IN THE TRENCHES WITH IN THIS MOMENT

By Dan Kester

Photo Credit, Sarah Sed

One thing that is often said about hard rock and metal music is that it is the front man – or woman as the case may be – will make or break their band. If that truly is the case, then there is nothing that is going to stop the constant rise of In This Moment. Playing at Rock on the Range last Saturday, the band garnered enough fan attention to create a near capacity crowd to the Jagermeister main stage.

“We are just starting to get the tour together,” said Chris Howorth, lead guitarist and co-founder. “We wanted to make sure that we stopped here for this.” The tour that Howorth is speaking of is in order to promote their new album Blood, set to be released on August 14. This is the band’s fourth album and fans at Rock on the Range were treated to an early listen of the self-titled track, which was met with a great reaction from the crowd. With the constant yet building tempo of the music coupled with singer Maria Brink’s powerful, strengthening vocals the band got an extremely strong reception at the festival.

When asked about the meaning behind the song, Howorth told PPLA, “We just wanted to keep it simple. Blood can mean something different to anyone, but it has different meaning to everyone.” Although this is the fourth studio album from ITM, this will be the first without drummer Jeff Fabb or rhythm guitarist Blake Bunzel. “It kind of took us by surprise,” he recounts. “But there wasn’t any bad blood or drama there.” Both Fabb and Bunzel have moved on to play with James Durbin, who was also playing at Rock on the Range, although they played on Sunday. “It would have been nice to get to see them, but it just didn’t happen. We wish them the best though, and they’ll always be our brothers,” notes Howorth.

Although Randy Weitzel has only been on rhythm guitar for a brief period, this is not his first soiree with the group. “We’ve played with each other before,” he explains, “so it is more of a reunion than anything.” “We have a new band feel to us,” Howorth said excitedly. “We are still working on getting a new feel, and we aren’t really set on any kind of a theme yet. We are still working on it, and having as much fun as we can in the meantime. Check out the new album when it comes out; it’s a real kick in the nuts.”

The new single "Blood" will start receiving radio play June 12.