In This Moment - Ritual [Review]

After hearing Black Widow for the first time in 2015, I quickly became a fan of alternative metal band In This Moment and have even, in fact, now seen them play live three times. The follow-up to Black Widow, titled Ritual (which is the band's sixth studio album), was a highly anticipated release for me because of how much that I loved Black Widow. (I love Black Widow so much, in fact, that I own it on both CD and vinyl.) While Ritual does not match up to Black Widow for me (something that is going to be difficult for the band to do, if I am being honest), it is still a really strong album and one of the band's best albums to date. Something that I really love about the album is that, like Black Widow (which showcases a strong feminist theme), it seems to have an overall theme, and as the album title suggests, it, in many ways, examines the ritualism of religion and history. The band's frontwoman, Maria Brink, said that the album's theme was inspired primarily by her trip to Salem, Massachusetts, where she felt an almost palpable magic in the air, and that is something that I totally and completely understand because I visited Salem myself last year and can confirm that the feeling in the air is a magical one; it's like crossing the threshold into another realm, and it was a life-changing experience that I would love to relive someday. Moving on to discussing the album, though, it opens with an eerie and mostly instrumental piece titled "Salvation." Dark and foreboding and composed of dissonant and ambient noises, the sound of a bell tolling, thunder, sirens, and so forth, "Salvation" builds in intensity until finally ending with a spoken monologue by Brink herself: "It took lying with the devil and looking him straight in the eyes for me to seek and truly know the grace of God and all of Her glory." There is a theme of duality and reflection here that occasionally repeats throughout the rest of the album. It can, for example, be interpreted that our ideas of God and the devil, of good and of evil, are reflections of ourselves, and that we come to terms with the good in us by first acknowledging our dark sides.

"Salvation" moves seamlessly into the album's lead single, "Oh Lord," effectively functioning as both an intro to the album and as an intro to "Oh Lord." "Oh Lord" is a bluesy-rock song with a catchy and cascading melody as its chorus. The song brings forth the same theme as "Salvation" - that being the duality of human nature. Brink addresses the dichotomy of her essence when she asks whether she is "the righteous or the damned," "the sinner or the saint," and "Lillith or... Eve." Brink has said that she considers herself "spiritual" but not associated with any one particular religion, and that really seems to be exemplified on this album. Songs such as "Oh Lord" tackle Christianity (or at least use it as allegory) while songs such as "Witching Hour" tackle witchcraft and/or Paganism. "Oh Lord" is followed by "Black Wedding," one of my favorite songs on Ritual. "Black Wedding" features the lyrics "Priest, are you there?"and "Forgive me, priest, for I have sinned," and I am thinking that these lyrics are deliberate considering the fact that the song features guest vocals by Rob Halford, the lead singer of Judas Priest. When I saw In This Moment play in Rochester, NY this past summer, Chris Motionless of Motionless in White performed Halford's vocals, and he and Brink sounded great together. (This was, however, not a surprise to me, as the two had previously collaborated on the Motionless in White song "Contemptress.") "Black Wedding" is driven by a playful and oscillating piano accompaniment, a huge part of the song's appeal for me (as are its captivating lyrics, which briefly sample Billy Idol's classic hit "White Wedding"). It is definitely one of the catchiest songs on the album, and as I said, one of my favorites. The fourth track on Ritual is a cover of Phil Collins' "In the Air Tonight," and it's one of only two songs on the album that feels, to me, like a throwaway. It really doesn't do anything new or exciting with the song and isn't the best choice for Brink's unique and raspy voice, although it does definitely fit the album's overall spiritual theme. (Although there is currently no music video, "In the Air Tonight" was released as the album's third single.)

"Joan of Arc" is probably my favorite song on the album. In classic Rob Zombie fashion, the song opens with a line from a film; Dustin Hoffman, from the film The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc, ominously but assertively asks the rhetoric question, "Who are you to even think you can know the difference between good and evil?" (This line yet again accentuates the album's overall theme of the duality of good and evil within us.) Similar to the Madonna song of the same name, the song addresses being the sacrificial lamb, either to the media or within a personal relationship. In This Moment's song, however, is much angrier than Madonna's and is lousy with sarcasm: "Go ahead; blame me for your sins. Go ahead, and sacrifice me." One of the heaviest songs on the album, it features a killer guitar riff encouraging headbanging galore, and it would be amazing to hear this song live. (I saw the band twice during their most recent tour to promote Ritual, and this song was unfortunately left off the setlist both times.) "River of Fire" has a catchy hook and, like "Joan of Arc," a memorable guitar riff. The first time that I heard the song was when I saw the band in Rochester this past summer, and it initially sounded a lot like "Oh Lord" to me. Although I am obviously now able to hear the clear differences, I still think that it has a similar bluesy groove to it. Ritual then gives us another highlight, the aforementioned "Witching Hour." This song was definitely inspired by historical witch trials. Similar to "Joan of Arc," it begins with a spoken intro (although in my efforts to find out whose voice is heard or what the monologue is from, I unfortunately found nothing): "Superstition and fear drove them all to accuse their friends and family of consorting with the devil..." "Witching Hour" is an upbeat electrorock song with an aggressive beat and catchy, almost poppy chorus. (Interestingly, the song makes several references to accused witches being burned alive, but no accused witches were burned alive in Salem. Most were hanged; some died in prison, and one was pressed to death. This is why I say that it's inspired by witch trials in general.)

Ritual's eighth track is titled "Twin Flames" and is honestly a lower point on the album for me. It doesn't have the catchy hook that many of the other songs found on the album do and is a bit repetitive, especially with its seemingly looping acoustic guitar strumming. It both sonically and lyrically reminds me of the band's song "Burn" (which seems to be one of the band's favorite songs, since they often include it in setlists). "Half God Half Devil" obviously sets the previously mentioned theme of duality down very clearly, as evidenced by its title alone. It would have even functioned well as the title of the album and was, in fact, the title of the band's most recent tour (even though the song was uncannily not performed). One of the heavier tracks on the album, "Half God Half Devil" is, like "Oh Lord," riddled with binary oppositions such as in the lyrics "You saw a sinner, saw a saint inside of me" (suggesting that both were seen), "You want to know if I'm a friend or an enemy," "my angels and my demons," and so forth. The song's chorus, in fact, is full of what seem to be polar opposites: "I can be your heavenly or I can be your hell. I can say a prayer for you or I can cast a spell. I push you to the darkness just to pull you to the light 'cause I can take away your breath or I can bring you back to life." I am reminded of the point that I made in my review of the new Marilyn Manson album regarding his song "SAY10": "You say God, and I say Satan," Manson sings. There is a similar theme present on this album, which is that we all have both good and evil within us and that one person's villain is potentially another person's hero (and vice versa). Following "Half God Half Devil," Ritual provides us with "No Me Importa" (Spanish for "I Don't Care"). "No Me Importa" begins with a low, weeping piano that quickly transforms into a chugging electric guitar. The song, which assertively chants that "I don't care!" in its chorus, lyrically addresses someone who has been manipulating the speaker, with the speaker finally taking a stance and saying that the offender's actions will no longer have any effect.

"Roots" is Ritual's second single following "Oh Lord" and reminds me a great deal of the band's older song "Blood" (from the album of the same title). "Roots" is a fun and catchy rock song (that I immediately loved upon my first listen) about thanking your difficult past for making you the strong person that you currently are. The lyric that I really take to and relate to is "I'm stronger than I ever knew; I'm strong because of you." The chorus features anthemic, strongly accentuated, and staccato notes similar to Three Days Grace's signature sound in songs like "I Hate Everything About You" and "Home." A standout track on Ritual, I remember feeling mightily disappointed when the band did not perform the song live the first time that I saw them during the Half God Half Devil tour in Rochester. It had just recently been released as the band's latest single, and my expectation had been that they would have wanted to help promote it by performing it. By the time that I saw them again in Utica, NY, however, it was added to their setlist. My only complaint about "Roots" is its placement on the album; its energy sounds like it should be near the beginning of the album, not near the end. The final song on most editions of Ritual is a soft piano ballad titled "Lay Your Gun Down." (The Japanese edition of the album features a breathy, dreamy, and ethereal cover of the classic Radiohead song "Creep.") "Lay Your Gun Down" is slow and gently hammered out on a piano. An atmospheric song during which Brink's vocals are semi-spoken and semi-sung, I would argue that lyrically speaking, the song's gun imagery is allegorical, that the song is more so speaking to mental illness and how it makes sufferers their own worst enemies: "What have I gone and fucked up again this time? How did I become my own demise?" With that being said, however, when I saw the band in Utica, Brink, before an extremely raw and heartfelt performance of the song, dedicated the song to the victims of the massacre in Las Vegas that had occurred two nights prior, and the song can definitely be interpreted in a more literal way such as that one.

I am overall very pleased with Ritual as an album. While not as good as Black Widow (which honestly sounds more like a greatest hits compilation than an album), it definitely has its charms and only a couple of tracks that are, in my opinion, throwaway tracks. (The two that come to mind are the "In the Air Tonight" cover and "Twin Flames," neither of which serve as highlights on the album for me.) In comparison to the band's last two albums, Black Widow and Blood, the album, in some ways, takes us back to In This Moment's roots because it is a lot more organic than either of those two albums. Like early albums such as Beautiful Tragedy and The Dream, it is a lot more raw and not as electronically driven as tracks like "Blood" and "Big Bad Wolf" are. That is neither a good thing nor a bad thing, although I do admit that one reason why I love Black Widow as much as I do is because of its synthesis of heavy metal and electronic music. (Ritual still does this at times such as on "Witching Hour," but it's definitely not as prominent as it is on Black Widow.) Something that makes studying and following In This Moment's career is that one can hear the progression and evolution of their sound from album to album, and Ritual, in some ways, seems to be a conglomeration of their previous five albums. I, as stated before, love the album's spiritual themes and its theme of duality within each of us. Both times that I saw In This Moment live during the Half God Half Devil tour, their stage was lousy with religious icons such as the Christian cross and the Pagan pentagram, and the fact that Brink said that she wanted to represent different avenues of religion is represented both on the album and during live shows. In This Moment will, very soon, be embarking on yet another tour in promotion of Ritual, this time titled the Witching Hour tour, but they are unfortunately not hitting a city close enough to me for me to see them. I, for now, definitely feel satisfied having seen them three times so far for, however.

In This Moment - Half God Half Devil Tour - Live at the Stanley Theatre [Tuesday, 10/3/17] [Review]

During alternative metal band In This Moment's Half God Half Devil tour, which was intended to promote their newest album Ritual, I actually had the pleasure of seeing them twice - first on Saturday, July 8th in Rochester, NY and then on Tuesday, October 3rd in Utica, NY. The Utica, NY show was, in fact, my third time seeing them, as I first saw them last year in Syracuse, NY when they opened for Rob Zombie and Korn on the Return of the Dreads tour (which I reviewed here). (For purposes of conserving time and because the band's setlist didn't undergo much change between the two dates of the tour, I will be focusing primarily on the Utica, NY show at the Stanley Theatre in this review.) In This Moment is a phenomenal band to see live, as I wrote when I saw them last year as an opening act. They were so good then that I vowed to see them as a headliner, and I feel so grateful to have had that opportunity twice this year. (The band's frontwoman, Maria Brink, is actually from Schenectady, NY, which isn't too terribly far from where I live, so I am lucky in that the band seems to play in my relative area pretty frequently.) The first time that I saw them this year in Rochester (where the venue, as pictured below, looked like a medieval castle on the outside), they had three opening acts - Little Miss Nasty (which was basically a cabaret female strip show in which I had very little interest), VIMIC (a band that I didn't much care for), and Motionless in White (a band that I actually do really like, so that was a treat for me, as well).

That show was honestly far too long, as Little Miss Nasty, who had not one but two segments, seemed completely unnecessary. The sound quality of the show also wasn't very good; Maria Brink addressed the audience pretty frequently at both shows, but at the Rochester show, I usually could not understand what she was saying. (Rumor had it that there had been a rap show at the venue the week prior, and the sound had then not been properly adjusted for a rock show.)

In This Moment's setlist at the Utica show was as follows:

1. Salvation / Blood
2. River of Fire
3. Adrenalize
4. Roots
5. Burn
6. Lay Your Gun Down
7. Monster Jam (Interlude)
8. Black Wedding
9. In the Air Tonight
10. The Infection / Sick Like Me
11. Oh Lord
12. Whore

As previously mentioned, the setlist did not undergo much change between the Rochester show in July and the Utica show in October, but one noticeable difference that I do want to note is that "Roots" was not played in Rochester, and I remember that being both surprising and disappointing to me because it, at the time, was a brand new single just having been released. I love(d) the song and imagined that they would be wanting to promote it at the show. The fact that it was added to the setlist in time for the Utica show (which I believe was the only change made) is one major reason why I am glad that I had the opportunity to see them twice during this tour. "Roots" is, to be frank, a kickass song in the same vein as that of "Blood" and deserves to be played live. "Blood" was definitely a highlight of the show, as well, especially since it was one of the few songs that they played that the friend with whom I went knew. "Black Wedding" was another definite highlight of the show that I hope sticks around on setlists for a while, since (a) it is a melodically driven song full of energy and (b) it samples Billy Idol's hit song "White Wedding," which my friend almost immediately recognized. This was one rare instance, however, of the performance probably being better in Rochester than it was in Utica; in Rochester, the song was performed as a duet between Maria and Chris Motionless of Motionless in White, whereas Maria sang it solo in Utica. (The studio version on the album is a duet with Rob Halford of Judas Priest.) "Whore" was also a highlight at both shows because it was the song for which the audience seemed to be the most excited, which makes sense because it's probably their most popular song. ("Whore" is perhaps to In This Moment as "Holiday" is to Madonna, since both songs seem to frequently be played as encores.)

I don't have much to say as far as negative criticism goes regarding the Utica show. The sound quality was much better, and the venue was perfect. The venue in Rochester, the Marina Jeep Arena, was beautiful on the outside (as it sort of looked like a medieval castle, as exemplified in the photo) but run down and industrial on the inside. The Utica show was played at the Stanley Theatre, a classy theatre where plays and musicals are usually performed. The inside of the theatre is pictured below, and as you can see, it's quite beautiful and well taken care of. (This photo, unlike the one of the Marina Jeep Arena, is not mine, and credit must go to the Stanley Theatre's Facebook page.)

I definitely would have made changes to the setlist, though. The tour, for example, was titled the Half God Half Devil tour, but its namesake, a new song from Ritual, was not played. I was also deeply disappointed that "Joan of Arc" (a badass motherfucker of a song, if you will pardon my French, with a killer guitar riff), my favorite song from Ritual, was not played. In fact, while this probably is not all that unusual for In This Moment, since their setlists are usually relatively short, only half of the setlist was made up of new songs from the new album. (More artists should, in my opinion, take a pointer or two from Madonna's Confessions tour, which showcased its corresponding album, Confessions on a Dance Floor, almost in its entirety. Even most of the older songs that were played were played with a new flavor that fit the album's overall sound and direction.) At both shows, Maria, seemingly much different than she appeared at last year's show in Syracuse, seemed very earthy and in tune with the world around her. Seen near the end of the show sporting a witchy white robe (as pictured below), she preached to the audience about the importance of loving one another in trying times, and she dedicated her performance of the new piano ballad "Lay Your Gun Down" to the victims of the massacre that had occurred in Las Vegas two nights prior.

While, as previously mentioned, In This Moment did not do much in the way of changing their setlist between the Rochester show and the Utica show (save adding "Roots"), the lineup of the tour did completely change. Little Miss Nasty was thankfully nowhere to be seen in Utica, and VIMIC and Motionless in White were replaced with Avatar and Of Mice & Men. Avatar, dressed in matching black and red circusy costumes, were a lot of fun and put on a really great show. I immediately loved their songs "Paint Me Red" and "Bloody Angel." Of Mice & Men, on the other hand, was unfortunately not very exciting at all. They didn't do much in the way of interacting with the audience and, in fact, barely acknowledged our presence. They didn't have much energy and just seemed worn out and tired. I guess that in some ways, though, that only made In This Moment, who, as usual, was full of energy, that much more exciting. In This Moment's shows are always theatrical, always at the brink (pun intended) of feeling like more of a cabaret show than a rock show. This is especially the case thanks to Maria's Blood Girls, supportive dancers who surround her and move emotively and sensually to the music. It is always obvious to me that hours went into rehearsal, and that hard work and passion is always evident. I certainly would not mind, if the opportunity were arise, to see In This Moment yet again, but that probably won't happen in the immediate future. The band is soon to embark upon a second tour in promotion of Ritual, titled the Witching Hour tour. (I wonder if the title track will be played this time?) Unfortunately, however, the closest that they are playing to me is Niagra Falls, NY, which is 200 miles away from me. As previously mentioned, however, Maria seems to enjoy playing in the central/upstate New York State area, so I am sure that I will have yet another opportunity to see them again someday.

Evanescence - Synthesis [Review]

Synthesis (defined as the combination of ideas to form a theory or system) is Evanescence's fourth studio album (fifth if one counts Origin) and was announced by frontwoman Amy Lee earlier this year. Lee announced that the album would consist mostly of re-recorded versions of older songs now stripped back and infused with orchestra and synth. (Synth being heavily prominent on the album is partly why the album's title is quite clever.) The album features eleven re-recorded songs, three new instrumental pieces, and two new songs ("Hi-Lo" and "Imperfection"), opening with an instrumental piece referred to as the overture. The overture, driven by piano and strings, initially reminded me a lot of the introduction heard at the beginning of an early version of the band's song "Whisper" (a song that I actually wish had been reimagined on Synthesis) and sure enough, Lee confirmed that the overture intentionally features elements of "Whisper." The short overture (running at just under a minute long) moves smoothly into "Never Go Back," reimagined from the band's 2011 self-titled album. The Evanescence version is one of the heaviest songs that the band has done to date, but this one is stripped back and driven primarily by piano and strings. The original version features a hauntingly beautiful piano break approximately halfway through, but it is featured more prominently here, serving as the introduction to the song. When it returns where it originally was in the Evanescence version, it is played with strings instead of piano. Lee sings the song in a slightly gentler and lower register. My favorite part of the song is when thumping strings accentuate Lee's syllables during the second verse, but I, overall, prefer the original heavy version. The song was written about the earthquake and tsunami that hit and shook Japan in 2011, and I strongly believe that the weight of the original version better captures the nature of the disaster and the damage that it left in its wake.

The third track on the album is a "new" song titled "Hi-Lo." I was first made aware of the existence of this song years ago when Lee mentioned the title, saying that it was written for the self-titled album, even though it obviously did not make the final cut. The song is an electronic song featuring strings and piano as support, and the best part of the song is renowned violinist Lindsey Stirling being featured on violin during a dramatic instrumental break near the end of the song. "Hi-Lo" lyrically addresses a former lover or friend with whom she is no longer angry: "Oh, the damage was real, but nothing cut me so deep I could not heal." (Fans have speculated that the song is about ex-member and co-fouder Ben Moody, but this has not been officially substantiated.) The fourth track on Synthesis is a new rendition of "My Heart Is Broken," which was originally featured on the 2011 self-titled album. "My Heart Is Broken" has always been one of my favorite Evanescence songs, especially since it has personally helped me through some very difficult times, so I was pretty excited to hear the Synthesis version. While this is another song that I think sounds better backed by heavy guitar, I still very much appreciate the Synthesis version. The raw emotion is still there, and even though the beautiful piano accompaniment persistent throughout the original version is only featured minimally in this version fairly close to the end, it is played on the harp and is absolutely beautiful. I cried the first time that I heard it because of how beautiful that it sounds on the harp, and it is also beautiful because it is almost a dream realized for Amy Lee. She originally wanted to play the part on the harp on the Evanescence version but opted to play the piano instead because she still wasn't all that proficient on the harp. Although it still is not her playing it on the Synthesis version, it is the woman who taught her to play harp who is playing, and there is still a beauty to that.

"Lacrymosa" serves as the album's third single and is its fifth track, probably deliberately placed as the third song in a row that could easily be interpreted as a song about a failed relationship. ("My Heart Is Broken" was actually written in response to sex trafficking being on the rise, but it can easily be interpreted as being about having lost a loved one in some way in a more universal way.) The song, which was originally featured on the 2006 album The Open Door, was originally an epic metal piece that managed to successfully synthesize hard rock and classical music, as the song features elements of Mozart's Lacrymosa from his Requiem mass. This is yet another song of which I prefer the original version. I find the song to be much more dramatic backed by heavy guitar, and the killer guitar solo that screeches out of control near the end of the original version is noticeably absent. The Lacrymosa chorus of Mozart's is also much more prominent and easily heard on the original version. It is difficult to see the re-recordings of separate bodies of work independent of their original versions, and this is one that seems to be drastically lacking something. With that being said, near the end of the Synthesis version, Lee operatically sings in a hauntingly high register that sends chills down my spine, so this version of the song, a song which speaks of finding strength and independence at the end of a failed relationship, does have an evident strength. Following "Lacrymosa" is the new version of "The End of the Dream," a song that I might just prefer on Synthesis to the original version, which was found on the 2011 self-titled album. This new version is darker and sounds very eerie with its low electronic droning. The piano part in the original version is brought to the foreground and played on what sounds like a xylophone, and it's stunningly beautiful. My favorite part of this version is near the end when the chorus is broken by thumping strings and what sounds like a little bit of electric guitar. 

The seventh track on Synthesis is the first single released from the album, the new version of the band's first ever single, "Bring Me to Life" (which I reviewed here). We then move into a new instrumental interlude titled "Unraveling," a beautiful blend of piano and strings. I saw one fan say that they could hear elements of "Call Me When You're Sober" in this piece, but I honestly don't hear that; I do, however, definitely hear elements of "Bring Me to Life," which is why I find it interesting that this piece was originally meant to open the album, with the following track "Imaginary" being the first song heard. It, to me, makes sense to have this piece either before or after "Bring Me to Life" because of its obvious melodic allusions to it. The next two tracks on Synthesis are two revamped versions of older songs, revamped versions which I love. "Imaginary," originally from the 2003 major label debut album Fallen, reminds me a bit of demo versions that were recorded prior to Fallen. This new version is very electronic driven and very upbeat, and the coolest part of the song is, perhaps, when the instrumental break from the Fallen version, then played on electric guitar, is now played by horns. I felt absolutely floored when I first heard that part. "Secret Door," a lulling and beautiful song about the escapism that dreams can sometimes offer, was originally on the deluxe version of the band's 2011 self-titled album and then re-released on last year's Lost Whispers compilation of b-sides. "Secret Door" is probably the only song that has had something added to it on Synthesis rather than being stripped down. On Evanescence, the song featured only piano, strings, harp (the first ever Evanescence song to feature harp after Amy learned how to play), and a very light beat; on Synthesis, however, a stronger and much more prominent beat has been added, breathing new life into a beautiful song that has always been one of my favorite Evanescence songs.

"Lithium" is another song that has always been one of my favorite Evanescence songs of all time. The melody is gorgeous, and the raw emotion in the lyrics is evident, such as when Lee sings "Come to bed; don't make me sleep alone" and "Just didn't drink enough to say you love me." Featured originally on the 2006 album The Open Door, Lee seemed to be baring her soul much more transparently than she did on Fallen, as this was one of several songs on the album written about her ex-boyfriend Shaun Morgan, the frontman of Seether. I have always vehemently related to this song on a personal level, as the song is basically stating that she would rather feel melancholy than feel nothing at all. (As a side-note, the song's music video is more than likely my favorite music video of all time.) Heavy guitar has been removed from the Synthesis version, and harp has been added as well as what is probably a xylophone, as heard in "End of the Dream." As is the case with several other songs on the album such as "Bring Me to Life," Lee's vocals are a lot more raw and live-sounding than they are on the original version of the song. We then hear "Lost in Paradise" and "Your Star," which flow together with no gap. "Lost in Paradise" was originally featured on the self-titled album and was one of the softer songs on the album. The chiming probably played on a xylophone (although I could definitely be wrong about that) are heard once again, but as is the case with most of the new versions on Synthesis, it is stripped down and is even softer than the Evanescence version. The original version brings in electric guitar and a more prominent orchestra after the chorus is heard the first time, but that break on Synthesis brings in a much more intense orchestra than heard before in the song but no electric guitar. The Synthesis version is definitely beautiful and raw, but this is another song that I think sounds better as a rock song.

As previously mentioned, "Lost in Paradise" transitions smoothly with no gap into "Your Star," originally featured on The Open Door. Layered with piano, electric guitar, strings, and choir, it is a breathtaking song and definitely in my top five favorites. The Synthesis version is, of course, stripped back, relying more on synth than on guitar. The chillingly beautiful piano break heard about halfway through the original version is still present, but the choir that eventually joins it is much more subdued and nowhere near as prominent. I was so happy when I found out that "Your Star" was on the tracklisting, but it unfortunately is lacking something on here and is weakened. The fourteenth track might be the only track on Synthesis that feels unnecessary. Fans have heard multiple versions of the band's smash hit single "My Immortal." It was first recorded in a very raw and underdeveloped stage in 1998. (I love the lyrics that are in that version and later unfortunately removed.) It was then re-recorded and further developed for Origin and was then placed on Fallen only slightly changed. The song was then released as a single from Fallen, and the single version was a different recording with heavy guitar added near the end. "My Immortal" went on to become the band's best known single, being partially responsible for Fallen being certified 7x platinum in the United States. It is almost always included in setlists when the band goes on tour and was, of course, included on their live album Anywhere but Home. Including it on Synthesis consequently felt like beating a dead horse (if you'll pardon the crudity). Lee has even said that she has grown to hate the song, especially since the lyrics were written by Ben Moody, so I am thinking that she felt obligated to include it because of how popular that it is. It wouldn't be so bad if the Synthesis version were drastically different from what we have heard before, but it's really not. It's driven by strings and piano, just like we have almost always heard in the past. As I said, it feels unnecessary.

Synthesis ends with a new piano solo titled "The In-Between" which transitions into the album's second single, the new song "Imperfection" (which I reviewed here). "The In-Between" is, as just mentioned, a piano solo which features the piano melody from "Hello" drastically slowed down, so Lee playing the piano is the only sound that is heard up until the end when strings begin to transition into "Imperfection." The piece sounds very classical in nature and picks up in in intensity as it progresses. I find myself wondering if the title of the piece is intended to be a reference to a place between life and death, since the intended audience of "Imperfection" (which is, without a doubt, one of the most intense songs on the album) is those who suffer from mental illness and suicidal thoughts. I am overall pretty pleased with Synthesis, although there are definitely some things that I would have done differently. "Whisper," one of Evanescence's heaviest and most intense songs to date, seems to be sacrilegiously missing, and "My Immortal," as previously mentioned, seems to be wholly unnecessary. I also wish that another Evanescence song in my top five favorites, "Disappear," were on Synthesis because it features a beautiful piano part that I would love to hear more isolated. I have always felt like that song would sound great stripped back. I finally find myself wishing that the album went farther back in the Evanescence catalogue than just Fallen and had included some revamped songs from Origin. They re-recorded the Origin song "Even in Death" for the Lost Whispers compilation, so it doesn't seem like too ridiculous of a thought to me. It would have been a real treat to hear songs like "Where Will You Go?" or "Away from Me" on Synthesis, but at least we finally got a new Evanescence album after six years; beggars can't be choosers, I suppose. The rumor is that yet another Evanescence album featuring strictly new songs, apparently in the same vein as that of "Hi-Lo" and "Imperfection," is in the works and should be dropped next year (as in 2018). Here is to hoping for that!

Marilyn Manson - Heaven Upside Down [Review]

“I am not someone who is loved,” Jared Leto’s rendition of The Joker muses in the extended version of the 2016 DC film Suicide Squad. “I’m an idea, state of mind.” This is an outlook on one’s identity that is probably not too far removed from how Marilyn Manson (born Brian Hugh Warner) views himself (or at least how others view him), which seems to be evidenced on his latest album, Heaven Upside Down. The album was originally titled SAY10 and was slated for a Valentine's Day 2017 release, but due to mostly undisclosed reasons, the album was delayed to later in the year. (Manson has since said that he is grateful for the delay because the delay gave birth to songs that we previously would not have heard.) Heaven Upside Down is undeniably Manson's heaviest and most aggressive album in years (possibly even since 2003’s The Golden Age of Grotesque), and if it accomplishes anything wholeheartedly, it is that it serves as a stark and brutal (although probably pleasant to many fans) reminder that the self-proclaimed “God of Fuck” is still alive and well and doesn’t plan on going anywhere anytime soon. Highlights on Heaven Upside Down include "Tattooed in Reverse," the first single "WE KNOW WHERE YOU FUCKING LIVE," "KILL4ME," and "Blood Honey."

As I have seen other Marilyn Manson fans point out, there are several tracks on the album which seem to call back to earlier Manson albums, and I agree. The opening track, for example (titled "Revelation #12"), sounds almost like an outtake from the debut album, Portrait of an American Family. The song is one of the heaviest songs on the album, and while it is actually one of my least favorite songs on the album (primarily due to its stale repetition), it does invite listeners to share nostalgic memories of '90s Marilyn Manson and Rob Zombie. The second track on Heaven Upside Down is titled "Tattooed in Reverse" and is definitely, as previously mentioned, a highlight on the album. One reason why I love it so much is that it is sonically similar to sounds heard on Eat Me, Drink Me, my favorite Manson album to date. The track features a thumping and playful beat, reminding me strikingly of the Eat Me, Drink Me track "The Red Carpet Grave." What I also love about the song is that it features clever wordplay (something that he employed frequently on his last album, The Pale Emperor, another one of my favorites), such as when he asserts that he is "unstable" and "not a show horse."

The album's third track is its lead single, "WE KNOW WHERE YOU FUCKING LIVE." This song is sure to remind fans of older Manson albums such as Antichrist Superstar and/or Holy Wood (in the Shadow of the Valley of Death). The track abandons the playful cabaret sound of "Tattooed in Reverse," instead opting for a raw and straightforward heavy metal track. The song's music video depicts Manson portraying the leader of a cult of murderous nuns, and this idea of blindly following someone or something and consequently surrendering your sense of individuality is one that is prevalent on the album. "WE KNOW WHERE YOU FUCKING LIVE" definitely (at least in my humble opinion) features a political slant (to which Manson is no stranger), as it could easily be interpreted as being from the perspective of (a) government official(s) who is/are proudly exercising his/their power to tap into citizens' personal and private lives. (Big Brother, anyone?) Even if the song is not intended to be interpreted so literally, however, the theme of power (be it political, social, etc.) being abused by the song's speaker is there regardless.

"SAY10," as previously mentioned, was originally intended to be the title track, and it is actually the first song that was previewed. Nearly a year ago, Manson uploaded a music video that only previewed a snippet of the song; the gory video depicted Manson destroying a Christian Bible as a decapitated man resembling Donald Trump lie in a pool of blood on the floor. The full music video, which was released about a month ago, abandons that concept but still doesn't hold back on the gore, as Manson is seen gushing blood out of his throat during the video as a character played by Johnny Depp (longtime friend of Manson's) is seen alongside Manson and getting it on with young and attractive women. The song is heavy and reminds me of the Golden Age era, and it lyrically calls attention to the idea that one person's villain is another person's hero, which could be meant to clarify his stance on Satanism; while he believes in neither God nor Satan, Satan, like Manson himself, is often misunderstood as a figure of pure evil when the reality is that he was merely a rebel, unwilling to obey God's rules. (The song's title is an obvious play on Satan and is also probably meant to exemplify the fact that Heaven Upside Down is Manson's tenth studio album.)

While I don't intend to keep comparing the album's songs to older Marilyn Manson songs, "KILL4ME" is strikingly similar to "Third Day of a Seven Day Binge" from The Pale Emperor, even opening with a very similar bluesy rock beat. I can't help but associate this song with the character Kai Anderson on American Horror Story: Cult. Kai is basically a modern day Charles Manson (from whom Manson gets half of his stage name), a cult leader who manipulates people into brutally murdering people for political reasons. (The "WE KNOW WHERE YOU FUCKING LIVE" music video would have been a good concept for this song, as well.) The song is also probably intended to be a satirical commentary on all of the heat that Manson has taken over the years for supposedly being a negative influence on people, especially youth, and encouraging them to commit acts of violence. Manson's career, in fact, nearly came to a screeching halt when conservative fearmongers like Bill O'Reilly pointed blame at Manson for the Columbine massacre that occurred in 1999. Mainly because of its similarity to "Third Day of a Seven Day Binge" (which, in my opinion, is one of Manson's best songs in his entire catalogue) and because of its catchy hook, "KILL4ME" is my favorite song from Heaven Upside Down.

"Saturnalia" is honestly a low point on the album. It runs (probably unnecessarily, I might add) at eight minutes long and is one of the more subdued songs on the album, not really featuring a memorable hook like songs like "WE KNOW WHERE YOU FUCKING LIVE" and "KILL4ME" do. Although attempting to analyze this song's lyrics can be a challenge (as is often the case with Manson), lyrics like "I was invited to eat the young" and "I don't want to be another bullet hole in the exit sign on your road" seem to suggest that Manson might be pointing at a theme similar to that of "KILL4ME" - the unnerving fact that Manson has so often over the past two decades been used as a scapegoat by people who don't actually understand him. I have an older relative, for example, who once successfully convinced my mother when I was much younger to try to avoid allowing me to listen to Manson, citing reasons such as how Manson encourages listeners to murder their parents. It was immediately clear to me that he was acting on ignorance, as people who oppose Manson often do, as there is, to the best of my knowledge (and I am a pretty passionate fan), no Marilyn Manson song that encourages such a thing.

"JE$US CRI$I$" is a fun and upbeat song that pulls no punches. It violently introduces us to its hook, during which Manson declares that he "write[s] songs to fight and to fuck to. If you want to fight, then I'll fight you. If you want to fuck, I will fuck you." Manson could definitely be demonstrating a strong sense of self-awareness here, but is he? One reason why Marilyn Manson's songs tend to be somewhat difficult to interpret (aside from the fact, of course, that he often extensively employs esoteric knowledge of the Christian Bible, which, as his autobiography The Long Hard Road Out of Hell explains, is primarily because he attended Christian Bible school as a child) is that it's rarely clear whether or not Manson wants his words to be taken satirically or seriously. He has, for example, said in the past that he doesn't really understand why people are drawn to him sexually because he doesn't want to be attractive and even intentionally attempts to make himself look like a corpse. This shines an interesting light on these lyrics. My interpretation of the song is that Christianity is a manipulative (and maybe even financially driven, as the title of the song seems to suggest) power that is the root of many of our crises.

"Blood Honey" is another highlight on the album, serving as one of my favorites. Although undoubtedly still a hard rock song, "Blood Honey" is a slower song on the album, almost having a waltzy rhythm to it, and it may actually be one of Manson's most personally reflective songs to date. "I fuck every broken-crazy girl instead of hanging from the ceiling," he laments. As previously mentioned, I have read Manson's autobiography, so I know that he is no stranger to trauma, having been raped as a child by the very same person who also murdered his beloved dog. "I got some feelings, but I try to hide when I'm healing... so I keep my life a lie." This idea of keeping "my life a lie" is indicative of why, as previously mentioned, we are probably not intended to take everything that Manson says via his music at face value. How do we know, after all, that Brian Hugh Warner and Marilyn Manson are the exact same person? How much of Marilyn Manson is a persona? Celebrities are so often seen as archetypes or as characters rather than as human beings, and I think that Manson is well aware that this tends to be the case for him, which is why I made the comparison to The Joker calling himself a "state of mind."

The penultimate song on Heaven Upside Down is the album's title track, another song, like "KILL4ME," that has somewhat of a bluesy rock sound that sounds like it could belong on The Pale Emperor. Like many of the songs on the album, the song refers to realities being reversed and "upside down." Songs like "Tattooed in Reverse" and "Blood Honey" (which even features the lyric that "you only say that you want me when I'm upside down") feature this theme, and I even came to the realization that the unconventional way that the CD is packaged might have been a creative choice done to help promote one of the album's themes. Many people nowadays (if they buy it at all) buy music digitally, and the age of CDs seems to sadly be dying. (Be still, my poor CD player junkie heart.) I did, however, buy the CD and was almost immediately taken aback by how it was packaged. The front cover is very thin, featuring only two sides, and the booklet, which is made out of a thin, newspaper-like material, is underneath the disc. I have never before seen an album packaged in such a way and can't help but wonder if, as I said, it's meant to accentuate the album's theme of reality being "upside down."

The album's final track is titled "Threats of Romance." The introduction of the song features a slamming and heavily accentuated beat similar to that of "Tattooed in Reverse." It is, in fact, yet another one that reminds me of Eat Me, Drink Me. "Threats of Romance" is another song that could potentially be personal for Manson. It's no secret that Manson has been unlucky in love, moving from relationship to relationship, none of them lasting very long. "Things that are pretty are always kept behind glass," he sings in an almost mournful tone, "and someone like me... can't make it last." Manson, or at least the speaker of this song, seems to be blaming himself for failed relationships, reasoning that his need for chaos and disarray is what leads to his relationships ending. On his song "WOW," found on his 2009 album The High End of Low, Manson sings, "Did you stop and take a look at who you fell in love with?" which seems to parallel his feelings on "Threats of Romance." He continues, "My seed would have made good fruit, and you could have been a tree." Could it be that Manson regrets never having fathered any children? Manson's own father passed away this year, something that hit him very hard, so it could very well be that this is on his mind.

I am overall relatively pleased with Heaven Upside Down. It is most definitely not my favorite Marilyn Manson album to date (that, as previously mentioned, would be Eat Me, Drink Me, and it's going to take a lot for a future album to take that album's place), but it is also far from being my least favorite. (While it is difficult to pinpoint my least favorite Marilyn Manson album, Portrait of an American Family, The High End of Low, and Born Villain all come to mind as possible candidates.) The album features some low points such as "Revelation #12" but also features brilliant highlights such as "KILL4ME" and "Blood Honey." It is interesting how, via this album, Manson manages to continue implementing his modus operandi of using clever wordplay and biblical imagery while still capturing a somehow introspective and personal photograph of himself as a human being. This duality, this question of identity regarding where Brian Hugh Warner ends and where Marilyn Manson begins, if anywhere, perhaps at least partially begins to deconstruct the idea that Marilyn Manson is nothing more than an archetypal character, a "state of mind," that he is actually a human being who tends to be looked at "upside down."