Album Review: In This Moment - Ritual

In This Moment haven't hidden their arena-sized ambitions lately, but how many heavy acts attained anything significant by merely aiming to headline their local pub?

Maria Brink and cohorts' early metalcore inclinations are a vestige of the past. Opening track proper Oh Lord's catchy pop/metal reinforces this, as do electronic and pseudo-gothic touches littered elsewhere. Half God Half Devil effectively fuses Rob Zombie-like muscle with radio-rock overtones, Metal God Rob Halford drops by, and covering Phil Collins' In The Air Tonight may divide the camps but offers crossover potential. Not every hook resonates, some passages wander aimlessly, but they appear more comfortable in their own skin nowadays.