IN THIS MOMENT Guitarist: 'We're Always Trying To Push The Boundaries In Some Way'

Australia's Silver Tiger Media recently conducted an interview with IN THIS MOMENT guitarist Chris Howorth. You can listen to the full chat using the SoundCloud widget below. A few excerpts follow (transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET).

On the fan response to the band's new "Ritual" album:

Chris: "The response so far has been phenomenal. All of our fans are loving the songs, we're getting nothing but great feedback. We're seeing it at the shows. We're playing a number of new songs in our set and the fans are loving it, so the response is great so far."

On the meaning behind the "Ritual" album title:

Chris: "I think the name 'Ritual' really sums up what's going on with the album. It's definitely a journey of self-discovery. I know that sounds kind of generic, but that's what it is and fighting the good and evil inside of you and dealing with all the different situations."

On how IN THIS MOMENT approached the studio production of "Ritual":

Chris: "For me personally, I wanted to make it sound different than our other albums, so it wasn't a cookie-cutter of the last one. We're always trying to push the boundaries in some way to make it differentiate from everything else out there and what we've done in the past. That means more or less guitars, more or less samples, more or less keyboards, whatever, and just trying to make something sound original."

On how the band structured "Ritual":

Chris: "We definitely had a mission of the way we wanted the whole thing to feel. We wanted a certain amount of up-tempo songs, slow songs, just, we're definitely thinking about every detail about how it was going to flow together."

On the influence of producer Kevin Churko (FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH, OZZY OSBOURNE):

Chris: "We've done five albums with Kevin and he's definitely a big part of our sound and our band. We've written almost every song we've done with him. And he definitely feels a part of our band as well. We definitely respect his input one-hundred percent. He has the same kind of input as Maria [Brink, vocals] or I would in the situation. He's fighting for what he thinks is right, right along with us fighting for what we think is right."

On how he would describe the sound of "Ritual" to potential new fans of IN THIS MOMENT:

Chris: "It's hard rock/heavy metal, sonically powerful, with lots of big hooks and heavy sounds."

"Ritual" was made available by Atlantic Records in partnership with Roadrunner Records. The album features a guest appearance from JUDAS PRIEST frontman Rob Halford on the song "Black Wedding".