CHRIS HOWORTH On IN THIS MOMENT's Upcoming Album: 'It's Heavier In Some Ways, More Experimental In Some Ways'

In a new interview with Ronni Hunter of the 99.7 The Blitz radio station, IN THIS MOMENT singer Maria Brink and guitarist Chris Howorth spoke about the progress of the songwriting and recording sessions for the follow-up to the band's 2023 album "Godmode". Chris said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "It's not [done] yet, but it's being worked on. We have, like, 12 to 14 songs already done, and we're working on a few more. So we're thinking mid-next year [for a possible release date]. We're gonna probably be releasing a couple of songs before the album comes out. But we have one going. It's number nine, and we're ready."

Added Maria: "Yeah, it's happening. And this is the first time this ever happened to us where we actually did go in to record our album and came out — well, I guess it happened to us with 'The In-Between' [song] on our 'Mother' album. We did go back in and do another song, which wound up getting us nominated for a Grammy. But we did this album and then stepped back and realized that it wasn't quite done. And that doesn't happen to us a lot. Through our career, we typically do our album, and then we're, like, 'Yes, it's done. This is it.' Where this time, we did realize, like, it needs more. We wanna make sure it's perfect and we wanna make sure it's right and not rush that process."

Asked by Hunter if the new IN THIS MOMENT material feels like "maybe where 'Godmode' left off or a brand new chapter for" the band, Chris said: "Maria and I are always trying to not be boring and not do the same thing and not be normal and not have it be just what everyone expects. So we're always pushing — and I think we pushed really, really hard for this one to be really, really weird. And it is really weird. And so we're now coming back and going, 'Okay, let's figure out a way to balance it.' I think it's weird in a way that it's heavier in some ways, more experimental in some ways, but it also has all those same aspects of it. And that's what we're trying to find the balance. We wanna be super creative and push the boundaries, but also not lose sight of our sound and what we do and what people love about us and all that stuff too."

Asked if they are "pushed more by chaos or calm" as they are writing and recording new IN THIS MOMENT songs, Maria said: "I think it's a balance, really. Because for us, and especially for me, like I live my everyday life up until my album, and for tours, I guess I get to be on stage. But I have to suppress everything, and I've got all kinds of things brewing in me at all times. I'm like a pressure cooker, and once we get into the studio, it's my place to release. And the same with stage. So I think that there is chaos that builds up that needs to be released with an album and stuff. And I think that's what puts us into the metal category, just the emotions, the rawness, the angst, all that stuff we have to release. But I think it depends also on what you're going into an album like as well — like, mentally, where are you? Are you sad? Are you angry? Are you dealing with death? Are you dealing with new beginnings? Because everything you're emotionally going through really resonates into the music."

This past June, Maria told The Mistress Carrie Podcast about the progress of the songwriting and recording sessions for IN THIS MOMENT's next LP: "We're working on the [new] album. It's just about done. We only probably have, like, two songs left. We thought we were done, and then we kind of had to step away and look back, and it just feels like it needs a little bit more. But we're still gonna actually be releasing a new song soon."

Brink continued: "We wanna get new music out. When you tour for a living and you're out there and you're doing things, you wanna play new music, you wanna bring new energy to the crowds and to everybody. So we will be dropping a new song very soon with a guest vocalist that we can't announce yet, but it's somebody I love and have been inspired by recently. So we're excited for everyone to hear something coming very soon. And yeah, the album is pretty much done. We only have about two more songs left. So we're trying to get it all dialed in. And we don't wanna rush it. We wanna make it the best it can be. And we'll just release songs until the album's ready, 'cause we want it to really be something we're proud of."

Added Chris: "Yeah, we're excited too, because we're on Better Noise [Music] now and they're kind of doing all of our songs and all of our planning and how we roll things out. So we will be releasing songs until the album is ready, which is something kind of new for us, just kind of releasing standalone songs like that."

Howorth went on to call the upcoming IN THIS MOMENT single "a face melter", with Brink saying: "We feel really good and strong about the first [track that we will be putting out]. And so that's what we wanted to lead with. It's really heavy. We wanted to come out with a lot of electricity and make it insane. And then we'll figure out what comes next."

Three months ago, IN THIS MOMENT announced the 2025 "Black Mass Tour" featuring special guests DAYSEEKER on select dates, THE FUNERAL PORTRAIT and DED. The 23-city trek kicks off on Thursday, September 18 at 1st Summit Arena in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, making stops across the U.S. before wrapping up in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania at Wind Creek Events Center on Friday, October 24.

Formed in 2005, IN THIS MOMENT's current lineup includes Brink, Howorth, bassist Travis Johnson, guitarist Randy Weitzel and drummer Kent Diimmel.

To date, in addition to the gold-selling album "Blood" (2012),the quintet has garnered six gold and platinum singles, followed by a trifecta of Top 25 entries on the Billboard 200 with "Black Widow" (2014) and "Ritual" (2017). With a total stream tally well past 200 million as of 2020, "Ritual" elevated them to new creative and critical peaks as well. Between selling out headline tours coast to coast, the group performed in arenas everywhere alongside DISTURBED and appeared at countless festivals from Lollapalooza to Sonic Temple. Along the way, they assembled their seventh full-length, the aptly titled "Mother" (Roadrunner Records) with longtime trusted collaborator Kevin Churko (OZZY OSBOURNE, FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH). Whereas "Ritual" hinted at a bluesy sonic sorcery, "Mother" breathes the activating mantra of an unbreakable spell, commenced on first single "The In-Between".

In 2022, the band released "Blood 1983" (BMG),a reimagined EP commemorating the tenth anniversary of "Blood". Then in 2023, the longtime staples of heavy music released their eighth studio album "Godmode" (BMG),a 10-song record featuring the powerful lead single "The Purge", the band's stunning cover of Björk's "Army Of Me", the collaborative track "Damaged" which features Spencer Charnas of ICE NINE KILLS, and "I Would Die For You", which appears on the soundtrack for "John Wick: Chapter 4".