Killswitch Engage - Killswitch Engage (2009) V0

Tracks

01.Never Again 03:11
02.Starting Over 03:53
03.The Forgotten 03:20
04.Reckoning 02:43
05.The Return 04:31
06.A Light in A Darkened World 02:53
07.Take Me Away 02:48
08.I Would Do Anything 03:25
09.Save Me 03:49
10.Lost 03:47
11.This is Goodbye 04:18
-----
38:38 Min:Sec

Notes

"This album will be the death of me," groans Killswitch
Engage frontman Howard Jones as he sinks into a couch. The
Massachusetts-based metal band has just finished work on
its fourth album, and Jones is feeling a bit worked-over.
"There was nothing comfortable about it for any of us," he
says of making the record, most of which took place in
Atlanta under the watchful eye of superproducer Brendan
O'Brien (Bruce Springsteen, AC/DC, Pearl Jam), marking the
first time Killswitch guitarist Adam Dutkiewicz has stepped
aside for an outside producer.

On first listen, things kick off in the established
Killswitch fashion, as power-riffing guitars race alongside
galloping drums, but once Jones' voice joins the mix, it's
evident where his strain comes from. O'Brien has pushed
Jones farther than he's gone before vocally, especially in
the clean singing department: every song sounds like he's
swinging for the fences to get just the right epic chorus
and turn the songs into sing-along anthems. But this time
around, things are a little less upbeat.

"We're known for being a pretty positive band - we're
almost a self-help band," Jones says. "I feel like Tony
Robbins or something. We're known for anthems, but this
time I really tried to write from a different place. I've
got enough to draw on to write some stuff that can be dark.
Maybe there's still a hint of positivity in it, but there
are some songs on there that are not positive at all."

Jones says that the album - which will be self-titled and
released on June 30th - will continue Killswitch's
reputation as a stepping stone for listeners who are just
starting to explore the heavier side of things. The band
has made a trademark out of mixing its abrasiveness with
large doses of melody, as well as for Jones' clean lyrical
enunciation, even while screaming.

"With the amount of melody that's in Killswitch, it just
makes sense to try to enunciate and be clear, and a lot of
people pick up on that, people who don't normally listen to
heavier music," he says. "In a lot of ways, we can be a
cool gateway band into heavier stuff. You'll start
listening to us, and a few months later, you could be
listening to Nile or Decapitated." - rollingstone.com