The Dark Horizons Tour begins at Mohegan Sun – July 8, 2023

Motionless in White and In This Moment kicked off their co-headlining tour, The Dark Horizons Tour, at Mohegan Sun Arena. While In This Moment has come to the arena a few times over the years, this was Motionless in White’s first performance in the main room. Being the first night of the tour, we didn’t know what to expect from bands regarding their setlist or production, but all four bands – including openers From Ashes to New and Fit for a King – came ready to put on great shows.

From Ashes to New

What better way to kick off this tour than by the crowd singing along to an intro tape of “Backstreet’s Back”? From Ashes to New burst onto the stage, opening up with “Nightmare,” off their fourth album, Blackout, releasing later this month. After rap/rock bands went out of style in the early 2000’s, From Ashes to New are part of a younger generation that grew up listening to those bands, bringing the sound back around. With two frontmen, Danny Case handling the lead vocals, and Matt Brandyberry on the rap vocals, the band would fit right in with groups like Linkin Park or Hollywood Undead. The crowd went wild for “Hate me Too,” their latest single, which has spent multiple weeks in the top 10 of the Modern Rock charts.

Fit for a King

Next up was Christian Metalcore band Fit for a King. These Texans leaped onto the stage – literally, with “End (The Other Side)” off of last year’s The Hell We Create. Bassist Tuck O’leary and guitarist Daniel Gailey were often doing David Lee Roth style jumps in the air, while still flawlessly playing their instruments. Their quick, 30-minute set had an intensity that didn’t let up, as frontman Ryan Kirby took the audience on a journey through their last three albums, with tracks like “Vendetta” and “When Everything Means Nothing.”

In This Moment

After the curtain fell, and the stage filled with fog, Maria Brink and the rest of In This Moment hit the stage, and fans were not familiar with the song they were hearing. Earlier this year, Maria revealed they were working on a new album, and they chose this show to premier two songs off the album. They started the set with “The Purge,” while later in the set Maria introduced another new song, “Sacrifice.” Fans certainly felt lucky to be the first to hear these new songs, and I can’t wait to hear details on the new album! Perhaps the benefit of being their first show in a few months, I felt that tonight, Maria’s voice was the strongest I’ve ever heard her live. One thing I always enjoy with their live sound is the thunder of actual drums being played, compared to the electronic drums we hear on studio versions.

Meanwhile their stage production was bigger than ever. Elaborate props, costumes, steam cannons, and flame jets make up just part of the In This Moment experience. The only drawback is with the shorter, co-headlining set length, these costume and set changes eat into the amount of material the band can play. In This Moment has so many great songs, and tonight we only got to hear seven of them – two of those being new, so we only got to hear five of our favorites. I loved hearing “The In Between,” as the timing of Mother releasing at the start of the pandemic meant I never got to see them support that album, and there’s many more I would have loved to hear.

Closing with the always popular “Whore,” the lectern Maria climbs for the song seems to have grown exponentially taller than the last time I saw the band. Wearing her “Whore” dunce cap, she belted out the final song of the night as balloons with their logo flew through the audience, and occasionally into a blast of pyro. A burst of confetti at the end of the song signified the end of their set. In This Moment is a band that tours heavily, so I’m sure we’ll be seeing them again very soon, once details of their next album are revealed.

Motionless in White

As the Dark Horizons tour rolls on, In this Moment and Motionless in White will trade off each night with who plays first, and who closes the show. Tonight, Motionless in White held that final slot. One of the benefits of a co-headlining tour is that the bands can share production costs. This meant while MiW maybe didn’t have set and costume changes, they had just as much fire heating up the room, as they brought the house down. Chris Motionless and the rest of the band powered through fourteen songs, with the audience getting hyped up for songs like “Voices” and “Another Life.”

Motionless in White brought the first night of the Dark Horizons to a close with “Eternally Yours,” during which Chris handed out roses to the crowd, as confetti filled the air one last time. These four bands have brought a show that’s really one to be reckoned with. The tour zig zags across America for a month or so, be sure to check it out if it comes near you.