IN THIS MOMENT is preparing to begin the songwriting process for its next studio album, tentatively due in 2019. Guitarist Chris Howorth told KLAQ's Lisa Sanchez that the making of the follow-up to 2017's "Ritual" could turn out to be an even more "grueling" experience than last year's effort.

"I think Maria [Brink, vocals] and I both — Maria's very particular too — we put a lot of pressure on ourselves for everything," he said (see video below). "And we think we know what's gonna happen, and then we get in there and things are different, and it becomes a lot of work to get it out. But that means it's good, 'cause we're spending so much time on it. I think this next album that we're getting ready to do, it's gonna be more grueling, 'cause we're really trying to do it faster."

Maria added: "We wrote in the studio last time. We didn't do a lot of prior writing. And this time, we're gonna actually… I think it's a little bit more pressure when you kind of do it in that style. And there's something beautiful about that too. But I say let's do both — write in the studio and have a bunch of things we love going into it."

Although Chris "hates on-the-road writing," according to Maria, he and his bandmates hope to have some of the material ready while traveling around the U.S. with HALESTORM this spring and summer.

"[Maria] likes [writing music on tour]," Chris said. "She says she likes it, but we haven't done a lot of it yet. But we're gonna try to do some of it on this tour."

Maria added: "I'm one of those people who get all passionate, inspired, high and I'll wanna write it at four in the morning. I'll be singing into my phone by myself with a little beat, and I go play it for him. We've actually written some of our bigger songs that way, so sometimes it works."

"Ritual" included IN THIS MOMENT's eerie cover of Phil Collins' "In The Air Tonight", and there is a good chance the follow-up effort will see the band tackling yet another classic song.

"I don't what we're gonna do yet, but I definitely wanna do [a cover]," Maria said. "I love doing covers. Labels always like 'em anyway, cause they use 'em for other things and stuff too. So I'm actually on the hunt right now [for] what to cover."

"Ritual" was produced by IN THIS MOMENT's longtime collaborator — and multiple Grammy Award nominee — Kevin Churko (FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH, OZZY OSBOURNE).