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.
Poison the Well is an American metalcore band from Miami, Florida who were last signed to Ferret Music. In 2010, they announced a hiatus to explore other interests. Lead guitarist Ryan Primack and drummer Christopher Hornbrook were the only remaining founding members, although vocalist Jeffrey Moreira featured on all five of their full-length albums. The band has since performed several reunion shows: two in 2015, eleven in 2016 and one in 2020.
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".
Howard Jones is an American metalcore vocalist best known as the former lead singer of Killswitch Engage and Blood Has Been Shed. He is the current vocalist of Light the Torch, formerly known as Devil You Know, and SION with YouTuber/guitarist Jared Dines.
Patrick "Pat" Lachman is an American heavy metal guitarist and vocalist.
Adam Jonathan Dutkiewicz is an American musician, recording engineer, songwriter, and music producer, best known as the lead guitarist and backup vocalist from Massachusetts metalcore bands Killswitch Engage, Aftershock, and Times of Grace, as well as the guitarist and co-lead vocalist for the melodic death metal supergroup Serpentine Dominion.
Killswitch Engage is the debut studio album by American metalcore band Killswitch Engage, released July 4, 2000 through Ferret Music. The album is the only release ever by Killswitch Engage to be released through Ferret, the band would later be signed to Roadrunner Records, where their follow-up LP, Alive or Just Breathing was released. The band's debut is considered to be one of the first ever successful albums in the metalcore genre, garnering a re-release five years after its original pressing. No songs in the album were released as singles.
The Funeral of God is the seventh full-length album by metalcore band Zao. Released on July 13, 2004 through Ferret Records in the US, and on July 12, 2004 through Roadrunner and Ferret in Europe and Asia. It saw the return of guitarist, Russ Cogdell, and the addition of bassist Shawn Koschik and drummer Stephen Peck after the departure of Jesse Smith. A music video was made for the song "The Rising End ".
Last Night in Town is the first studio album by the American metalcore band Every Time I Die. After recording a demo, the band signed with the independent label Goodfellow Records in 2000 and released The Burial Plot Bidding War EP. The band signed to Ferret Music in mid-2000 and was planning to record its first album later in the year. After writing was completed in December of that year, the band went on several US tours until March 2001. In March and April, Last Night in Town was recorded with the Killswitch Engage guitarist Adam Dutkiewicz at Zing Studios in Westfield, Massachusetts. Following recording, the band went on tour with Killswitch Engage and Santa Sangre.
Blood Has Been Shed was an American metalcore band based in Granby, Connecticut. The band came together in 1997 and has featured members of Killswitch Engage, Diecast, Light the Torch, Red Tide, Terror, Walls of Jericho, Bury Your Dead and The Acacia Strain. Blood Has Been Shed has released three full-length albums—I Dwell on Thoughts of You (1998), Novella of Uriel (2001) and Spirals (2003)—and was signed to Ferret Music and Roadrunner Records. The band was a frequent performer at metal festivals Hellfest and the New England Metal and Hardcore Festival.
In the Library of Horrific Events is the second album by UK metalcore band, Johnny Truant, released on October 17, 2005 by Undergroove Records. It was produced by Adam Dutkiewicz of Killswitch Engage.
Justin Foley is an American musician, best known as the drummer of the metalcore band, Killswitch Engage. He is also a former member of the band Blood Has Been Shed along with Killswitch Engage's former lead singer, Howard Jones.
Twelve Tribes was an American metalcore band, from Dayton, Ohio, United States. Originally established in 1998, the group were signed to the independent record label Ferret Music. They were influenced by a cross cultural array of music such as punk rock, hip hop, classic rock, drum & bass, metal and hardcore.
Peter Wichers is a Swedish musician and producer best known as one of the founding members of melodic death metal band Soilwork. From 1995 until late 2005, when he announced his departure from the band, he was the lead guitarist and songwriter, especially on their Stabbing the Drama album.
Dream of an Opium Eater are an instrumental metal band, originally commissioned by Roskilde Festival in Denmark to play a one-off set in 2007. The band play music which accompanies Norwegian short horror films, which are projected onstage throughout the performance.
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.
No Tears for the Creatures is the third and final studio album from UK metalcore band, Johnny Truant.
Ferret Music was an American independent record label turned Warner Music Group subsidiary, founded in 1996. The label is owned by NORA's vocalist, Carl Severson, and based in West Windsor, New Jersey. Ferret recently started an imprint called New Weathermen Records. Warner Music Group's Alternative Distribution Alliance acquired a stake in Ferret Music in August, 2006, and as a result is currently distributed by Fontana Distribution, Alternative Distribution Alliance and eOne Music.
Times of Grace is an American heavy metal band formed in Southampton, Massachusetts. The group consists of Adam Dutkiewicz and Jesse Leach while guitarist Joel Stroetzel, bassist Matt Bachand, drummer Dan Gluszak complete the touring lineup. An album was planned for 2009. However, the group remained largely inactive until 2010, releasing the single "Strength in Numbers", with their debut album, titled The Hymn of a Broken Man, released on January 18, 2011 through Roadrunner Records.
