In This Moment released The Dream in North America on September 30, 2008, through Century Media Records. For their second album, the band placed a stronger emphasis on melody and gave Maria Brink more space to sing. Working with producer Kevin Churko in Las Vegas, they approached the material with a clear intention to make each song stand on its own.
That decision began with the writing. Guitarist Chris Howorth told Stormbringer that the band wanted songs listeners could sing along with, and that showcasing Brink’s voice had been a priority from the outset. Churko helped organize the ideas they took into the studio, but Howorth emphasized that the direction came from the band. They had written the record they wanted to make.
The change involved more than adjusting the balance between singing and screaming. In a separate interview with BurnYourEars, Howorth described a shift toward considering what each song needed, rather than assembling it from a succession of riffs. He also rejected the suggestion that Brink had suddenly acquired a different voice. Her ability had already been there; these arrangements gave her an opportunity to use more of it, while Churko helped her get the strongest performances onto the record.
“Kevin helped us piece it all together,” Howorth told Stormbringer. His description gave the producer a substantial role in shaping the finished album while preserving the distinction between the band’s initial ideas and the work of developing them in the studio.
“Forever” introduced that approach as the album’s first single. Its video, directed by David Brodsky and filmed in Los Angeles, accompanied the release campaign.
The album’s visual identity followed its title into a fantasy setting. Asked about its Alice in Wonderland imagery, Howorth explained to BurnYourEars that it fit the dream theme running through the record. The artwork’s rabbit, clock and ornate mirror gave that idea a visible form. The imagery complemented an album whose creators had allowed themselves to move beyond the expectations attached to their debut, Beautiful Tragedy.
They took the new material onto the road immediately. In a statement issued the day before release, Howorth described returning to touring after months spent recording, filming the video and being home with family. In This Moment joined Five Finger Death Punch and Bury Your Dead that autumn, mixing material from both albums into their sets. Howorth described melody as a central priority of the new songs while emphasizing that the band still wanted a heavy edge.
The recording sessions also left material for a later expansion. Released June 30, 2009, the expanded edition of The Dream included “Dying Star” and “Sailing Away,” two previously unreleased tracks from those sessions, alongside the band’s cover of Blondie’s “Call Me.” Its arrival coincided with In This Moment’s summer on Warped Tour.
The experience with Churko carried into the next studio album, A Star-Crossed Wasteland, released in 2010. In a statement about that recording, the band described wanting darker, heavier songs while retaining their melodic side. Choosing the producer required little discussion: after making The Dream, they said, “we didn't even consider using anyone else.”
