In This Moment
is one of early 21st century America's best metal bands. They didn't start out that way, though. On the band's debut CD,
Beautiful Tragedy
, they were a regulation semi-overwrought metalcore outfit with a female singer. But on 2008's
The Dream
, they allowed pop-oriented producer
Kevin Churko
(who'd worked with
Ozzy Osbourne
,
Celine Dion
, and
Shania Twain
) to bring out their melodic side, and let vocalist
Maria Brink
demonstrate that she could really sing, not just scream more or less in tune. The fusion of metalcore and retro-minded arena pop-metal worked very well, and on
A Star-Crossed Wasteland
, they up their game again, recording some of their hardest, heaviest songs (
"Gun Show,"
"Just Drive,"
"Blazin'"
) alongside some truly beautiful ballads like the closing, piano-led
"World in Flames."
On
"The Promise,"
a male vocalist,
Adrian Patrick
of the band
Otherwise
, duets with
Brink
, each one switching back and forth between clean and harsh vocals. The result sounds a lot like
Lacuna Coil
, but with more emotional power than the occasionally distant Europeans. Established fans of
will love
, but as their best album, it's also a perfect introduction for a newcomer. ~ Phil Freeman