IN THIS MOMENT Leads Fort Lauderdale Through The Dark Fantasies Of The Witching Hour
Founded 12 years ago by the charismatic vocalist Maria Brink and guitarist Chris Howarth, a native of Topeka, IN THIS MOMENT is a metalcore band that serves one of the most visually mesmerizing shows I’ve seen, and when they started their headlining performance last Saturday at the Revolution Live, the audience was already in some sort of a hypnotic rapture. There were flashing strobes, appearing to mimic lightning striking the stage with the intro soundscape of “Salvation” from their latest album, “Ritual”, played loud and heavy, building the anticipation. A white curtain covered the stage and dropped as lead singer Maria Brink, dressed in a black robe and headpiece, stood on a raised dais surrounded by her Blood Girls dancers – her classic “Mother Maria” outfit taken from the imagery of their new album.
Relying in a wild combination of stage props, insane stage effects with changing lights, fog, theatrics and clothing changes, spiced up with tons of sex appeal, Maria Brink went through the evening leading her bandmates – Chris Howorth on lead guitar, Travis Johnson on bass, Randy Weitzel on the rhythm guitars, and Kent Diimmel pounding the drums – keeping the inspired audience in suspense before each song beginning.
Transfixing herself with every song she evolved into many characters from a butterfly with gigantic wings to a naughty school girl, disappearing behind a tent placed stage center and reappearing shortly donning a new look amidst the crowd’s fever pitch clamoring, while the band’s mixture of metal, industrial and gothic metal periodically flooded the venue’s speakers. Fans were seen wearing devil horns, bunny ears, corsets and dark makeup, emulating the gothic-horror fashion Maria exuded from stage. Her voice was stunning, as her entire presence was, whether wearing an over-the-top costume or a simple see-through outfit. Beautiful and attention-demanding she’s definitely a force to be reckoned with, and commanded the highly dramatized set seamlessly twisting her body and committing to the histrionic drama while executing a powerful and sexually charged performance.
About midway through the show, Maria took a moment thanking everyone for coming out to the show emphasizing that they could have chosen to do anything but chose to be at the show and stated that “we scream and cry together and are united in the name of music.” She then introduced the members of the band as they each did a short solo with the highlight of guitar and bass only version of METALLICA’s “For Whom the Bell Tolls” and “Creeping Death.”
Matching acts such as ROB ZOMBIE or ALICE COOPER, with a set that quickly becomes an atmospheric and enthralling experience, IN THIS MOMENT is the kind of band that intelligently expands their melodious metal-core roots and goth-metal characters with choreography and a handful of costumed dancers to push their live shows into a striking and remarkable experience. Make sure you don’t miss them if they come near you.
