which they do with some enthusiasm.
Bacterial Husk - Anthropogenic Ruin (Label 2318) [Mark Young]
Boston, Mass. Not keen on tea but very keen on death metal as the following platter will inform. Bacterial Husk, active since 2015 brings their latest to the table and it's another top addition to what feels like a classic year for death metal.
Spores Of Hallucinosis starts with what could be described as an over-under-sideways-down intro riff that boots straight into a trem picked twinned with some stabbing guitar that sets the whole thing up with that filthy kind of death metal complete with submerged-in-slime vocal delivery. There is some razor-sharp guitar going on here with that baton picked up by Flayed By Anomalies. Underpinned by a simple structure, it takes the conceit of Spores…and keeps the foot firmly pressed to the neck. It has that sort of riff that is just mint to play and to headbang to.
Umbilical Sewage drops some nice technical touches in there without forgetting their core statement of bringing the brutal whilst Mystics Of Transmutation just goes for it, with a guitar tone that sounds similar to a swarm of murder hornets looking for a feast. It has to be said that there is enough going on to the engagement high, and similarly, the energy level is kept up, I think that they could have done with shortening one or two tracks, making them like shotgun blasts – devastation delivered quickly and on the next one. That is me being mean in some respects, but hey I’m reviewing it.