Killswitch Engage is an American metalcore band from Westfield, Massachusetts, formed
in 1999 after the disbanding of Overcast and Aftershock. Killswitch Engage's current lineup
consists of vocalist Jesse Leach, bassist Mike D'Antonio, guitarists Joel Stroetzel
and Adam Dutkiewicz, and drummer Justin Foley. The band has released six studio albums and
one DVD. Their latest album, Disarm the Descent was released on April 2, 2013.
Killswitch Engage rose to fame with its 2004 release The End of Heartache, which peaked
at number 21 on the Billboard 200, and was certified gold by the RIAA in December 2007
for over 500,000 shipments in the United States. The title track, "The End of Heartache", was
nominated for a Grammy Award in 2005 for Best Metal Performance, and a live DVD titled World
Ablaze was released in 2005. Killswitch Engage has performed at festivals such as Wacken
Open Air, Reading and Leeds Festivals, Ozzfest, Download Festival, Rock on the Range, Rock
Am Ring, Mayhem Festival, Monsters of Rock, Pointfest, Heavy MTL and the Australian Soundwave
Festival. The band has sold over four million records in the US and has been widely referred
to as "one of the founders of metalcore" and one of the notable bands for New Wave of American
Heavy Metal.
History Early years and debut album
Killswitch Engage formed from the two metalcore bands, Overcast and Aftershock during the
late 1990s. After Overcast broke up in 1998, bassist Mike D'Antonio jammed with Aftershock
guitarist Adam Dutkiewicz. Dutkiewicz recruited guitarist Joel Stroetzel from Aftershock,
and vocalist Jesse Leach of the band Nothing Stays Gold, to form a new band, Killswitch
Engage. The band's name is derived from an episode of the television series The X-Files
entitled "Kill Switch", written by William Gibson, who gave the episode this title after
meeting the industrial band Kill Switch...Klick. In 1999, Killswitch Engage recorded a demo
tape containing four tracks, including "Soilborn", Killswitch Engage's first song. The demo tape
was first released at the band's first show, opening for melodic death metal act In Flames,
in November 1999. They released their self-titled debut album the following year. Although initially
the album was not a financial success and did not land on any charts, it attracted the
interest of Carl Severson, who worked at Roadrunner Records at the time. Severson handed Killswitch
Engage to several Roadrunner representatives. Mike Gitter, a talent agent of the company,
contacted D'Antonio, attended several of the band's shows, and offered the band a recording
contract with Roadrunner. Realizing Roadrunner had the resources to promote and distribute
Killswitch Engage releases, the band accepted his offer, declining several offers from smaller
labels. Alive or Just Breathing
For a brief time in 2000 and 2001, ex-Overcast guitarist Pete Cortese joined Killlswitch
Engage, but left in 2001 when he became a father. Killswitch Engage began writing new
material for their second album in November 2001. Mixed in January at Backstage Studios
by producer Andy Sneap, the album was titled Alive or Just Breathing for lyrics in the
song "Just Barely Breathing". A music video for the single "My Last Serenade" increased
the band's exposure, and the album peaked at number 37 on the Top Heatseekers chart.
Following Alive or Just Breathing's release, which was written and recorded for two guitarists,
the band decided to expand and become a fivesome; Dutkiewicz moved to guitar and former Aftershock
drummer Tom Gomes filled in the vacant drummer position. After Leach was married on April
20, 2002 and began touring again he fell into a depression. Leach left the band a few days
before the band was meant to play a show and sent the band members an e-mail telling them
he had quit. D'Antonio said in an interview that "after three years of hanging out with
the dude, and considering him a brother, to just get an email was a little bit harsh."
The band immediately started to search for a replacement vocalist and found Howard Jones
of Blood Has Been Shed. Jones disliked the band's sound when he first heard it. He commented,
"I was like, 'Meh.' I come from hardcore and dirtier metal, and Killswitch sounded so clean.
But the more I listened to it, I realized there's some really good songs here". After
hearing about Leach's vocal problems, Jones contacted the band and was accepted as the
replacement. Philip Labonte of All That Remains tried out for lead vocals but lost to Jones,
who had to quickly memorize seven songs for his debut at the 2002 Hellfest.
The new lineup played on the Road Rage tour in the United Kingdom and the Netherlands
in 2002 with 36 Crazyfists and Five Pointe O. Touring continued through the New Year's
Day, and in 2003 the first song to feature Jones, "When Darkness Falls", appeared on
the soundtrack of the 2003 horror film Freddy vs. Jason. Following the 2003 Ozzfest, drummer
Gomes left the band because he wished to spend more time with his wife, to pursue his band
Something of a Silhouette, and because he was tired of touring. He was replaced by Justin
Foley of Blood Has Been Shed, and Foley's first tour with the band was the MTV2 Headbangers
Ball in 2003. The End of Heartache
The End of Heartache was released on May 11, 2004, and peaked at number 21 on the Billboard
200 with 38,000 sales in its first week, and it also peaked at number 39 on the Australian
Albums Chart. The album went on to sell more than 500,000 copies in the U.S and was certified
gold on December 7, 2007. The album received mostly positive reviews, with Jon Caramanica
of Rolling Stone calling the album a "stunning collection, retaining much of their signature
musical brutality". Eduardo Rivadavia of Allmusic commented "riff upon riffs are piled sky-high
into each number that follows, it's the unpredictable rhythmic shifts used to build and then relieve
internal pressure that fuel the Killswitch Engage power source".
"The End of Heartache" became the main single for the movie Resident Evil: Apocalypse, and
in 2005 the song was nominated for Best Metal Performance for the 47th Grammy Awards. In
late 2004, The End of Heartache was re-released as a special edition album, with a second
disc featuring various live performances, a Japanese bonus track, and a re-recorded
version of "Irreversal". During the summer of 2005, the band returned for Ozzfest, and
on November 1, 2005, Alive or Just Breathing was re-released as part of Roadrunner Records'
25th anniversary. On November 22, 2005, the live DVD World Ablaze was released, which
contained a live concert at the Palladium in Worcester, Massachusetts, an hour-long
documentary, and all the band's music videos. The DVD was certified gold in the US on April
8, 2006. As Daylight Dies
Killswitch Engage played the Reading and Leeds Festivals in August 2006, having already played
Australian dates without Dutkiewicz, who was suffering from back problems and needed corrective
surgery. On May 23, 2006, the song "This Fire Burns" was released on the WWE Wreckless Intent
album. The track was intended to be the new theme song for WWE wrestler Randy Orton; however,
it was scrapped and later became the theme song for the WWE Judgment Day 2006 pay-per-view.
"This Fire Burns" is formerly used as the entrance theme for WWE wrestler CM Punk from
2006 until 2011 and was later re-released as "This Fire" on the As Daylight Dies Special
Edition. Recorded in three months, As Daylight Dies
was released on November 21, 2006 and peaked at number 32 on the Billboard 200 chart with
60,000 sales in its first week. "As Daylight Dies" proved to be one of their biggest albums
yet. It also entered the Australian Albums Chart at number 29. Mixed by Dutkiewicz, the
album received mostly positive reviews—Thom Jurek of Allmusic called it "a Top Five metal
candidate for 2006 for sure". Decibel Magazine contributor Nick Terry said "To call As Daylight
Dies addictive would be an understatement. That it outdoes its already impressive enough
predecessor could almost go without saying". Cosmo Lee of Stylus Magazine commented "the
album is astonishingly badly sequenced", even though it praised the album as being "less
emotionally heavy-handed, and a lot more fun". As of November 27, 2007, As Daylight Dies
has sold more than 500,000 units in the US. The album's first single, "My Curse", peaked
at number 21 on the Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks chart, and is featured in the video games
Sleeping Dogs, Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock, Burnout Dominator and Burnout Paradise
and is available as downloadable content for the Rock Band series. "The Arms of Sorrow"
peaked at number 31 on the same chart. The band's cover of Dio's "Holy Diver", originally
recorded for a Kerrang! compilation album titled High Voltage, peaked at number 12 on
the Mainstream Rock charts. Early in 2007, the band had to cancel three of its European
tour dates with The Haunted due to Dutkiewicz's back problems. He required emergency back
surgery and was replaced on the tour by Soilwork guitarist Peter Wichers.
Due to Dutkiewicz's back problems in early 2007, he was replaced by Damageplan and The
Mercy Clinic frontman Patrick Lachman during the No Fear Tour. Dutkiewicz recovered and
was able to finish the No Fear tour, and the band began filming its video for As Daylight
Dies's second single, "The Arms of Sorrow". On August 6, 2007, Dutkiewicz was forced to
leave the Warped Tour so he could fully recover from his back surgery and continue daily physical
therapy. He was replaced by Killswitch's guitar technician Josh Mihlek for select songs, until
his return on August 14, 2007. Second self-titled album
Killswitch Engage entered the studio in October 2008 to start recording their next album with
Dutkiewicz and Brendan O'Brien co-producing the album. In mid-February, bassist Mike D'Antonio
confirmed in an interview with Metal Hammer that "drums were finished", and that he had
"finished up the last few bass fixes". He also stated that Howard [Jones] is in Atlanta
finishing vocals, and that "it shouldn't be too much longer now." From March to May, Killswitch
Engage was a part of Disturbed's Music as a Weapon IV festival along with Lacuna Coil,
Chimaira, Suicide Silence, Bury Your Dead and more. On April 14, the band announced
the name of their album as Killswitch Engage, the second time the band has self-titled an
album. The album was released on June 30, 2009, debuting at No. 7 on the Billboard
200, marking the band's highest chart position for an album. In July and August, Killswitch
Engage took part in Mayhem Festival with headliners Marilyn Manson, Slayer, Bullet for My Valentine
and others. In February 2010, Killswitch Engage announced that vocalist Howard Jones would
not be performing with Killswitch Engage during their winter tour with The Devil Wears Prada
and Dark Tranquillity; during the time, All That Remains vocalist Philip Labonte was substituting
for Jones until he could return. At least one source speculated that Jones' hiatus was
due to back pain. On March 18, 2010, original vocalist Jesse Leach returned to the band
for a series of songs. From then on, Leach and Labonte performed as substitute vocalists
for the remainder of the tour. In 2010, the band contributed the track "My
Obsession" to the God of War: Blood & Metal soundtrack. The band was later added as late
replacement to 2010's Download Festival in June, after original sub-headliner, Wolfmother
could not attend as scheduled. Afterward, Killswitch Engage took a break from the road,
and its members pursued other interests. Adam Dutkiewicz formed the band Times of Grace
with Leach and released the debut album "The Hymn of a Broken Man" on January 18, 2011.
Along with Dutkiewicz and Leach, Times of Grace added Joel Stroetzel to their tour lineup.
Justin Foley provided the drum tracking for the band Unearth on their new album "Darkness
in the Light", released on July 5, 2011. Foley will also travel with the band for their 2011
summer tour. D'Antonio started the hardcore band Death Ray Vision, with Shadows Fall vocalist
Brian Fair and former Killswitch Engage guitarist Pete Cortese.
Return of Leach and Disarm the Descent In an interview with Ron Jeremy, Gun Shy Assassin,
Mike D'Antonio had stated that the band was currently in the works for a sixth studio
album. D'Antonio stated, "Currently, everyone is individually writing demos for the next
Killswitch Engage record. There is no release date yet, but I would assume it will be out
early 2012." Adam Dutkiewicz followed that up with a statement on the Killswitch Engage
Facebook, saying "YO! Its Adam D! We're about to begin writing our new record. Thanks to
all of our fans for waiting so friggin' patiently...now let's turn on the "riff faucet" and RAGE!"
On December 1, 2011, Mike D'Antonio posted online that Killswitch Engage should be entering
the studio around February/March 2012 to record their sixth album expected around summer 2012.
He also stated that the band had eight demos finished for the new record.
On January 4, 2012, the band announced via the band's official website, along with their
other official sources, that Howard Jones had left the band after his nine-year membership
with them. In the statement, the band did not disclose the reason for this decision
out of respect for Jones, but simply thanked him for his nine years with the band and wished
him well, as well as thanking the fans for their support as they began the search for
a new lead singer. Soon after the announcement of Jones's departure, rumors began that Phil
Labonte of All That Remains would officially take over lead vocals due to his previous
history with the band, although Labonte quickly dispelled the rumor. The band's search for
a new singer concluded in February with the announcement that original lead vocalist Jesse
Leach would return to the band, as the band felt that Leach's energy, as well as his overall
comfort and command of both the old and new material, made him the clear choice during
auditions. Since Leach's return, the band continued to the process of recording their
new album and touring. On April 22, 2012, the band performed Leach's first show since
2002 at the New England Metal and Hardcore Fest.
On June 20, 2012, the demo version of a new song titled "This Is Confrontation" was leaked
on YouTube. Not long after the song was leaked, the videos were soon deleted. Later, the band
took part in Metal Hammer's "Trespass America Festival" headlined by Five Finger Death Punch
with additional support from God Forbid, Emmure, Pop Evil, Trivium and Battlecross. The band
performed this song live, confirming the song's title "No End in Sight". Not long after the
album was confirmed, the song was streamed publicly again. In October 2012, with Jesse
back at the helm, Killswitch Engage announced they would be celebrating the ten year anniversary
of their seminal album, "Alive or Just Breathing" with a US Tour through November/December 2012,
in which they would be playing the album live, in its entirety. Support on the tour came
from fellow Massachusetts natives Shadows Fall and Acaro.
The new album Disarm the Descent was released April 1, 2013 in the UK. The album debuted
at #15 in the UK charts while debuting at #7 in the Billboard top 200 April 2 in the
US. The first single "In Due Time" was released on February 5, 2013. The album has received
critical acclaim from reviewers, and has been labeled as a "true standout" and "nothing
short of amazing". It was announced in December 2013 that "In Due Time" was nominated for
"Best Metal Performance" at the 2014 Grammy Awards, but lost to "God Is Dead?" by Black
Sabbath. Musical style and lyrical themes
Killswitch Engage plays a genre considered metalcore, combining sounds from extreme metal
and hardcore. Like some modern metalcore bands, Killswitch Engage vocally combine both singing,
screaming vocals, growls in their music. Killswitch Engage's music mixes "crushing"
riffs, double bass drum patterns, power chords, dual-guitar harmonies, often punctuated with
pinch harmonic squeals in their music and breakdowns that one can expect from the metalcore
genre. Their music is influenced by gothenburg metal scene and thrash metal.
In 2009, MTV, while naming "The Greatest Metal Bands of All Time" referred to Killswitch
Engage as "one of the founders of metalcore". Jason D. Taylor of Allmusic said Alive or
Just Breathing is "a pure metal album that seemingly has ignored any fashionable trend
and instead relies solely on skill and expertise to sculpt some of the meatiest heavy metal
since the glory days of Metallica and Slayer." Both current vocalist Jesse Leach and former
vocalist Howard Jones write lyrics that are considered positive. Jesse Leach stated on
World Ablaze, that the lyrics contain "unity, positivity, [and] love." On the lyrical themes
of Killswitch Engage, Ultimate Guitar reviewer Amy Sciarretto notes:
On Killswitch Engage's 2009 self-titled album, Howard Jones states the change in lyrical
themes: Band members
Timeline
Discography
Studio albums Killswitch Engage
Alive or Just Breathing The End of Heartache
As Daylight Dies Killswitch Engage
Disarm the Descent References
External links Official website