In This Moment Dish on New Album ‘Blood,’ Musical Influences + More

Frontwoman Maria Brink and lead guitarist Chris Howorth of In This Moment chatted with Loudwire before their set at this year’s Rock on the Range Festival in Columbus, Ohio on May 19.

Brink and Howorth talked all about their highly anticipated new record ‘Blood.' They also dished about the recording and writing process as well as some of their own most memorable concert moments and favorite bands.

This is you first year at Rock on the Range, what are you guys most looking forward to and is it different being at a festival like this?

Maria Brink: No, we’ve done Mayhem, Ozzfest and all those big festivals so we’re used to that aspect. The best thing is seeing friends and people we’ve met along the way, it’s so awesome and we’re just happy to be here.

You guys have the new album ‘Blood’ coming out in August, what can people expect on this album that’s maybe different from the last albums that you have done?

Chris Howorth: I think they can expect to hear it sounding like In This Moment but it’s totally different. It’s going to surprise a lot of our fans but in a good way. I think they’re gonna be really excited for it, it’s so unique and it’s different than anything we’ve done before but it’s heavier yet more accessible. It’s really cool, man.

MB: It sounds like we graduated high school and now we’re ready for the big world.

CH: We’re in college now!

Did you have a concept for the album first or how does the writing process work for you?

MB: Well I’m kind of a psycho I like things to thread together and have themes. It was kind of like a loose theme that ‘Blood’ represents kind of like the blood of the Phoenix, as in all death represents something new. I actually reference death a lot in the album but it mean rebirth, it’s not necessarily like “I want to die” but I think it all organically does come together, always making sense one way or another.

CH: Sometimes we’ll have an idea going in that we’ll follow and sometimes we’ll start doing it and the idea will come while we’re working on it.

MB: And it’ll all start as kind of one big piece.

When you write, do the lyrics typically come first or do you guys start the music and build the lyrics off of that?

MB: I do the lyrics and things like that but it’s usually after. It’s usually the song as a whole and then I feel the vibe and energy of what we wrote together and then we kind of come up with it from that.

CH: She’ll skit-scat over some ideas and get an idea of what we want to do and then she’ll go back and write her lyrics to that.

MB: Yeah, it’s the darkest album we’ve ever done.

You lost some members recently to James Durbin and those guys happen to be here, is that awkward for you guys at all?

MB: No, they’re playing tomorrow, we won’t be here but you know we respect the memory that we had with them and everything that we did with them. We wish them the best and all the success in the world. We’re happy where we’re at and what we’re doing and we’re happy they’re happy.

What bands really inspire you from a musical standpoint and also from a music listening standpoint. Who do you guys listen to and why do you like them?

MB: I love everything from Deftones, to Pantera to M83. Lisa Gerrard from Dead Can Dance is my favorite singer as a singer –  so I’m really widely spread open with music choices.

CH: Before the show, I like to listen to music and all of it’s to get pumped up. I always like to listen to songs that I listened when I was a kid that got me pumped up then. Even when I was dreaming about doing it, certain songs from Pantera, Motley Crue, Ratt, Whitesnake - all kind of stuff.

What has been the coolest concert you ever went to?

MB: I got to see Black Sabbath, Pantera and Deftones together, I remember that blew my mind completely. Also the 'Antichrist Superstar' Marilyn Manson tour really blew my mind as well.

CH: I saw Kiss and it was my first concert ever. They didn’t have the make up on anymore but they still had tons of pyro, they breathed fire, the lights, it was so awesome. To this day the production from that show sets the bar for a concert.

In This Moment's new disc 'Blood' is due out on August 14.

Interview by Andy Green.