In This Moment : "Witch"

This band has changed a great deal over the years, and now music has caught up with them, with plenty of women screaming in metalcore. It would make sense for them to pivot and lean into their more industrial side rather than try to beat a band like Spiritbox at their own game. They kind of split the difference on this front regarding the opening track of their new album. It works in keeping a balanced presentation of what they do. Where they are keeping up with the tide of the industry is by having a bunch of guest spots on this album; the first is on "I Wnat to Believe" when Dayseeker joins them. It finds them meandering on some atmospheric yet anthemic modern rock with pop subtleties. It sounds good and is well put together, though certainly for the younger end of their fan base. Maria is the culprit on this one when it comes to wanting to believe in keeping things on the more nu-metal sidde of the genre. 

"Crawl" is what you expect from this band; there's some grooving and her dynamic vocal performance. There is a more focused hook on the chorus. This song grabbed me more on my second listen. "Into the Dark" is an intersting has a bit of an 80s vibe. Her voice is really well produced on this album. It is a little weird that they already have a song called "Into the Darkness' but this song is so good it's forgivable. They pull off a cool dark cover of "Wrapped Around Your Finger." I can hear this playing in a movie trailer already. They bring Kim Dracula, who tries to be Johnathan Davis for Halloween on "Heretic." This is the album's first misstep, but it was going pretty stellar up to this point. 

"Father" is more of a grooving nu-metal ballad that works well. Obviously about her father who died. Feels pretty honest and heartfelt. There is more of a synth wave vibe that bubbles up for " With Out Me There is No You," which feels more like a Spiritbox ong which is not a problem since it just means the songwriting is forced to dial itself up. Not sure why anyone is treating Kat Von D like she is an actual singer bu they chose to bring her along for their cover of "Another Brick in the Wall"; it's a dancey electronic version. Three covers seems a bit excessive, but here we are with her bringing the heavy breathing to 'Something I Can Never Have". It works, and overall this album is pretty impressive I will give it a 9.5, one of their best more recent efforts. 

  

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