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.
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.
The End of Heartache is the third studio album by American metalcore band Killswitch Engage. It was released on May 11, 2004, through Roadrunner Records. It is the first album to feature lead vocalist Howard Jones and drummer Justin Foley. It received positive acclaim from critics.
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.
Jesse David Leach is an American musician from Providence, Rhode Island, and is the lead vocalist of the metalcore band Killswitch Engage. He is also a vocalist for Times of Grace and The Weapon. Leach co-founded Killswitch Engage in 1999, but left the band in 2002; in February 2012, he rejoined the group following the departure of vocalist Howard Jones. He currently resides in the Catskill Mountains in New York.
As Daylight Dies is the fourth studio album by American metalcore band Killswitch Engage. It was released on November 21, 2006 through Roadrunner Records. It was produced by Adam Dutkiewicz and Joel Stroetzel.
"Tears Don't Fall" is a song by Welsh heavy metal band Bullet for My Valentine. It is the band's fourth single from their first full-length studio album, The Poison. The single was released on 17 June 2006 through Trustkill Records in the US. The song won the Kerrang! Award for Best Single. The song peaked at No. 24 on the Hot Mainstream Rock chart and No. 32 on the Alternative Rock chart. In 2013, the band released a sequel to the song called "Tears Don't Fall " on their fourth studio album, Temper Temper.
"Holy Diver" is a song by American heavy metal band Dio. It was released in August 1983 as the lead single from the band's debut album of the same name. Although it only reached number 40 on the Mainstream Rock chart at that time, it is one of Dio's most popular songs today.
"My Curse" is a song by American metalcore band Killswitch Engage, the song is released as the first single from their fourth album As Daylight Dies. It reached #21 on the Mainstream Rock Tracks chart, surpassing the band's last breakthrough single "The End of Heartache". The music video was directed by Lex Halaby, who has also directed videos for Hoobastank and Mudvayne. It is also one of the band's most well known songs.
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.
Killswitch Engage is an American metalcore band from Westfield, Massachusetts. Their discography consists of eight studio albums, three video albums, and twenty-three singles. Formed in 1999, the band signed with Ferret Music, and released their self-titled debut album in 2000. They then signed a recording contract with Roadrunner Records, releasing Alive or Just Breathing in 2002. The album peaked at number 37 on the Heatseekers Albums chart. Their third album, 2004's The End of Heartache, peaked at number 21 on the Billboard 200, and sold 38,000 copies in its first week of release. The album was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) in 2007, denoting shipments of over 500,000 copies.
Killswitch Engage is the fifth studio album by American metalcore band Killswitch Engage. It was released on June 30, 2009 through Roadrunner Records. It is the band's second album to be self-titled, the first being their debut album. It was produced by Adam Dutkiewicz and Brendan O'Brien. The album's reception from critics and fans has been mixed, with praise for Howard Jones's vocals and criticism of Dutkiewicz's and O'Brien's production and the album's reliance on formula.
"The End of Heartache" is the title track and second single from Killswitch Engage's third studio album The End of Heartache. The song also appeared as the theme song for the 2004 zombie action film Resident Evil: Apocalypse.
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.
Disarm the Descent is the sixth studio album by American metalcore band Killswitch Engage. The album was released on April 2, 2013, under Roadrunner Records. It is the band's first album with Jesse Leach on vocals since 2002's Alive or Just Breathing. Killswitch Engage announced the return of Leach in January 2012, after vocalist Howard Jones parted ways with the group due to illness. The album received generally positive reception from professional critics.
"In Due Time" is the lead single from Killswitch Engage's sixth studio album, Disarm the Descent. The song is the band's first single to feature vocalist Jesse Leach since 2003's "The Element of One". The song charted at no. 23 on the Active rock chart and no. 26 on the Mainstream Rock chart.
Incarnate is the seventh studio album by American metalcore band Killswitch Engage, released on March 11, 2016. The band released "Strength of the Mind" as a promotional single from the album on December 11, 2015 and revealed the title of the album six days later. The band toured to promote the album with Memphis May Fire and 36 Crazyfists. On January 26, 2016, the track listing was revealed. Three singles were released from the album: "Strength of the Mind" on December 11, "Hate by Design" on January 29 and "Cut Me Loose" on February 19. The album debuted at No. 6 on the Billboard 200, making it the band's most successful album on the chart, and reached No. 1 on both the Top Rock Albums and Hard Rock Albums charts, with 33,000 copies sold on its first week of release.
"The Signal Fire" is a song by American metalcore band Killswitch Engage. The song was released as the third single from the album in August 2019. The song features guest vocals from Howard Jones, who was the band's lead vocalist from 2002 to 2012.
