In This Moment

Los Angeles native In This Moment fuse alternative metal with metalcore, goth, and industrial accents, forging a sound that propelled the platinum-certified, Grammy-nominated unit into a fixture on the hard-rock touring circuit. Fronted by Maria Brink, whose voice shifts without warning from guttural screams to luminous, ethereal melodies, the group introduced itself in 2007 via Beautiful Tragedy, then veered toward greater melodicism on the ambitious 2008 release The Dream, which marked their first appearance on the album charts. The darker follow-up A Star-Crossed Wasteland reached the Top 40 in 2010. Their leap to a major label came with 2014’s Black Widow, after which Ritual (2017) peaked at number 23 and Mother (2020) earned the band’s inaugural Grammy nomination for Best Metal Performance for the track “The In-Between.” Their eighth album, Godmode, arrived in October 2023.

A spontaneous encounter between Brink and lead guitarist Chris Howorth sparked the project; their immediate chemistry helped transform a local club act into a MySpace sensation that secured a Century Media contract. Rhythm guitarist Blake Bunzel, bassist Jesse Landry, and drummer Jeff Fabb completed the early roster. Early U.S. support slots alongside Diecast and 36 Crazyfists sharpened the band’s melodic-metalcore approach ahead of Beautiful Tragedy, which they promoted on the Hot Chicks of Metal Tour with Lacuna Coil and Within Temptation. The Dream broke through commercially in 2008, and A Star-Crossed Wasteland followed two years later.

Personnel shifts began almost immediately: Landry departed in 2009 and was succeeded by Kyle Konkiel, who stayed only until 2010 when Travis Johnson assumed bass duties. The most significant early exodus occurred in 2011 when both Fabb and Bunzel exited; drummer Tom Hane and guitarist Randy Weitzel arrived in time to track the electronically charged 2012 album Blood, a Top 20 entry. The group then signed with Atlantic for its fifth studio album, Black Widow, which cracked the Top 10 in 2014. Hane left in 2016, yielding the drum chair to Kent Diimmel. Ritual emerged in July 2017 behind the June single “Roots,” a concept record inspired by the Salem witch trials that included Rob Halford’s cameo on “Black Wedding” and a cover of Phil Collins’ “In the Air Tonight.”

While supporting Mother on the road, the band previewed its seventh album with the single “The In-Between,” then issued the full set in March 2020. The record featured an all-star reading of “We Will Rock You” alongside Lzzy Hale and Taylor Momsen and adopted a heavier sonic palette overall. Pandemic restrictions postponed live promotion until 2021, yet “The In-Between” still earned In This Moment its first Grammy nomination. That year the group rejoined the road, appearing on Slipknot’s Knotfest Roadshow and mounting a tenth-anniversary trek for Blood. A companion EP, Blood 1983, recorded with Tyler Bates and Dan Haigh of Gunship, reimagined tracks from the 2012 album through glossy 1980s-style synths.

Work on the next full-length began almost at once. After teasing the project with “I Would Die for You” from the John Wick: Chapter 4 soundtrack, Godmode appeared in October 2023 and featured a guest turn from Spencer Charnas of Ice Nine Kills.