In This Moment

Los Angeles-bred outfit In This Moment pepper alternative metal with metalcore, goth, and industrial to form a potent blend that has made them a platinum-selling, Grammy-nominated mainstay on the hard rock circuit. Guided by commanding vocalist Maria Brink, whose range can veer from throat-shredding screams to bright, atmospheric singing in an instant, the band debuted in 2007 with Beautiful Tragedy before moving into more melodic territory with its fantastical 2008 breakthrough album The Dream. Their darker third set, 2010′s A Star-Crossed Wasteland, arrived in 2010. As their audience expanded, they made their major-label jump in 2014 with Black Widow. Continuing their rise up the charts, they followed with Ritual (2017) and Mother (2020), the latter of which garnered the band its first Grammy nomination for “The In-Between.” Their eighth set, Godmode, was released in 2023.
Born of a chance meeting and the innate musical rapport established between vocalist Maria Brink and lead guitarist Chris Howorth, In This Moment quickly grew from local cult favorites performing in Los Angeles clubs to a MySpace phenomenon before landing a deal with Century Media. Along the way, the group was fleshed out by rhythm guitarist Blake Bunzel, bassist Jesse Landry, and drummer Jeff Fabb. In This Moment embarked on several U.S. tours with the likes of Diecast and 36 Crazyfists and gradually honed its melodic metalcore songwriting for their 2007 debut album, Beautiful Tragedy. The band supported it on the Hot Chicks of Metal Tour, featuring Lacuna Coil and Within Temptation, among others. The Dream arrived in 2008 and became their breakthrough as well as their first on the album charts. It was followed by the Top 40 A Star-Crossed Wasteland in 2010.
Multiple changes to the band’s original line-up took place in their earliest years, with Landry leaving the band in 2009, replaced by new bassist Kyle Konkiel. Konkiel only lasted a year before he too left the band and was replaced by Travis Johnson in 2010. One of the largest line-up shifts occurred when founding members Jeff Fabb and Blake Bunzel left in 2011. Their replacements — drummer Tom Hane and guitarist Randy Weitzel — stepped in to complete the recording of electro-charged fourth album Blood in 2012. The album was a Top 20 hit.
The group moved to a major label, Atlantic, for their fifth studio long-player, 2014′s Black Widow, and were rewarded with placement inside the Top 10. In 2016, Hane left the band and former 3 by Design drummer Kent Diimmel took over. In June 2017, the band issued the single “Roots” from their sixth full-length Ritual, which arrived that July. A concept album centered on the Salem witch trials, the set hit number 23 on the U.S. charts and featured guest Rob Halford on “Black Wedding” and a cover of Phil Collins’ “In the Air Tonight.”
The following year, recording for their seventh album coincided with a tour, teasing the theme of “mother” in its stage show. The band pushed their sound into heavier territory, as heard on the single “The In-Between” and its parent album, Mother, which was released in March 2020 and featured an all-star cover of “We Will Rock You” with Lzzy Hale and Taylor Momsen. Sidelined by the COVID-19 pandemic, promotion for the album wouldn’t be possible until 2021, but in the meantime, In This Moment received their first Grammy nomination for Best Metal Performance for “The In-Between.” Touring resumed in 2021 and kept them on the road into 2022, when they joined Slipknot’s Knotfest Roadshow and headlined another tour to celebrate the tenth anniversary of Blood. A companion EP, Blood 1983, was recorded with Tyler Bates and Dan Haigh (Gunship), reimagining songs from that fourth LP with sleek, ’80s-styled synths.
Without rest, the band got to work on their next album. Teased with “I Would Die for You” from the John Wick: Chapter 4 soundtrack, Godmode landed in October 2023 and featured an appearance from Spencer Charnas of tourmates Ice Nine Kills. ~ Neli Z. Yeung & James Christopher Monger