With her flamboyant, theatrical stageshow, and gothic-tinged music, Maria Brink’s musical influences obviously reach beyond the world of metal. We sat down with the In This Moment vocalist to talk about the ten records that made her the Sex Metal Barbie.

The first album I bought was…

Michael Jackson – Off The Wall (Epic, 1979)

“I think it was Off The Wall. Obviously I was a little girl and I was fascinated by Michael Jackson. He was all over TV at the time and I was mesmerised by him, his performance, his songs, his dancing, everything.”

The album with the best artwork is…

Pink Floyd – Dark Side Of The Moon (Harvest, 1973)

“I’m kind of a hippy, so I love symmetrical, geometry-type album art, so I’ll go for Dark Side Of The Moon. It’s such an iconic piece of art. I love Pink Floyd and that whole record.”

The album I wish I’d made is…

Nine Inch Nails – The Downward Spiral (Nothing/Interscope, 1994)

“There’s so many! I’ll have to go with Nine Inch Nails, though. The Downward Spiral blew my mind when it came out, and to this day I still play it before shows and it’s still one of my all-time favourite albums. I love every song on that record and it’s so dark… It has all the elements of Nine Inch Nails that I love.”

The first album I had sex to was…

Prince – Purple Rain (Warner Bros, 1984)

“Oh god, what could it have been? I think it was a Mazzy Star record, maybe? Actually, no… you know what? I think it may’ve been Prince. It was the whole Purple Rain era around that time of my life, and I have a memory of that record going on in the background. It still makes me feel all naughty inside.”

The album that reminds me of school is…

Madonna – Madonna (Warner Bros, 1983)

“Madonna’s first record takes me right back to school. I loved her when I was little and I would listen to her all the time. Madonna and Michael Jackson… that’s what I loved back then!”

A kid asks me what metal is, I hand them a copy of…

Pantera – Vulgar Display Of Power (ATCO, 1992)

“It has to be Pantera, right? Obviously I love Cowboys From Hell too – in fact, I love all their stuff – but I got into Pantera when Vulgar Display Of Power actually came out and then I went backwards and checked out Cowboys. Vulgar Display… makes you feel all riled up like you could conquer the world. It makes me feel powerful and risen. It’s pure metal.”

The best workout album is…

Korn – Korn (Immortal/Epic, 1994)

“For me right now, it’s Korn’s debut. It sets me on fire! I believe it reached its 20th anniversary year last year… that blows my mind. Well, it’s still as amazing now as it was back then.”

Nobody will believe I own a copy of…

Sigur Rós – Ágaetis Byrjun (Fat Cat, 1999)

“People might be surprised that I love Sigur Rós, but I’m afraid I’m not going to be able to tell you the name of the album! Honestly, I love them and I listen to them all the time… it’s the album that came out in 1999 but I literally just can’t pronounce the title! It’s got a little baby foetus on the front and it’s got a black cover. It’s super-entrancing. I listen to a lot of puts-you-into-a-trance, lose-yourself-type stuff.”

The album I want to be remembered for is…

In This Moment – Black Widow (Atlantic, 2014)

“It’s my favourite album that we’ve done, and I’m really proud of it. We’ve evolved through the years and tried different things, and I feel like right now we’re the strongest we’ve ever been. It’d either be that or Blood, but I feel Black Widow has a little more diversity.”

The album I want played at my funeral is…

In This Moment – The Dream (Century Media, 2008)

“It should be something like Sigur Rós… something that symbolises transitioning and makes you think of the deep spirit… Or Into The Light, from our second album. It’s about crossing over, and hearing that at my funeral would mean a lot to my family, too.”

Houses Of The Unholy: Chris and Randy, In This Moment