Killswitch Engage are one of metal’s most respected and popular emerging bands, but their new album suggests the problems the Massachusetts quintet still face as a creative unit. Killswitch Engage, which is actually the group’s second self-titled album, emphasizes the band’s sonic aggression and ever-growing melodic sophistication. But even with acclaimed rock producer
Brendan O’Brien assisting behind the boards for the first time, Killswitch Engage remain a good band that have yet to attain greatness.
An Up-and-Coming Group With Room to Grow
Killswitch Engage were already starting to garner attention when their lead singer, Jesse Leach, left the group after their second album, 2002’s Alive or Just Breathing. It’s the sort of personnel change that can cripple a lot of fledgling groups, but Killswitch Engage only expanded their profile after adding new frontman Howard Jones. An imposing, muscular presence, Jones provides Killswitch Engage with a soulful, yearning center that nicely complements the headlong rush of Adam Dutkiewicz’s and Joel Stroetzel’s guitars. That spirit of fiery abandon comes through loud and clear on Killswitch Engage, but although several of the songs build to an impressive frenzy, taken one by one the album’s tracks lack enough inspired moments to make them stick in the brain. As a result, Killswitch Engage is all of a piece – overpoweringly assaultive but also a bit monotonous.Metal for People Who Hate Metal
For those who hate metal, the complaint is always the same – all the songs sound the same, and they all have a tone-deaf singer yelling over a bunch of furious, head-banging riffs and crazy, pounding drums. When Killswitch Engage really cooks, it’s an album that demonstrates how narrow-minded such criticisms are. For instance, the moody guitars that kick off “The Return” are paired with an anguished vocal about a contentious but unbreakable romantic bond – producer Brendan O’Brien, as he’s done on records for Stone Temple Pilots and Pearl Jam, balances the song’s anger and melody so that the track feels accessible without losing any of its blunt force. Killswitch Engage represents the first time the band members have used an outside producer, which created the inevitable concerns from some fans about a watering down of the group’s approach, but if anything O’Brien has made their sound larger and tougher.A Better Live Band
Unfortunately, Killswitch Engage demonstrates that this remains a band better to catch live than on disc. In concert, Killswitch Engage amplify the aggression, emotion and urgency of their material, but on album they can feel a little mechanical – O’Brien has boosted their sound, but the arrangements can sometimes feel too indebted to metal’s hard-harder-hardest strictures to really breathe. Plus, despite his many pluses, Howard Jones is limited as a lyricist – even on a scorcher like “I Would Do Anything,” his words feel like desperate non sequiturs that never add up to much. When these guys take the stage, such problems pale in comparison to the confident propulsion of their live energy. On record, though, there’s no escaping such liabilities.'Killswitch Engage' - Bottom Line
The worst you can say about Killswitch Engage is that it’s an album that doesn’t launch the group to the next level artistically. Genre fans (and the band’s loyal supporters) won’t mind, but for those hoping that Killswitch Engage would finally be the record that finds the band cementing their place in the rock firmament, it can’t help but disappoint a little.'Killswitch Engage' – Best Tracks:
“This Is Goodbye” (Purchase/Download)“Lost” (Purchase/Download)
“I Would Do Anything” (Purchase/Download)
“Starting Over” (Purchase/Download)
“The Return” (Purchase/Download)
Release date – June 30, 2009
Roadrunner Records
