Killswitch Engage is one of the most creative and melodic heavy metal bands in America. Hailing from Massachusetts, they gained world wide recognition for their crunching guitar work and high production values. They have recorded two Gold albums and have been nominated at the Grammy Awards for the Best Metal performance in 2005.

Killswitch Engage – Metalcore Riders

“Human soul contains both darkness and light and that a balance must be struck between the two.”  Jesse Leach (Former Lead Vocalist - Killswitch Engage)

The Crunching Melodic Metal

Killswitch Engage is one of the most creative and melodic heavy metal bands in America. Hailing from Massachusetts, they gained world wide recognition for their crunching guitar work and high production values. They have recorded two Gold albums and have been nominated at the Grammy Awards for the Best Metal performance in 2005. The band is known for the extreme nature in their songwriting, melodic hard core metal sound which is delivered in the style of death metal. They reference the earlier albums of legendary metal band Metallica like Ride the Lightening and Kill 'Em All. The band has released 5 albums and has toured extensively as one of Metal’s best live acts.

The Formation

The formation of the band can be trace back to the disbanding of two metal bands Overcast and Aftershock in 1998. Bass player Mike D’Antonio started jamming with guitar player and drummer Adam Dutkeiwicz; their interest in bands like Slayer and Metallica got the duo together. They wanted to start their own band and recruited guitar player Joel Stroetzel and singer Jesse Leach.  They started recording demos by 1999 and called themselves the Killswitch Engage.

The Career Begins

The band released their self-titled debut album in 2000 on the music label Ferret. The album was ferocious energy and gloomy lyrics of death and isolation. The band’s album instantly gained recognition in the underground metal scene and caught the eye of metal’s major label Roadrunner Records. The label encouraged them to tour as much as possible to build the momentum among the metal community.

The Singer Leaves

They eventually started recording their second album and the first for Roadrunner Records. The album “Alive or Just Breathing” was released in 2002. It reached No. 37 on the Billboard’s Heatseaker charts. The band did manage to chart at 122 in UK. The band was experiencing internal issues especially in regards to their lead singer Jesse Leach. In 2002, Leach had got married and the touring and recording scheduled started to depress him. His working condition and participation became very moody and he decided to call it day. Leach’s approach to his decision to exit left a bad taste wit the rest of the band as he chose to simply send an email instead of talking it out with the band.

The band searched for a quick replacement and recruited Howard Jones from another metal band. Though initially Jones had doubts about his singing style meshing with the band but settled in. In fact it was Leach who himself contacted the band on hearing Jones’s vocals and convinced everyone that Jones was the right man for the job.

The Traveling Band

Killswitch Engage were felling quite confident with the new line-up and went on a lengthy touring schedule which included several Metal festivals in the UK and Europe. After the 2003 Ozzfest appearance and MTV2 Headbangers Ball 2 tour, the band settled into the studio to record a new album.  “The End of the Heartache” reached No. 21 on the US charts their highest charting album at that time. The band also received great reviews. The guitar riffs on almost every song had a distinct sound and it was powerful but very melodic. The band went on tour to promote the album which included a return to Ozzfest. The title single was nominated as Best Metal Performance at the 2005 Grammy Awards.

In Nov 2006 they released their new album “As Daylight Dies”. The album was there second certified Gold album which peaked at No. 32 on the chart. The special addition B-side included the ferocious cover of Dio’s celebrated song “Holy Diver”.

The band had gained a cut following and were now interested to produce their magnum opus. They convinced the great Brendan O’Brien to produce the new album. Released in 2009 it peaked at No. 7 on the US charts, their highest ever! The band received fabulous reviews for the unique vision they display on the album. The dual guitar leads forms the core of the album, which delivers an angst filled romp. It also shows the punk influences and fast rhythm section jamming. The album has received phenomenal praise.

Currently on tour to promote the album, Killswitch Engage has taken Metalcore to a new direction  

• Their song “This Fire Burns” was taken as the theme song for Word Wresting Entertainment(WWE) pay-per-view event  Judgment Day in 2006

• The band has played several concert festivals such as the prestigious UK festival called The Reading and Leeds Festival  in 2006 and the premier Metal tour in the US Ozzfest

• The bands self titled 2009 album was produced by rock virtuoso producer Brendan O’ Brien, who has produced diverse artist like AC/DC, Stone Temple Pilots, Pearl Jam and Bruce Springsteen 0

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