The Top 10 Hard Rock Albums of 2023

Hard Rock is defined here as being, more aggressive than rock n roll,, but not dark or mean enough to be considered by Metal, by anyone who knows anything about metal.  These are not the coolest albums, but the best, fuck what other blogs say,   After I sort through the top 10 albums of all the respective genres, I use those lists to compile the top 10 albums of the year. 2023. The very fact these bands made it on the list speaks to how great these albums are, so it's not a slight that the number 8 album is above the 9th album, there is something that just gives it an edge that makes me want to listen to it more. After all, we can try to look cool and pick the hippest bands for a list, but at the end of the day what makes an album the best is that it makes you want more, you look forward to listening to it again. Perhaps you can find your next favorite on this list; and have included links to reviews of these albums if you want to check out the audio on these guys. Anyway here are the top 10 Hard Rock albums of 2023.

10- Land of the Lost - "Weapons of Mass Seduction" 

 For a band to take the time to learn another artist's song and then take even more time to record it must mean that the song holds value to them. Or they would be focusing on their own songs. This makes their choices more telling. They put a lot of heart into covers of Billy Idol, Judas Priest, and Bronski Beat, along with beefed-up takes on pop songs. Harms' great voice makes it worth the ride. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2023/12/lord-of-lost-weapons-of-mass-seduction.html

9-Spirit Adrift- " Ghost at the Gallows" 

Spirit Adrift continues to be pretty consistent in terms of songwriting. Their newest album finds its final form becoming more soulful and melodic, while the energy fires up for the 70s-tinged swagger. There are plenty of chugs to appease metal fans despite a more Thin Lizzy-like mood beginning to creep in. This can also be heard in bands like Mastodon and Baroness, whose Spirit Adrift sounds to be taking a place next to the upper tiers of modern hard rock.

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2023/08/spirit-adrift-ghost-at-gallows.html

 8-Nita Strauss  - "Call of the Void" 

As expected the new solo album from Alice Cooper guitarist opens with an instrumental that is high on the shred factor. She does this with melody and it sounds like it could conceivably still be a song rather than take you on a mind-bender of high-speed picking. I think this album does an ample job of showing who she is as a guitarist

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2023/07/nita-strauss-call-of-void.html

 7-Till Lindemann--"Zunge" 

The singer from Rammstein is debuting his solo album.  He had help from Sky Van Hoff of Machinemade God who has also produced albums for Rammstein, as well as other German metal bands like Kreator and Caliban. Carach Angren keyboardist Clemens Wijers also lent a hand to things. This album has some strong moments and more often than not delivers what you want from him even without Rammstein. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2023/12/till-lindemann-zunge.html

6-Djunah-"Femina Furens"

Here is the problem with the diversity push that spread into music, when a woman comes along making music worth listening to and thoughtful perspectives on her feminine experience are brought to the table, if it does not fit neatly into a marketing box then it falls under the radar. I can not believe there is no more buzz about this album, yet a bunch of garbage gets pushed down our throats regularly. In many ways, this could have come from the 90s. There is a grungy grit to the guitars. Sometimes their music has the blistering blitz of PJ Harvey's early days if coupled with beefier metallic bombast. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2023/03/djunah-femina-furens.html

 

5-Polkadot Cadaver - "Echoes Across the Hellscape" 

Where Dog Fashion Disco is more heavily influenced by Mr Bungle, these guys are straightforward melodic hard rock with a progressive slant. The songs are well written, playing it safe at times with  with strong melodies and interesting lyrics.nd really shines when it comes to songwriting on this one. Not metal for people who like the kind of metal we dive into here, as they will consider this harder-edged rock. Either way, it's very effective. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2023/12/polkadot-cadaver-echoes-across-hellscape.html

4-In This Moment - "Godmode" 

In This Moment has shifted through a few stylistic personas throughout their career. My favorite was the hyper-sexualized industrial grooves they dug into for their latex-clad "Blood" album. At 45 Maria Brink seems to be aware that dishing out the kind of aggressively erotic purring of the past, might have a more limited shelf life.  That is not to say she is ready to settle down onto the stages of  Vegas. She leans into the nu-metal resurgence. Not hitting as hard as Coal Chamber, but blending pop hooks with hard rocking riffage. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2023/10/gothtober-in-this-moment-godmode.html

3-Mutoid Man -"Muntants" 

Cave-In vocalist/guitarist Stephen Brodsky, is releasing the 3rd full-length from his sludge-tinged rock band. Joining him again is Converge drummer Ben Koller, who has been on board since the project's inception. This time around High On Fire bassist Jeff Matz is in the band. There is a rock feel thanks to Brodsky's smooth vocal delivery, but ample bout of math rock in collision with punk energy. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2023/07/mutoid-man-mutants.html

2- Spotlights - "Alchemy For the Dead" 

 This trio's sound has continued to evolve, as it does not place them somewhere between the shoe-gazing side of post-hardcore and sludge.  The latter is felt in the ominous punches that muscle through the more surreal tension being built. This album benefits from more fine-tuned production that allows for experimentation to pay off with the electronic sound dialed into the drums. The mix helps place each instrument where needed to make the most of its sound. This album gets better with each listen, and the shadows of its mood seep into your head.

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2023/03/spotlights-alchemy-for-dead.html

 1-Code  Orange - "Above" 

 I have been pretty invested in this band's career since being blown away by their 2017 album "Forever".  They broke away from the conventions of hardcore, which they continued to perfect with "Underneath". This set pretty high expectations for this album. Once I accepted the fact that they were no longer playing metal, I was able to really enjoy this album. It was tough to let go of this idea as they are still rather punchy in places, but they owe more to late 90s rock than hardcore or even nu-metal here.It is wonderfully written and shows there is no limit to what they are capable of. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2023/09/code-orange-above.html

Gothtober- In This Moment : "GODMODE"

In This Moment has shifted through a few stylistic personas throughout their career. My favorite was the hyper-sexualized industrial grooves they dug into for their latex-clad "Blood" album. At 45 Maria Brink seems to be aware that dishing out the kind of aggressively erotic purring of the past, might have a more limited shelf life.  That is not to say she is ready to settle down onto the stages of  Vegas. She leans into the nu-metal resurgence. There is a Ghostemane-like rapped verse on "The Purge". She has learned to really become comfortable with her voice allowing her to nail their cover of Bjork's "Army of Me". 

"Sacrifice" slightly calls back to their previous work, while using a techno undercurrent to the verses. The big festival-ready hook works well. "Skyburner" almost feels like a Deftones song in the chorus. They are taking a bigger step into nu-metal here. She goes back into the vocal fry croak for "Sanctify Me" which builds into her actually screaming in pretty short order. It has another Deftones-like pulse. Though they are typically heading in a darker direction. Spencer from Ice Nine Kills is ready for his Adidas jumpsuit as he joins Maria in the pseudo rap of "Damaged". I mean if we are going to do nu-metal this is the way to do it as it is really dialed in. 

The vocals were given lots of love in the studio. Not that she is hiding behind any smoke and mirrors,     Maria's voice sounds better than ever. Earlier today I reviewed the new Poppy, so it's interesting to hear how Maria does what Poppy at times aspires to do but significantly better. There is however less pop, and a harder direction to this album. At times a slightly industrial feel, but never goes full-on KMFDM like they did on "Blood". The album closes more of an atmospheric power ballad, that builds enough for Maria to take a bow and scream. I will give this a 9.5, as despite wearing it's influences on their sleeves this is a pristine album. 

The Top 40 Nu-Metal Albums - 30 to 21

As we continue to delve deeper into our list of the Top 40 Nu-Metal albums, things begin to require a more objective view in order to shed the sense of nostalgia carried for certain albums from this era. These are the forty albums from the genre that have best stood the test of time. We have not leaned too  heavily on  any one band, in fact there is only one band that made a large enough contribution to perhaps the genre’s entire existence to merit more than one entry, These are not the album with singles that got the most plays from Carson Daily or sold the most units back in the day when bands sold albums, but the ones with the best songs. Popularity means nothing, as sheep will just follow the leader. I am also not just limiting it to the mid to late 90s. There are plenty of nu-metal albums released recently that got right what bands before them did not catch onto, as well as a few that preceded the label of nu-metal. 

 Don’t be quick to break out the cardboard just yet, as album that relied solely on rapping are in the minority, as they all ended up sounding like what the Beastie Boys did on “Looking Down the Barrel of a Gun”, and if your entire career can not exceed the dynamic range of a single Beastie Boys album, then chances are you are not the best of any genre. I also am standing fast by the metal part, this meant excluding a few great albums by bands who were more post-hardcore or even just intense rock albums that were not metal. Don’t expect to see the Beastie Boys on here either, if you can’t understand they don’t belong on a metal list, then it’s time to drown yourself in the next convenient body of water you can find. With that let’s dig into our Top 40 nu-metal albums.

30-Nonpoint - "To the Pain" 2005

By the fourth album they had the formula dialed in airtight. Their songwriting managed to be pretty fucking working off syncopated guitars working off vocal repetition. Not fully as committed to the hip hop side of the equation that can be hear in the phrasing of Elias's verses, which in and of themselves work better than most band's choruses. By 2005 the transition into the era of Myspace had begun and these guys managed to be relevant in that context.

29-Papa Roach-"Infest' 2000

 Yeah ya know your life being cut into pieces , but there are also 11 other songs on this album. Which by the way is their second album. If you like this genre of music and have only heard the single then you need to do yourself a favor and give them whole thing a listen. It's infectious in the explosive energy it hits you with. Spitfire vocals are balanced with sung hooks, and has on of the most in your face mixes.

   

 28-Issues- "Beautiful Oblivion" 2019

 When you think about boy bands with guitars like Linkin Park that emerged from this scene, this band was much more honest in how they woven their pop leanings in with the metal side of their sound, into one sinewy beast that held deadly choruses which got stuck in your head. A prime example of a band that learned from those that came before them.

   

27-Sevendust-"Home" 1999

Many might be partial to their 1997 debut. The sophomore album is more polished where it counts , which is namely the songwriting. The vocals begin to explore more soulful places, along with both Chino and Skin contributing guest vocals .

   

 26 Bush -"The Art of Survival" 2022

Thanks to Chris Traynor the former guitarist of Orange 9 MM, a band who came close to making the list, this band gained a heavier edge that reached the point of near perfect songwriting with last year's release, not the grunge band you might remember from the 90s, but I guess divorce added the extra edge of anger Gavin needed.

   

25-In This Moment- "Blood" 2012

They started off in a much different place, trying to exceed their grasp in terms of heaviness. This album found them settling into a place that was a better fit. At times the album sounds like if Katy Perry was fronting KMFDM, but the blend of pop hooks and industrial strength metal made for effective grooves that pay homage to this era.

   

 

 24- Guano Apes - "Proud Like a God" 1997

 

This German band did not get the recognition they deserved back in the day. Front by the diminutive Sandra Nasic, who larger than life voice amped up the impact of the slapped bass groove and dynamic anthems. They might be the least metal band on this list, but they packed enough punch in the pit to belong on this list . 

   

 23-Scars on Broadway- "S/T" -2008

 the guitarist and drummer from System of a Down, created this side project that leans into System of a Down's more traditional metal influences. When this album came out it seemed like a more logical progression. It has held up well over the years, and rooted enough in System's sound to belong on this list. 

   

 22 Chevelle-"Wonder What's Next" 2002

It's like these guys could not decide if they wanted to be Helmet or Tool, so they just decided to split the difference and try to do both at the same time. Not the most original band on this list, but the are damn fine songwriters. That goes a long ways in my books. 

 

21- Coal Chamber - "S/T"1997

This album pretty much encompasses every aspect of nu-metal. The creepy window dressing, the down-tuned grooves, as the chanted chorus that build into pumped up bouncing. Slapped bass provided the back bone, and really the only reason this album did not rank higher is I feel like Dez's vocal prowess was somewhat limited, but his delivery is also a part of this album's charm , so it's a both a blessing and a curse. 

Ded : "School of Thought"

 My first thought was well it's out goth month here, maybe this is one of those nu-metal bands like Coal Chamber that cross over enough to count. The photo in their press kit seemed to lend it self to this line of thinking.  The actual music while nu-metal, is bigger arena rocking in the emphasis placed on the chorus that find them begging for radio play. They are quick to jump to emo flavored introspection on the second song that is closer to the loud to soft dynamic formula that got worn out back in the days of Myspace. It is not to say they do not want to go for that after covering the Cure's "Love Song" which do we not already have enough covers of that song even if you bring along Maria Brink to help with the vocals . It is however better than having all the late 90s sounds thrown at you at once on "Eyes Sewn Shut" . 

While they have the modern radio metal guitar sound dialed in it never comes across as heavy to me , just that these guys have spent too much time hanging out in LA clubs.  They want to be all the parts of Slipknot that sell albums with none of the maggots and masks when we get to "Mannequin Idol" . They keep skipping into familiar knots of tropes. The parts of their sound that remind me of Linkin Park are far more offensive since, I can not think of a prefabricated band that sucks worse than those guys. If you are offended by this because you like Linkin Park then I would urge you to follow the example of Chester set of how to deal with this. By the time we get to "Persona" which might have the album's best lyrics , all the song have begun to sound the same . I think their fans might want to heed the lyrics ' stop making stupid famous" .

"My Blood" starts off by making me think , they might be onto something , but by the dumbed chorus we are back to everything else on the radio. I think these guys have to potential to be ok, but they need to get over this trying to sound like everything else on the radio in order to be on the radio. If this is a manager or producer whispering this into their ears, then fuck them.  I am sure their fans are quick to post shit memes about Nickelback, but in truth there is little more than a shallow coat of distortion separating them.  I mean half the fault here might lie in the PR company who sent this thinking that this was the kind of music I am into. Though I might send mixed messages since I do like Issues and the new Spirit Box was pretty decent so I can take commercial music if done the right way . Not that this sucks in the manner it was crafted, from a production and performance stance everything works , the source of inspiration is the problem. Metal is like funk you can not fake it.  By the last song I no longer care what side of nu metal they are falling on and just want this to be over. I will give this album a 6, there are moments maybe two good songs, though they accomplished what they set out to do and are professional in how they do it it is just they excel at creating a dollar store Slipknot.

Top 10 Hard Rock Albums of 2020

These albums are not aggressive enough to be metal. They do have more balls to them than the ones on the rock list. Ok now that that is out of the way , much like in years past  ] I sort through the genre lists before making the overall top ten of the year list. I know many of you are ready for 2020 to be over with. Hate to break it to you but nothing is getting better next year. As far as 2020 goes for  hard rock there is only one new artist on the list , a couple are re packaged in new project , but for the most part it is the tried and true. The fact these artists made it on the list speaks to how  great these albums are, so it's not a slight that the number 8 album is above the 9th album, there is something that just gives it an edge that makes me want to listen to it more. After all we can try to look cool and pick the hippest bands for a list, but at the end of the day what makes an album the best is that it makes you want more, you look forward to listening to it again. Sure you can bitch and complain about your favorite band not being on the list. However I listen to five new albums a day so yes I heard your favorite album and was not impressed. No I do not care what you think about it .I do hope you can find your next favorite on this list and have included links to reviews of these albums if you want to check out audio on these guys. Anyways here are the top 10 hard rock albums of 2020

10- Pearl Jam - "Gigaton" 

There are some pretty cool moments here, more of them are than not, they are not trying to recreate what made "Ten" and "vs" great, but are killers players who despite their massive success are often overlooked for the caliber of chops they have. Oh yeah, Eddie sounds ok as well.

 https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2020/03/pearl-jam-gigaton.html 

 

9- In This Moment - "Mother" 

Not the first time this band has shown up on one of these lists so do not look so surprised. I would have liked to given this album more of a listen than I have but enjoyed the spins I gave it is heading in a more pop direction, but Ms Brink flexes her pipes . There are still enough of rock moments to earn it's place here. 

 https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2020/03/in-this-moment-mother.html

 

8- White Swan-"Transmission" 

The singer of Kittie reinvents herself to some extent , by heading in what they think is a sludge direction , but actually has more in common with grunge bands from the 90s. 

 https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2020/09/the-white-swan-nocturnal-transmission.html

 

7-Kirk Windstein- " Dream In Motion" 

Not what you might think a solo album from Crowbar's front man to be. He really flexes his pipes and this is not swamp sludge, but really heart felt grunge tinged power ballads with a darker side. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2020/11/november-is-doom-kirk-windstein-dream.html

6- Mushroomhead- " A Wonderful Life" 

I always assumed these guys were Slipknot rip offs. There are at least more of a Nu-metal version of KMFDM, but with a fetish for power ballads, I think they should have let the female singer do more, but this caught be by surprise and was better than it had any right to be , or I just under estimated them,

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2020/06/mushroomhead-wonderful-life.html

5-Narrow Head - " 12the House Rock " 

These guys have shoe gaze tendencies, but rock out more than the most recent Hum album with a grungy rough around the edges fuzzy gusto so this album wound up here. 

 https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2020/09/narrow-head-12th-house-rock.html

 

4-Ozzy Osbourne - "Ordinary Man" 

I like solo Ozzy as much as Black Sabbath. There I got that out of the way. Is this his best album? No and most of that is the producer's fault but for his age Ozzy sounds better than any what you can ask from any singer his age. The songs are pretty well written and despite the Post Malone songs this turned out better than I hoped/ 

"Ordinary Man" https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2020/02/ozzy-osbourne-ordinary-man.html

3-Miss Piss- " Self Surgery"

You might be surprised anything with Chelsea Wolfe in it is not at the top spot. She got together with her drummer and decided to just rock out and have fun. They get rowdy and almost border on being a punk band. They have more in common with Sonic Youth than Minor Threat sonically. They did bring it harder than Ozzy this year though.

.

 https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2020/05/mrs-piss-self-surgery.html

 

2- Deftones - " Ohms"

They never allowed themselves to just become another nu-metal band. In recent years they have been more hit or miss with me. Here they do nothing but hit, all the right notes and at all the right times , this almost cinched them the top spot. Not hard enough to be a metal album there are some metal inspired moments for sure/ 

 https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2020/09/deftones-ohms.html 

 1-Katatonia - "City Burials"  

It's no as dark as " Night Is the New Day" . It does however find them remembering they are a metal band in sometimes a more unusual fashion than expected like the fiery Judas Priest inspired riffs and the proggy grooves. It both rock and broods in it's introspective but has a balance and first and foremost thoughtful songs. The bottom line is I listened to it more than the Deftones, I think these guys went into new places where the Deftones stuck closer to what they are good at.

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2020/04/katatonia-city-burials.html

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. 

Playlists & Rituals

Seemed a good time to make one of these. Now pretty much doing these as special occasions hit me. Music can capture moods and feelings adding intensity to moments. I have always needed it to inspire translating feelings into a physical form, Beats to work as a metronome. They align the heart rate. They increase blood blow. They pulse and quiver. I tend to listen to industrial to inspire violence of a carnal nature. Here are some thematic song that have a more dynamic quality, They show a greater range of physicality put into play. They touch on different colors. Rituals of birth and the breeding process. Making us more aware of the animal. In nature exposed with the rest of the world only catching glimpses. To the more theatrical pageantry music adorns with candle light. So suck in these sounds and appreciate them as much as they appreciate you. 


Die Antwoord - "Daddy"




 


Angel Spit - "Devilicious"


 


In This Moment - "Adrenalize "


 


Genitorturers - "One Who Feeds"



   

 Orgy -Fetisha


 


 New Years Day -"Gangsta" 




Kidney Thieves- "Spank"


 



 Marilyn Manson- "Para-noir"



 


KMFDM- "Ready to Blow"

London Calls it

Last night I had to correct London who was under the impression that everyone went to Live Aid to see Queen. I had to correct this by showing her clips of the Live Aid performances by Led Zeppelin, David Bowie, Black Sabbath and Judas Priest. She like Ozzy and the boys best so has been on a tangent of wanting to see videos of Ozzy going crazy.  This morning I expanded upon it and took the opprotunity to play live videos of other bands to get her thoughts on it so here we go

Ozzy - "Mr Crowley"  from 83

London- "He kinda looks like you when you had long hair. He is not going crazy here"

Motley Crue - "Looks That Kill " from 87

London : "Eh, they are not as good as Ozzy"

Marilyn Manson- Live show from 96

London : "He has black hair like you used to. Why is he wearing booty shorts. He is having a fit. I don't even wear booty shorts. Who could have a crush on this guy?"

Judas Priest - "Heading out to the High way " live mid 8os. 

London-" He is not singing like an old lady hear , so that is better, I like it"

Slipknot-"Live From 99" 


London- "I don't think they sing as good in the masks , the sound is too low, I don't like them"

Gwar - Live from 90

London- "He doesn't sing very well, why is he more famous than you, you think better than he does, so does King Diamond. "

King Diamond - "Deadly Omens" live from 89

London- "I can tell be the singing that this is King Diamond, so of course it's good"

Ghost- Live from 2018

London- " This is crap, if they want to be King Diamond they have to sing better than that"

Lita Ford " Kiss Me Deadly" 

London- "This is not metal, how can this be metal"

In This Moment -Live 2018

London- "Are they going to just dance or sing" singing starts "I guess this is ok for a girl"

Chelsea Wolfe- "Live 2016" 

London- "This is a little better than the last one, rather see Ozzy"

Ozzy Osbourne - "Crazy Train Live 83"

London- "I think I can go crazier than him, I think I could crush faces if I had to"

Gothtober- Live Review : In This Moment @ the Tabernacle

maria brink 

The desire to see live music has waned somewhat over the course of the past year. So far catching Emma Ruth Rundle and Tombs have been the highlights for me. Big shows have become less of my thing. I did see the Cure and the Used last year, but I seem to like people less with every so choosing to be around large numbers of them takes a large dose of motivation. But I found myself at the Tabernacle, after first assuming this show was at the Masquerade where Veil of Maya was playing. So missing the Swedish nu-metal prog band Avatar who opened the show and coming in fortunately mid way into Of Mice & Men’s set. They were playing notes that on paper would equate heavy, but this new metal school of processed distortion never cuts through with the power and volume as if this was Morbid Angel or Slayer. The growling also lack conviction. They could not sell me on the fact they were playing metal, no matter how hard the suburban crowd wanted them to be. The evening all the way around was an example of how the definition of metal and the general populous’ is not on the same page and are more easily persuaded with choices that are easier to swallow. Things change , but no matter how close to Halloween it’s been I have never been at a metal show where they crowd would approve of “Thriller” being played over the p.a.

 In This Moment might not be metal, but they are very entertaining when it comes to the spectacle they put on live. I was struck with the feeling that it was like watching Katy Perry’s Halloween special. In fact Maria Brink and Perry might have the same voice teacher because they both speak in the same voice in-between songs which seemed like something that was learned in order to prevent them from screaming in-between songs. She also did almost as many costume changes as Perry, most of which were changes from one Stevie Nicks like cape to another. There was a slight burlesque element to her performance. She had two backup dancers , which it should be noted that if you are at a show where there are backup dancers you are not at a metal show, this applies to Motley Crue as well. The choreography was not on Madonna level and they went to the well one too many times for the one your knees head bang to swing your hair stripper move. Brink is as entertaining to watch with the volume off as she is with it on. She had a skin toned Spanx like body suit on underneath her costumes no matter how revealing it wished to be. She does have a nice set of hips on her. Vocally she did the best when she was in her Amy Winehouse inspired chest voice. Her upper range war practically non-existent and her lower notes disappeared in the mix. She did sing the hell out of the cover of “In the Air Tonight”. Though she moved a little like Mariah Carey in a couple of places that broke my focus. The harsher metal voice that she didn’t use as much as I expected was the main thing that separated her from being in the Katy Perry club.

 I was surprised how heavily there set leaned on the new album. One of the high lights was during one of Brinks costume changed when the band played instrumental versions of “For Whom the Bell Tolls” and “ Creeping Death”. The crowd was blend of bros, goth kids, people you are sure you saw at past years Dragon-cons, and trailer trash in Five Finger Death Punch shirts. There were two girls whose faces would be next to Websters definition of “basic bitch” standing behind me. The sentence that cemented this stereotype they were living was “I was crushing on this guy so hard, but I did not recognize him on Instagram”. By her own admission of sorts she basically said that In This Moment stood for people loving one another, helping each other and was against violence, war and hate, so opposed to all the subject that makes for good metal. Metal is not about motivational speeches, but saying “fuck you I’m going into my empowering fantasy world of satan, barbarians and post-nuclear dystopia”. Regardless they put on a good show, that is entertaining in a way that Katy Perry were to a Halloween show.

In This Moment : "Ritual"

So this is pretty much the Maria Brink show now. There is more spooky stuff going on to open the album and it feels like their will be less sexy nurses writhing around. I have often found her better to look at than listen to so lets see if this album changes that opinion. The first actual song is strange as it takes the stomp of a negro spiritual and molds it into something more sultry hard rock edges. The big chorus hooks don't come til mid way into the song. I am not sure if it is all production but here voice sounds better on this album, if she stays in more of Britney Spears like alto. But it's clear she has a better range than Spears as she can belt into her upper register.

There is a more organic feeling to this album, despite the drums not sounding real. Rob Halford shamelessly shows up on "Black Wedding" . Which makes this inversion of the Billy Idol even stranger. I make no qualms about stealing the chorus in the refrain. But some how it works. Then we get yet another cover of "In the Air Tonight". Not sure when Non-Point covered it, but seems like we don't need another cover of it. She does sing the hell out of it , but otherwise musically there is not much we haven't heard before. "Joan of Arc" feels a lot like "the Beautiful People " but a watered down less aggressive take on it.Pop and metal meet pretty evenly on "River of Fire ". I can do without the oh oh oh vocals in the background, aside from them it's a pretty solid marriage of pop and metal. I think the "let it rain" part would make this a great song for strip clubs.  If I ever wondered what Katy Perry would sound like doing metal the answer is on "the Witching Hour" . This formula is not fool proof as it backfires on "Twin Flames".

They get mired in similar almost nu-metal grounds with a slight tinge of 90s industrial rock on "Half God, Half Devil" . The problem then continues to be that they don't feel dark or heavy. They make a better stab at convincing me on "Roots' which was not the Sepultura cover I hoped for. "Lay Your Gun Down" feels more like an outro than ever building into a real song.I'll round this one up to a 7, I think I like the sexier KMFDM sound better, though the pop infused stuff can work. I guess if you are are fan this is par for the course.