There are few bands who have been around for more than quarter of a century who can say they still have four founder members, while drummer Justin Foley has now been there for more than 20 years as well. Sure, Jesse Leach had ten years off for good behaviour, but he returned in 2012, so this is a very stable line-up indeed. This is their first album for six years but there was a global pandemic during that time which impacted every musician, and for the recording of this one they went back to basics with this being their first album since 2002’s ‘Alive or Just Breathing’ in which they all worked together in the same room, pushing each other to achieve more. The band even pushed Jesse to work harder on his lyrics and vocal demos than ever before, the result being an album which hits on all levels.
I have always had a soft spot for this band, although it wasn’t until I heard “My Curse” (which featured Jesse’s interim replacement, Howard Jones) that I started to really pay close attention, and there is a large part of me that thinks that this is possibly their finest release to date. There is a real togetherness here, the impression that everyone kept daring the others to take it to the next level, and the result is that Jesse is performing the best ever, the drums are hitting hard in all the right place (when the double kick drums come in they make a real impact), the bass and guitars are incredibly tight, yet they never lose sight for the need for contrast and space which means the heaviness has real impact and is not lost in a wall of sound. Metalcore is a genre which I have often thought is over-hyped and not as powerful a sub-genre as others, but there is no doubt that Killswitch Engage are masters and this album is guitar-heavy yet somehow commercial from beginning to end.
Rating: 8/10
Links:
https://killswitchengage.com/
https://www.metalblade.com/