Scryer Photo took the opportunity to shoot In This Moment's concert last week at PlayStation Theater on October 4, 2017. The tour line up itself is sonorous enough to want to break your wallet for. Opening performances from Of Mice And Men and the mighty Avatar from Sweden packed the venue as soon as doors opened, with In This Moment headlining their "Half God, Half Devil" tour. Since signing with Atlantic Records in 2014, In This Moment have achieved maximum recognition with the releases of Black Widow in 2014 and Ritual released on July 21, 2017. The "Half God, Half Devil" tour kicked off in April 2017 and with the amount of popularity the tour amassed, In This Moment made the decision to extend it into the end of Fall 2017 in continued support of Ritual.
PlayStation Theater opened its doors to fans on a line wrapped around its busy block corner in Times Square. Avatar are nothing short of spectacular and built up momentum with a theatrical start to their set. Avatar's performances are fantastic, CarnivΓ le themed productions backed with an extensive resume of impressive Melodic Death Metal musicianship. Each letter of their stage prop spelling out the band name 'Avatar', lit up one by one at the beginning of their set. All members of Avatar were dressed in ring leader costumes, as lead singer Johannes EckerstrΓΆm stood upon a ring leader stand-up with the spotlight right over him. EckerstrΓΆm is a highly entertaining front man in between songs to talk to the crowd with an evil, maniacal growl. Masters of the riff, Avatar bring their twisted circus sideshow world to life on stage, adding traditional hair windmills to synchronized headbanging. EckerstrΓΆm maintained crowd interaction up until the end of their set, kneeling at the edge of the stage to sing to fans, following a violent headbang at an abrupt breakdown. Avatar dished out yet another animated performance they are renowned for.
Fans remained rooted near the front of the stage during In This Moment's elaborate prop set up. During this time, the house music overheard kept everyone entertained with Michael Jackson's "Thriller" and "Don't Stop Believin'" by Journey. Many were dressed for the occasion with Maleficent horns, face paint, and shrouds. The set list for the evening included hits like "Blood", "River of Fire", "Adrenalize", "Roots", "Burn", "Lay Your Gun Down", instrumental cover of Metallica's "For Whom The Bell Tolls" and "Creeping" Death", "Black Wedding", cover of "In the Air Tonight by Phil Collins, "The Infection", "Sick Like Me" and "Oh Lord". Lead singer Maria Brink emerged with the Blood girls through billowing fog during "River of Fire". Maria Brink, well known for her raspy intonation, seemed to summon the high energy of fans while reaching high notes.
Each song during their show had a different set and lighting to capture and portray the emotion and meaning behind them. In light of the tragic shooting at the Jason Aldean concert in Las Vegas, In This Moment dedicated a heartfelt performance of "Lay Your Gun Down", Brink singing with heart-wrenching emotion at the piano. Already possessing a raw talent of musicianship and camaraderie amongst each other, In This Moment have trail blazed in the Rock and Metal scene as creative entrepreneurs in their dedication to showmanship. Maria Brink constantly shows great appreciation to her band members on stage who help bring every performance to life, as she graciously introduced them individually to the audience at PlayStation Theater that night.
After an astonishing concert, naturally fans chanted for one more song, to which In This Moment reappeared to do an encore performance of their acclaimed song "Whore". In This Moment are not just musicians, but seasoned performers who interact with fans as if it were their first show. Going to an In This Moment concert is not just a metal show, it's a theater production that doesn't necessarily have to catch one's ear to catch their attention. In This Moment will be continuing the "Half God, Half Devil" tour through November 21st, check out all tour dates below. Ritual is available for purchase here!
IN THIS MOMENT Tour Dates 2017: