Alt metal bands In This Moment and Black Veil Brides return to Sherman Theater in Stroudsburg on Nov. 5
From a press release:
It was announced this week that California hard rock/alternative metal bands In This Moment and Black Veil Brides will return to the Sherman Theater in Stroudsburg on Friday, Nov. 5 on The In-Between Tour with special guests DED and Raven Black.
Over the years, In This Moment has performed at the venue several times, including with Scranton natives Motionless In White in 2017 and Sevendust in 2019, and NEPA Scene caught up with Black Veil Brides before their concert with Falling In Reverse in 2014.
“I think we’ve just evolved as a group of individuals who play music together for over half a decade now,” frontman Andy Biersack said of BVB at the time. “It’s impossible to not grow or mature if you’re tenacious enough and want to continue on. People rely on what they were good at, originally, and that might eventually fall apart. We’re tenacious; we want to continue on and write new things. We set out to make each record a different album and a different evolutionary step. I don’t know to what end that is, but people always ask, ‘Will that go on forever?’ I don’t know. I just know that, where we’re at right now, we enjoy making music together.” Clearly they still do in 2021.
Doors at the Sherman (524 Main St., Stroudsburg) open at 5:15 p.m., and the show starts at 6:15 p.m.
General admission tickets, which are $39.50 in advance or $42 the day of the show, go on sale this Friday, May 21 at 10 a.m. and will be available at the Sherman Theater box office and online via shermantheater.com and Etix. VIP and sky box seats are also available for this show.
All cultures, religions, and belief systems share one commonality – life springs forth from a mother. She bears, nurtures, cultivates, raises, and prepares children for the world. Without her, existence ceases. Much like the earth, life grows, thrives, and survives inside of and because of her.
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 a similar “mother” figure, frontwoman Maria Brink – joined by co-founder and lead guitarist Chris Howorth, bassist Travis Johnson, guitarist Randy Weitzel, and drummer Kent Dimmel. As millions convened upon the group’s otherworldly and unforgettable concerts, they quietly emerged as an influential and impactful band. To date, the quintet has 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,” and 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 headlining tours coast-to-coast, the group performed in arenas everywhere alongside Disturbed (including the Mohegan Sun Arena in Wilkes-Barre in 2019) and appeared at countless festivals, from Rockville to Sonic Temple.
Along the way, they assembled their seventh full-length, the aptly titled “Mother” (Atlantic/Roadrunner), and released it on March 27, 2020. Once again, In This Moment joined forces with longtime trusted collaborator Kevin Churko (Ozzy Osbourne, Five Finger Death Punch) in the studio. They pieced together a 14-track opus steeped in the lore they’ve created, yet indicative of another spiritual, philosophical, and stylistic evolution. Whereas “Ritual” hinted at a bluesy sonic sorcery, “Mother” breathes the activating mantra of an unbreakable spell.
“We are so excited to unveil ‘Mother’ to the world,” Brink said. “We feel like everything we’ve done has led us to this point, and we can’t wait for everyone to experience the next chapter.”
Fittingly, first single “The In-Between” nods to In This Moment staples by name: “Blood,” “Whore,” and “Beautiful Tragedy,” to name a few. At the same time, it slips from Brink’s intimate verses into a distortion-backed promise: “I’m gonna bring a little hell. I’m gonna bring a little heaven.” Elsewhere, cinematic organ gives way to haunting whispers on “As Above So Below.” She turns down a Faustian pact over a dramatic ’80s beat and hummable riff before a sweeping and soaring vocal crescendo: “What you give comes back threefold, as above, so below.” The seductive groove of “Lay Me Down” spirals towards a hypnotic hook as guitars toss and turn.
In many ways, In This Moment’s conjuration of Queen’s “We Will Rock You” crystallizes their power like never before. Accompanied by a choir of femme fatales, including Lzzy Hale of Halestorm and Taylor Momsen of Pretty Reckless, it might just be the fiercest “Mother” moment of all, lifted to the heavens by a stadium-busting beat and Howorth’s six-string precision. Welcoming another friend into the fold, Joe Cotella of Ded cameos on “Hunting Ground.” Everything culminates on the last word of “Into Dust” with one last catharsis.
In the end, “Mother” gives new life to In This Moment and, ultimately, hard rock.
Committed to uncompromising expression, with a foundation in hard rock tradition and rule-breaking iconoclasm, Black Veil Brides is a transcendent celebration of life-affirming power and anthemic catharsis. A gothic vision first summoned in a small town by an isolated kid fascinated with death, rock, theatricality, and monsters (both real and imagined), Black Veil Brides is now a postmodern heavy metal institution with a legion of like-minded fans and supporters worldwide.
A new chapter in the band’s ever-evolving story arrives with “The Phantom Tomorrow,” an ambitious sixth album pushing the music of Black Veil Brides forward without sacrificing their beloved signature sound. Built around a thematically rich story written by singer Andy Biersack, “The Phantom Tomorrow” combines imaginative world-building with unrelentingly catchy and melodic bombast.
The twin-guitar attack of Jake Pitts and Jinxx cut through with sharp precision, overtop the steady pulse of powerhouse drummer Christian Coma and the fluid, rhythmic dynamics of Lonny Eagleton. Biersack’s rich baritone croon and soaring passion are anchored in the biggest hooks of the band’s career. Recorded in Los Angeles with producer Erik Ron (Godsmack, Bush, Dance Gavin Dance), “The Phantom Tomorrow” excels as a series of standalone songs and a cohesive conceptual album.
The band’s strident opposition to conformity and obstacles (from both within and without) strikes a chord with every outcast who felt drawn to the allure of the dark. It’s evident in the 160 million+ views of “Knives and Pens,” an early demo committed to video before Biersack had found his band of brothers. The RIAA-certified gold single “In the End,” which itself boasts over 150 million views, is proof that the group whose merchandise dominated Hot Topic stores before they’d even dropped their debut album was no mere passing fad or ill-fated “scene.” This was built to last.
The Sherman Theater is Monroe County’s only nationally ranked nonprofit theater and performing arts center. Located in downtown Stroudsburg, the Sherman has proudly served the Pocono region for 90 years. The theater is committed to strengthening the community by producing culturally-diverse, nationally-known professional acts and festivals at the theater and at satellite locations throughout Monroe County for people of all ages by providing an opportunity for local artists to perform and by creating economic development in the region. The Sherman Theater’s projects and events attract over 100,000 visitors to the Pocono region annually.
See NEPA Scene’s photos of In This Moment performing with Disturbed in Wilkes-Barre in 2019 here and read our 2014 interview with Black Veil Brides vocalist Andy Biersack here.
