The album marks Manafest's final release with his long-time affiliate label BEC Recordings before moving to a fully independent status for his next album Reborn.
Critical reception
The album received generally positive reviews from multiple professional music sites and reviews.
Christian St. John of Christian Review Magazine showered compliments on the album saying: "Manafest has found himself on The Moment. I can’t quite put my finger on it, but it seems to me that this album is Manafest’s defining work, his coming-of-age album if you will."[3] Speaking for CCM Magazine, Andy Argyrakis praised the release by stating: "Manafest continues to strike rap/rock gold with a dozen new tunes... the Canadian veteran spreads faith-affirming positivity over some of his sharpest rhymes to date."[1] Sarah Brehm from HM Magazine went on to say that The Moment "is filled with infectious rap-rock anthems infused with layers of trendy-pop beats... Manafast has delivered a solid, well-crafted album that’s sure to be a hit."[4] In definite agreement, Mary Nikkel of New Release Tuesday added: "The Moment pulses with immediacy, utilizing snappy rhymes and grungy guitars to demolish fear and call for faith. This is a stand-out moment in his discography, and a solid addition to any rock or urban library."[8]
On the flip side, Michael Weaver of Jesus Freak Hideout moderately stated: "Manafest has made a clear decision to head in a different direction with The Moment. Musically, the edge is gone... Hopefully when we see him next, Manafest will be living up to his full potential. In the meantime, maybe you should go back and revisit The Chase instead."[6] Lee Brown of Indie Vision Music writes: "Fans of Manafest will find an engaging album that continues his propensity towards engaging and uplifting lyrics sure to inspire on the one hand and provide great work-out music on the other."[5]
Retrospectively in a 2015 interview, Manafest himself hinted at some dissatisfaction with the album's production when he stated, "The Chase was an all-rock record and I did Fighter and it was just an all-rock record, and those were both received really really well. But, before that, my records were mixed. I feel like I did that again with The Moment and I’m not sure that that always works the best. For me, in creating it, I feel like I’m split because I’m like, “what is this?”"[13]
The album includes the singles of "Diamonds" and "Edge of My Life".[16][17] "Diamonds" peaked within the top 5 on the ChristianRock.Net radio charts.[18]
In 2014, as with many of Manafest's releases, The Moment was given an album instrumentals release.[24]
The track "Bull in a China Shop" was originally supposed to be a Thousand Foot Krutch song before Trevor McNevan pitched it to Manafest for the release of The Moment.[25][26]
The track "Love Wide Open" was originally going to be entitled "East Coast Winter".[27] The song's name was changed as Manafest decided the general population did not fully understand what an "east coast winter" was like and therefore, was not relatable enough overall.[25]
Nirva Ready (of TobyMac's Diverse City) was originally intended to be featured on the track "Diamonds" but it didn't work out and fit the song according to Manafest.[25]
The song "Light" was originally intended to be used as an audio promotional for Manafest's 2013 book Fighter: Five Keys to Conquering Your Fear and Reaching Your Dreams.[28][29] It was however never utilized and Manafest decided instead to release it on The Moment.[30]
The song "Startup Kid" echos back to Manafest's earlier days of straighter hip hop and was made based on the request of his fans.[31]
"Let Go" featuring Dave Stovall of Wavorly was a song that didn't make the final cut of The Moment but was later released as a 2015 single. The song was recently pulled from iTunes (it is however still available in Manafest's store[32]). Manafest has also hinted it might make his next album's track listing.[25]
