A major name in alternative metal that emerged in the mid-2000s, In This Moment released Witch , their highly anticipated ninth studio album , on August 28th .
Led by the charismatic and performative vocalist Maria Brink, the new work showcases the group in their most daring and inspired phase to date, a development described by the singer as "a declaration of her inner transformation" in 11 tracks full of empowerment, mesmerizing melodies, and a striking visual identity.
Among the songs, highlights include the single "I Want To Believe," which features Rory Rodriguez, vocalist of Dayseeker, as well as a reimagined version of "Another Brick In The Wall," a Pink Floyd, and featuring American singer and presenter Kat VonD.
In an interview with Wikimetal, guitarist Chris Howorth spoke about the fans' reception of the album days after its release, what the "witch era" means for the group, their pioneering role in the alternative scene, and explained how the guest appearances on the album came about. The musician also discussed the secret to staying relevant today and confirmed that the group has plans to make their long-awaited debut in Brazil by 2027. Read the full interview.
Fans' reaction to the new album
Wikimetal: Witch has finally been released for everyone to hear. How has it been following the initial fan reactions to the new album? What do they think?
Chris Howorth: It's been great. And that's pretty amazing, because we've been working on it for quite a while. It feels more like a normal album, because we did it in two different sessions, which we'd never done before. So, to have it released and see that the reaction seems to be really positive on all fronts is like, "wow, this is great." So we're very excited.
Meaning of the current phase of In This Moment
WM: Maria described the word "witch" as an inner transformation and the power to manifest one's own reality. From your perspective, what does this "witch era" represent for the evolution of the band's identity as a whole?
CH: That's a good question. I feel like it's a natural progression, you know? I'm an old-school guy in music, so I love bands that have multiple albums and kind of follow a theme. And for me, seeing Maria on that throne in Blood (2012), and then she became the Black Widow for the next album. Then we did Ritual (2017), which had this more ceremonial vibe.
And then came Mother (2020); she's like the mother. Now she's the witch. It's a really cool progression of wisdom, knowledge, and all that. I love it. And I also like the fact that, in today's climate, there's a lot of persecution, finger-pointing, judgment, fighting. And if you're not like me, then you're wrong, and if I don't understand you, I'm going to cancel you or burn you, like they did to the witches. So it just feels relevant.
WM: “Crawl” is described as a reckoning against those who dominate and cause pain. Was there a specific event or a general sentiment in society today that directly inspired these lyrics?
CH: Yes, I'll be very direct. It was when we were at home and there was a moment when that ICE immigration scheme happened in the United States, where they were flooding certain cities, and very bad things happened, because of a lot of untrained people. And a lot of things were happening just to prove a point, and some people were killed.
And it was very difficult to watch and see that every day, and to see people who were weaker being abused, pushed around, and simply not being treated fairly. A lot of it seemed wrong. It was like it directly affected us, and that kind of overflows into the music, you know?
Collaboration with Dayseeker on “I Want to Believe”
WM: One of the songs I found interesting on the album was “I Want to Believe,” because you collaborated with Dayseeker, considered by many to be one of the best bands to emerge in the last decade. How did that invitation come about? Were you already familiar with the band?
CH: No, it's a really cool story. When we were making our last album GODMODE (2023), I was really into Dayseeker. And I was listening to their music backstage during the tour, and I talked to Maria about them. That song they had, "Without Me," was really popular at the time. And I thought that song was really good. So, I'd been talking to Maria about it for a while. And then she finally got on board with the idea. Their new album had come out, and we invited them to tour with us. And at that point, we saw them every night and we were loving the music, and the guys are really kind and nice.
We asked Rory [Rodriguez, vocalist] one night if he would be interested in participating in a song with us and he said yes. And it was just amazing and easy, we sent him the song, he liked it and recorded his part. So it was all very natural and very easy with him. And we are very happy to have him on the track. He is one of the best singers today, his voice is like magic and elevates the music to a whole new level. So we couldn't be happier to have him on it and we are big fans.
Cover of “Another Brick In The Wall”
WM: The cover of “Another Brick In The Wall” is noteworthy for how you took a rock classic and completely transformed it into the band's sound. Where did the idea for this 'reimagined' version of the song come from, and how did Kat Von D end up getting involved in this creative process with you?
CH: Well, Maria had the idea to do a cover of “Another Brick in the Wall.” And she’s kind of known for bringing up these legendary songs that nobody should ever try to cover, and wanting to do a cover of them. So my approach to this is that she never wants to do a cover exactly like the original, she wants to reimagine it, and I know that. So the approach is always to take the song and distort it in some way that makes it completely different from what it originally was. And with this one, it’s almost like going in the opposite direction, with a whole more techno vibe.
And regarding the Kat Von D thing, it's the same thing, we toured with them. Her manager is our manager, and she has a band that plays electronic music, and we thought they would be cool on our tour. So they toured with us, and she and Maria became friends. She's a really cool, very interesting, artistic, and great person. And her music is great. So we asked if she wanted to participate, and she said yes. And it's super cool, we're very happy to have her on the track.
Possible connection between the tracks “Mother” and “Father”
WM: One thing I noticed is that in 2020 you released the album Mother, which features a title track of the same name. Now, on Witch, we have a song called “Father.” Is there somehow something that connects these songs as the closing of a cycle in relation to the previous album?
CH: Wow. I had never thought about it that way. But you have a very strong point. Because that song "Mother" was about Maria, she was raised by her mother and her partner, who is another woman. So she was raised by two mothers. And her father wasn't really present. But she kind of had a reconciliation with her father in his last days, which ended up generating the song "Father" for this album.
And she went through all that with him, trying to recover his ashes from the country where he died, and it was quite an ordeal for her. And so that song is a direct result of that situation she went through. And it's a closure for her. So yes, it's a kind of strange connection they have. And I had never thought about it, but it's really cool.
WM: In This Moment is famous for incredibly theatrical live shows. When you're composing heavy riffs in the studio, do you already imagine how the music will translate visually on stage?
CH: Not me, but Maria does. 100%. I just focus on trying to write and finish the song, and if a riff is cool, I think, yeah, I'm feeling the vibe there or something like that. But in her mind, she's like: "we could be doing this, or the lights could be like this, and it could be this color." She definitely thinks way ahead regarding the live show and things like that, right at the moment something happens. She often says: "this is going to be a good song to play live."
The secret to staying relevant
WM: Youand Maria built In This Moment from scratch and have faced all the changes in the music industry over the last two decades. What's the secret to the band continuing to evolve, take risks, and reach billions of streams without losing its core essence?
CH: I think the main thing I would say about this is that we don't have a formula. We really feel grateful to have lasted 20 years, that's one of the greatest achievements we can have, the fact that we're still here, still talking to you, still releasing records 20 years later. But I think the secret for us in this was, and this has a lot to do with Maria, you know, and I'm kind of the same way, but just an absolute refusal to write a song for the radio or for this or that, and just wanting to do what you want to do. To write music because you want to write, that makes you feel good and you enjoy it.
And if people like it, that's amazing, but don't try to do it for someone else or for some other reason. I think that's why we've been able to maintain our careers and do things that people find interesting. And our most loyal fanbase will embark on this journey, and they know we're going to experiment, do different things.
But we never sat down and said, let's write a bunch of songs to play on the radio. Because that's something we never had, a big number one song on the radio. We never had that. We had some songs that did well because they naturally did well without much help from the radio, you know? And I think that originality and the fact that we stayed true to ourselves gave us an original sound and helped us last so long.
Female representation in the alternative scene
WM: When the band started, the alternative metal scene was still heavily dominated by men. In a way, you opened many doors for what we see today, a strong presence of women leading bands and playing at major festivals around the world. How does it feel to see a new generation of female vocalists being inspired by the path you helped pave in the scene in the past?
CH: It's so incredible to see this, man. I can hardly believe it. Because I remember when we were starting out, there were only a few around, and they were pretty well-known to people who knew the scene. But now it's like, and they're so well-accepted now, like you said. It's so amazing. I mean, I never thought I'd be an advocate for female-fronted bands or female artists.
I never thought about it myself growing up or anything. But, having been with Maria for over 20 years, I'm a huge supporter of them. And it's just amazing. And there's no difference. They are just as strong and just as powerful, if not more so, in everything else, than all men. And it's just incredible to see that.
WM: Now I'd like to go back in time, because if you could get in a time machine and go back to the early 2000s, right before you released Beautiful Tragedy, what advice would you give your younger self about the music industry or about life in general?
CH: Wow. I don't know (laughs). Because any advice I gave now would be cynical. Because we did crazy things. When I look back at what we did in 2006 and 2007 when we were just starting out, we got into a van. We didn't really make any money on the road. We were making money to get back home with nothing.
And we didn't even think about that when we were going on tour. And when we went to Europe for the first time, someone else scheduled everything, someone programmed all the shows, we had no idea what we were doing, we just went. They told us: "Go, here are the plane tickets." And we did so much. We stayed in terrible places and today all of that is a great experience, but looking back now I think, how did we manage to do that?
It's so crazy. But the advice I'd give anyone is simply to never give up. And it served us well, man. I mean, I wouldn't change a thing, I think, because having done it that way, we learned what pain is and how to really, really want something and really, really do whatever it takes, no matter what. And now we're able to make our own choices. We're not going to do this, but that. It's just a great progression that we're still doing this. I don't think I'd give it to myself. I wouldn't change a thing to answer your question.
Plans to debut in Brazil by 2027
WM: This month you're starting a US tour with Hollywood Undead. However, In This Moment has never been to Brazil before. Are there any plans for the band to come to the country for the first time?
CH: Yes. And I really want to go. I'll be rooting for it a lot. We've talked about it so many times over the years. But there's always been something or some kind of stigma that maybe prevented us from going there at the time. And we have such incredible fans out there, and we only know that because of our connection through Instagram, Facebook, and things like that.
We see the passion, and every time we do anything, there are these fan clubs that are always there. We really want to go. So I'm going to put a lot of pressure on them to make it happen this year or next year. We're doing a world tour for Witch, and I want to make sure Brazil is included. So, let's keep our fingers crossed.
