In This Moment makes musical dreams come true

Marie Brink always dreamed she’d be a rock star. And for the Albany, N.Y., native, dreams really do come true.

Next week, Brink will be fronting the headlining band, In This Moment, in the biggest show in Plan B history.

The group, which will release its sophomore album, “The Dream,” on Century Media Records Tuesday, gots its start in 2005 when Brink moved from Albany to Los Angeles, where she soon teamed up with guitarist Chris Howorth. The two added drummer Jeff Fabb, guitarist Blake Bunzel and bass player Jesse Landry to round out the group.

And just three years later, members of In This

Moment found themselves opening for Ozzy Osbourne at a sold-out show at

Madison Square Garden.

It was a dream come true, and that’s reflected on the band’s sophomore album.

“The basic idea behind calling our new album ‘The Dream’ is that inside dreams anything can happen. All the things that seem impossible or unreachable in the ‘real world’ become a reality in your dreams,” said Howorth. “We’ve always been a band that believes in the power of dreams and that believing is creating. We wanted to make a record that you can lay down with, shut off the lights and have a total out-of-body experience. We also wanted the record to be like a rollercoaster ride with explosive highs, beautiful lows and everything in between. Maria took her vocals to the next level and explored all the possibilities. Everyone will be surprised by all the melody, passion and strength she brings to the record. The band pulled from within to create a sound that no one will expect.”

The group’s first album, “Beautiful Tragedy,” was released in early 2007, and it led to a U.S. tour alongside groups including Lacuna Coil, Walls of Jerico, Within Temptation and Kittie, along with a European tour with Devildriver and an appearance at Ozzfest.

The title track became a Top 40 hit, which was no

surprise to Brink.

“I always knew that was a special song,” Brink told Inked magazine last year. “When I first heard them play that at practice it gave me goosebumps, without having lyrics or anything.”

When she sat down to pen lyrics to the song, “I kept thinking of these funerals where there are family members who haven’t talked to each other for years,” she said. “And then, when they lose someone, suddenly everyone loves each other. Sometimes, something dark brings out something beautiful.”

And along with a fall tour opening for Megadeath, which led to the gig with Osbourne and Rob Zombie, the album brought the band some well-earned respect, which they noticed when opening for Megadeath.

“The whole crowd had this attitude of, ‘You better impress us,’” Brink later told Austin Sound Check in an interview. “But by the end of the show, it wound up perfect. We won them over by the third song. It was great and the crowd starts to go crazy. I don’t think it’s got anything to do with me being a woman. In the end, it’s just about the music. It’s about what’s coming out of your mouth and what the music sounds like.”

And although the group’s music is a little bit different than that of most of the groups that play Plan B, club owner Trampas Alderson said he couldn’t pass up the chance to book them.

“They’re more mainstream metal, a little different,” said Alderson, who has steadily been expanding Plan B’s concert offerings and fan base over the years. “But they’re the largest band I’ve ever had.”

Bury Your Dead, Another Black Day, Sloburn and a Light Divided will also perform at the Oct. 6 show.

For more information, visit Plan B’s Web site at http://www.myspace.com/planblivemusic.

“Beautiful Tragedy,” which broke into the Top 40 on the Active Rock charts with big support coming from outlets like Sirius Satellite Radio’s “Octane,“ Seattle’s KFNK and Madison’s WJJO. The single has gathered over 6,000 commercially monitored spins and over twenty million in monitored audience.

Their invigorating mixture of metal and hard rock quickly caught the attention of fans of acts ranging from AFI and Avenged Sevenfold to Bleeding Through and Atreyu. The diversity and depth was refreshing and simply undeniable. In 2008, they continue to carve out their own unique and exhilarating chapter in the hard rock genre, laying the foundation for an extremely bright future. This group is collectively defined by their undying belief in themselves and this confidence and strength is conveyed perfectly through their new material. 

For IN THIS MOMENT, the dream was always to become a worldwide phenomenon and that is something that will never fade, especially with this new effort. If you haven’t heard of IN THIS MOMENT, it won’t be long until you do because this band is at the brink of greatness.