Album Review ~ GODMODE by In This Moment
Since their inception back in 2005, In This Moment has taken us on a wild journey with their music. Their sound started off super heavy back in the early 2000’s, but over the years they have blossomed and matured with their lyricism and musicianship. Beautiful Tragedy took us on a beautiful, surprising journey led by the immaculate Maria Brink, taking no prisoners along her way.
Oddly enough, founding member, Chris Howorth, originally didn’t want to give Brink a chance but he learned from his mistake, called her up and In This Moment was born. Other members have come and gone, but the band as it stands today is the strongest it’s ever been with the help of bassist Travis Johnson, guitarist Randy Weitzel and drummer, Kent Diimmel.
GODMODE is the band’s eighth studio album, and it was officially released on October 27, 2023. The album was produced by Kane Churko and Tyler Bates. The first single off the album was featured in John Wick 4 as a beautiful rock ballad, I Would Die For You. The sound captivated audiences and In This Moment gained new fans due to the song being featured in the Keanu Reeves’ franchise movie.
The Purge graced us as their second single which really catapulted GODMODE forward before it was even released. Brink amazed everyone with a 28 second scream as a heavy breakdown begins in The Purge. The imagery of The Purge video, directed by Jensen Noen, really pushes how talented every member of In This Moment truly is.
We all speculated what song they would choose next, and it just happened to have been GODMODE, itself. GODMODE is actually a gaming term, which Howorth had to explain to Brink what it meant. During the Dark Horizon tour with Motionless in White, the band opened their show with GODMODE, and it had a really wonderful reception from the crowd. GODMODE was quickly followed by the Bjork cover of Army of Me. Me being an 80’s/90’s kid, getting this cover was just up my alley. As a fan of Bjork, I would say they did her proud!
GODMODE is vastly different from its predecessor, Mother, and I found that fans were torn over how they felt about GODMODE. For me, I get the progression in their musicality and just happen to love GODMODE from front to back. My personal favorite song from the album is Skyburner. Maria’s airy vocals on Skyburner just take it to another level for me, personally. In my opinion, the songs that have not been released as singles are far superior to the songs, they have released from GODMODE. As a longevity fan of In This Moment, I would rank GODMODE higher than most people I have spoken to. A Star-Crossed Wasteland will always be my favorite album of theirs, with Blood coming in a hard second and Black Widow in third. I would place GODMODE in the fourth spot. I definitely give GODMODE by In This Moment four out of five stars!
