In This Moment are in full swing. They have been on the road since April headlining the ‘Half God, Half Devil’ tour and recently dropped album number six, titled ‘Ritual’. Forming in 2005 this Metalcore outfit from Los Angeles, CA have lit up stages with a stunning brand of imagery and theatrics paired with a boisterous sonic assault.
Words and Pictures: Jeff Kunze
21st August 2017
The curtain was dropped to an eye-popping stage that was being engulfed in white smoke and lights and it was clear this was not going to be your average, straightforward rock show. Through the smoke, vocalist Maria Brink becomes visible to the crowds roar and with the Blood Girls close to her side, the band launches into ‘Blood’.
Dressed in make-up and masks, the band are as visually stimulating as Brink and the Blood Girls, the line-up completed by Chris Howorth (lead guitar), Randy Weitzel (guitar), Travis Johnson (bass) and Kent Diimmel (drums). The band flooded the venue with the musical backdrop that worked in complete syncopation with the stage show.
Maria is clearly the central character and she embodies the soul of In This Moment. Her presence is felt from the first row to the back of the room as she encompasses the emotional roller coaster of the material and brings everybody into her world.
The set is pulled from the albums ‘Ritual’, ‘Blood’ and ‘Black Widow’ and the newer material sounded great with ‘River Of Fire’, ‘Oh Lord’, ‘Roots’ and ‘Lay Your Gun Down’ already feeling like classics but it was ‘Black Wedding’ that brought the house down. Chris Cerulli of Motionless In White appeared with Maria wearing a black wedding dress and the duet provided one the big highlights of the evening.
Another cool moment was the Monster Jam which saw Maria on wardrobe change as the band launched into a Metallica medley of ‘For Who The Bell Tolls’ and ‘Creeping Death’. It was unexpected but fully appreciated.
Every song seemed to have its own visual approach. The band powered through ‘Black Widow’, ‘Adrenalize’ and ‘Burn’ and everybody was primed and ready for ‘Sick Like Me’, a head crushing anthem that never fails to captivate everybody within ears reach.
For the closing song, ‘Whore’, the altar was placed center stage and through the smoke the Blood Girls, dressed in white and red capes, slowly walked onto the stage with signs that read “Shame”. Taking spots on each side of the altar, Maria made her entrance dressed in white and wearing the dunce hat with the word “Whore” written vertically in red. Delivering a speech about turning hate into love, the band kicked into the addictive riff as the crowd erupted.
The visual production of the show is simply stunning and the theatrics were captivating and it kept things exciting and unpredictable. The band sounded massive as they provided the platform that supported the weight of the show and Maria Brink was simply amazing as she manouvered through props and wardrobe changes while at the same time still able to be a force vocally.
Check out the tour if you can. This tour also features Motionless In White, Vimic and Little Miss Nasty. It’s a great night of music and entertainment.
