You may have seen In This Moment supporting Devildriver on their recent UK tour, and if you did you will probably noticed how the tow bands complimented each other like chalk and cheese. Devildriver are masters of uncompromised brutality, In This Moment lean towards more delicate melodies interspersed with moments of beautiful ferocious hardcore terror. It was with this in mind that I purchased their CD, 'Beautiful Tragedy'.
Live, In This Moment have a thick heavily layered sound, however, on disc they do sound slightly flat. The guitar sound does not match up to their live performance, and everything does sound a little repetitive, giving you a sense of deja-vu. The songs themselves do resemble much of the output of bands such as Atreyu or From Autumn To Ashes - In This Moment do nothing special here, they tend to stick to the guidelines of the hardcore genre, however they do have the added bonus of a female singer, giving the songs a new aspect which gives them a resemblance to the music of Kittie, Walls of Jericho, and even the now defunct Human Waste Project. The musicianship is not bad, songs such as 'Ashes' demonstrate the heaviness of the band, whereas 'Circles' shows of the individual talents of the musicians themselves. The instantly likable standout track, single and live favorite 'Beautiful Tragedy' will work its way into your head and refuse to leave, always drawing you back in for one more listen.
The band themselves are instantly very likable, an attractive female singer accompanied by four male musicians who look as if they have been hand picked from a fashion magazine.
This is an album that will not dissapoint any fan of the hardcore or metal, but does not have the staying power of other bands such as the aforementioned Atreyu, or The Bled. However, it is still an album that you should most definitely check out and give a few spins on your CD player. And if you ever get a chance to see them live, take it!