In This Moment : " Mother"

It seem odd they opened the album with a cover of Steve Miller's "Fly Like an Eagle". It's give a darker more electronic twist. She doesn't use a harsh screaming voice , but you can hear her tense her vocal chords up on this to give it more of an edge. Guitar wise it's about as metal as Nine Inch Nails or KMFDM.  Maria puts a great deal of feeling into her performance , The first single "the In-between" has a solid grinding groove to that is sultry enough to play in a strip club. Perhaps not as sex fueled as the songs from "Blood". There is guitar on this song , but the metal elements are still dialed back a little. "Legacy" finds more 80's inflected pop tones bubbling up along with a very soulful vocal. The vocal melody melody recall more of a classic rock feel set against modern pop sense.  Taylor Momsen & Lizzy Hale are also on this track. I am not familiar enough with the Pretty Reckless enough to tell their two voices apart.

.The last album has a touch of gospel to it and that returns on the title track,The vocals are really produced. Brink has come a long was a singer. She the kind of soulful grit combined with pop hooks that are not far removed from Stevie Nicks at times and more Janis Joplin in other places. I can also hear some Lady Gaga in what she does. I think she should embrace it as this can be felt on the title track and makes me want to hear it again. I do not think they are metal enough to neglect this pop side as I think it has elevated their song writing. "As Above So Below" is ok, it has enough hook. Lyrically it comes across silly as the title is used like an occult bumper sticker slogan with nothing close in the way of context. They like to use occult imagery and play witches in their video without knowing what the hell they are talking about.

"Born in Flames " is more synth driven than guitar based, which could be said for the entire album, but is more noticeable here. It also bears saying way she places her tone to create a weird accent , strange considering she is from New York so not sure what she s doing in that regard. "God is She" might not be the album's best song but it is one of the heavier ones. "Holy Man" is kinda filler , but it doesn't suck. At first  "Hunting Grounds" feels like it is going to  lean more toward the electronic side of this album with chugged spurts of guitar to remind you this is sup[posed to be a rock album. It does kick in more on the chorus. I have not heard this Ded band before, so  judging by how their singer sounds on this song they are like 30 Seconds to Mars.After a couple of listens it grows on me.

There is no denying this album is really well produced. The vocals are given lots of love . This can be felt on "Lay Me Down" , There are tons of vocal layers and everything sounds really big, almost to the point of being over blown. The song is a little redundant in terms of where the melodies go. "Into Dust" closes the album. The more breathy tender vocal is another color to add, but I think I9 wish this had been worked into another song as it feels anti-climatic here.  I will give this one an 8.5 and see if it grows on me. If you are fan of this band then I am sure this is the next logical step in the pop direction for you.