In This Moment + Motionless In White

Since coming to life in 2005, gold-selling hard rock provocateurs In This Moment have presided over a diehard fan base under the watch of “mother” figure and frontwoman Maria Brink—joined by co-founder and lead guitarist Chris Howorth, bassist Travis Johnson, guitarist Randy Weitzel, and Kent Dimmel. As millions convened upon the group’s otherworldly and unforgettable concerts, they quietly emerged as one of the most influential and impactful bands of the 21^st century. To date, the quintet have garnered two gold singles—“Blood” and “Whore”—and one gold album, Blood [2012].

The latter notably launched a trifecta of Top 25 entries on the Billboard Top 200 with Black Widow [2014] and Ritual [2017]. Bringing their total stream tally well past 200 million as of 2020, Ritual elevated them to new creative and critical peaks as well. In a 4-out-of-5 star review, KERRANG! called it “their best vehicle to date” as Alternative Press claimed, “Maria Brink is the Lady Gaga of the metal world” and went on to add, “Ritual flourishes as the metal love child of art-pop, gospel, Morrissey and Johnny Cash that the world didn’t know it needed until now.” Between selling out headline tours coast-to-coast, the group performed in arenas everywhere alongside Disturbed and appeared at countless festivals from Rockville to Sonic Temple.

Along the way, they assembled their seventh full-length, the aptly titled Mother [Roadrunner Records] with longtime trusted collaborator Kevin Churko [Ozzy Osbourne, Five Finger Death Punch]. Whereas Ritual hinted at a bluesy sonic sorcery, Mother breathes the activating mantra of an unbreakable spell, commenced on first single “The In-Between,” which was nominated for a “Best Metal Performance” Grammy in 2020.  

Motionless in White is an American metalcore band from Scranton, Pennsylvania. Formed in 2004, the band consists of lead vocalist Chris “Motionless” Cerulli, guitarists Ryan Sitkowski and Ricky “Horror” Olson, drummer Vinny Mauro and bassist Justin Morrow. The band has stated that their band name derived from the Eighteen Visions song “Motionless and White”.^[1]

Motionless in White was signed to Fearless Records for their first three studio albums; their fourth album, Graveyard Shift, was released in May 2017 through Roadrunner Records. Their fifth album, Disguise, was released in June 2019, followed by their sixth album, Scoring the End of the World, in June 2022.  

In 2011, Fit For A King emerged out of Texas with a searing signature style rooted in metal and hardcore and uplifted by hypnotic hooks. The Texas quintet—Ryan Kirby [vocals], Bobby Lynge [guitar], Daniel Gailey [guitar], Ryan “Tuck” O’Leary [bass], and Trey Celaya [drums]—explore this ebb and flow with a deft, yet delicate balance of sharp metallic intensity and soaring melodic energy.

Following the breakout LP Creation/Destruction [2013], they earned four consecutive Top 5 debuts on both the Billboard Top Christian Albums Chart and the Top Hard Rock Albums Chart with Slave to Nothing [2014], Deathgrip [2016], Dark Skies [2018], and The Path [2020]. The latter marked their first #1 on the Top Christian Albums Chart and Top 10 on the Billboard Top Album Sales Chart. Plus, the band collaborated with fellow heavy-hitters such as August Burns Red and We Came As Romans. They’ve generated nearly 312 million streams on a catalog highlighted by “The Price of Agony,” “When Everything Means Nothing,” “Breaking The Mirror,” and “Locked (In My Head),” to name a few. Of The Path, KERRANG! raved, “This is overall a sharper, bolder, more offering from a band who might just succeed in using it as a launch pad to bigger things,” and Rock Sound hailed it as “brilliant.”