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, guitarists Joel Stroetzel and Adam Dutkiewicz, bassist Mike D'Antonio, and drummer Justin Foley. The band has released eight studio albums and three live performance albums. Their eighth studio album, Atonement, was released on August 16, 2019.
Alive or Just Breathing is the second studio album by American metalcore band Killswitch Engage. It was released on May 21, 2002, through Roadrunner Records. Alive or Just Breathing was Killswitch Engage's first album on Roadrunner and was recorded from October 2001 to February 2002. Produced by drummer and guitarist Adam Dutkiewicz, this was the band's first album on a major label, which prompted them to write and record the album to the best of their abilities. Alive or Just Breathing has been viewed as a landmark album in the metalcore genre and was well praised upon its release by fans and critics. The lyrics, which were all written by vocalist Jesse Leach, were intended to bring a positive message through the music.
A number of heavy metal genres have developed since the emergence of heavy metal during the late 1960s and early 1970s. At times, heavy metal genres may overlap or are difficult to distinguish, but they can be identified by a number of traits. They may differ in terms of instrumentation, tempo, song structure, vocal style, lyrics, guitar playing style, drumming style, and so on.
Melodic death metal is a subgenre of death metal that employs highly melodic guitar riffs, often borrowing from traditional heavy metal. The genre features the heaviness of death metal but with highly melodic or harmonized guitar riffs and solos, and often features high-pitched shrieked vocals alongside the low-pitched growls commonly featured in traditional death metal. Pioneered by the English heavy metal band Carcass with their 1993 album Heartwork, melodic death metal developed further in Sweden in the mid-1990s. The Swedish death metal scene did much to popularise the style, soon centering in the "Gothenburg metal" scene. At the Gates' Slaughter of the Soul, Dark Tranquility's The Gallery, and In Flames' The Jester Race, all released in the mid-1990s, were highly influential albums in melodic death metal, with At the Gates and In Flames being the two most common influences on North American 2000s heavy metal bands. Many American heavy metal bands emulated At the Gates' sound, resulting in the usage of the phrase "At the Gates worship".
Metalcore is a fusion music genre that combines elements of extreme metal and hardcore punk. As with other styles blending metal and hardcore, such as crust punk and grindcore, metalcore is noted for its use of breakdowns, slow, intense passages conducive to moshing. Other defining instrumental qualities include heavy riffs and stop-start rhythm guitar playing, occasional blast beats, and double bass drumming. Vocalists in the genre typically use thrash or scream vocals. Some later metalcore bands combine this with clean singing, often during the chorus. Death growls and gang vocals are common. 1990s metalcore bands were inspired by hardcore while later metalcore bands were inspired by melodic death metal bands like At the Gates and In Flames.
Shadows Fall is an American metalcore band from Boston, Massachusetts, formed in 1996. Although Shadows Fall has experienced several line-up changes, for most of its recording career, Shadows Fall has been composed of Jon Donais, Matt Bachand, Paul Romanko (bass), Brian Fair, and Jason Bittner (drums).
The Art of Balance is the third album by American heavy metal band Shadows Fall, released on September 17, 2002. The album sold over 4,500 copies the week of its release, and debuted at position 15 on the Top Independent Albums chart. With this release being the first with Jason Bittner, the lineup was solidified onwards as it is today's current members and the longest lineup in Shadows Fall's career's history.
Of One Blood is the second studio album by Shadows Fall, released on April 4, 2000. It was the band's first release on Century Media Records, featuring Brian Fair, and the last to feature drummer David Germain.
Somber Eyes to the Sky is the debut studio album by American heavy metal band Shadows Fall, released in 1997 on Matt Bachand's own label Lifeless Records in the United States, while the European release was handled by Genet Records. This was the band's last release and only studio album with lead singer Philip Labonte, who helped form All That Remains the following year.
Brian James Fair is an American musician from Massachusetts, best known as lead vocalist of the metalcore band Shadows Fall. He graduated from Milford High School in 1993, and went on to study literature at Boston University.
Jason Bittner is an American drummer, best known as the drummer for American metal band Shadows Fall. He is also the current drummer for Overkill since 2017, and was the drummer for the thrash metal bands Toxik from 2013 to 2014 and Flotsam and Jetsam from 2014 to 2017.
Darkest Hour is an American metal band from Washington, D.C., formed in 1995. Though failing to break through early in their tenure, the band has received acclaim for their albums Undoing Ruin, Deliver Us, and The Eternal Return. Deliver Us debuted at number 110 on the Billboard album charts, with sales of 6,600, and their more recent effort The Eternal Return garnered them an even higher position in the Billboard album charts at number 104. Their latest album Godless Prophets & the Migrant Flora charted at 42 on the Billboard 200, a peak for the band, and it marked a stylistic shift in the band's discography.
The War Within is the fourth studio album by American heavy metal band Shadows Fall. The album has sold over 300,000 copies worldwide. The War Within is the band's best selling album, and in 2005 made sales history on Century Media Records when it became the label's best selling album of all time. To date, the album retains this status. The album was also issued as a limited edition digipak with an exclusive bonus DVD that featured bootleg concert footage along with drum and guitar lessons from members of the band. The album debuted at number 20 on the Billboard 200 during its release.
Trivium is an American heavy metal band from Orlando, Florida, formed in 1999. The band comprises vocalist and guitarist Matt Heafy, guitarist Corey Beaulieu, bassist Paolo Gregoletto, and drummer Alex Bent.
Threads of Life is the fifth studio album by American heavy metal band Shadows Fall. Released on April 3, 2007, in the U.S. through Atlantic Records, the album debuted at number 46 on the Billboard 200. The first single, "Redemption", made its premiere on Sirius Radio's Hard Attack station on February 16, 2007 and was released on iTunes on February 20. "Redemption" received a Grammy Award nomination for Best Metal Performance at the 50th Grammy Awards.
All That Remains is an American metalcore band from Springfield, Massachusetts, formed in 1998. They have released nine studio albums, a live CD and DVD, and have sold over a million records worldwide. The group currently consists of vocalist Philip Labonte, rhythm guitarist Mike Martin, former Diecast drummer Jason Costa, and lead guitarist Jason Richardson, with Labonte being the last remaining original member. In spite of this, the band's line-up had remained consistent from the release of 2008's Overcome until 2015's The Order of Things, spanning four albums. This line-up changed, however, in September 2015, when long-time bassist Jeanne Sagan left the band, with Patrick taking her place, and then again in February 2019, when the band confirmed that Jason Richardson would be joining the band to replace the deceased lead guitarist and original member, Oli Herbert. In 2021, Aaron Patrick parted ways with All That Remains to focus on his other band, Bury Your Dead.
Melodic metalcore is a fusion genre, incorporating elements of melodic death metal and metalcore; it has a heavy emphasis on melodic instrumentation, distorted guitar tones, palm muting, double bass drumming, blast beats, metalcore-stylized breakdowns, aggressive screaming, death growls, and clean singing. The genre has seen commercial success for employing a more accessible sound at times compared to other forms of extreme music. Many notable melodic metalcore bands have been influenced by At the Gates and In Flames.
Fire from the Sky is the seventh and most recent studio album by American heavy metal band Shadows Fall. It was released on May 15, 2012. The band released the title track as the first single on March 28, 2012, and the opening track, "The Unknown", as the second single on May 2, as well as a lyric video for the song. About a week later, on May 10, the official music video for "The Unknown" was released through Vevo. It features the band playing in an abandoned warehouse. The album debuted at #38 on the Billboard 200, and at #85 in Canada.
Bleed from Within are a Scottish heavy metal band from Glasgow, formed in 2005. The band's current lineup consists of lead vocalist Scott Kennedy, drummer Ali Richardson, bassist Davie Provan, lead guitarist Craig Gowans, and rhythm guitarist, clean vocalist Steven Jones. The band has released six studio albums and three EPs, with their latest Shrine released on 3 June 2022 through Nuclear Blast.
Trials was an American metal band who formed in Chicago in 2008. They played a blend of groove metal, thrash metal and metalcore and their music also has melodic and progressive elements.
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