PlanetMosh Keeping it Metal
Sometimes, a much-loved and highly successful band needs to shake things up a bit to keep things fresh and interesting for their fans and for themselves, all the while retaining the signature sonic hallmarks that have defined their sound. For their upcoming sixth album, Massachusetts metal pioneers Killswitch Engage reunited with original singer Jesse Leach, whose vocals and lyrics on 2002’s landmark Alive or Just Breathing are fan-favorite qualities and part of what helped put KsE on the map as one of the most important bands of the ’00s metal revival.
So speak Killswitch Engage on their Facebook page and they proceed to back that up with an album that all fans of KsE will, I’m absolutely sure, adore. Waspish, melodic and brutally aggressive guitar tones in places backed by tremendous contrasting vocal work from Jesse Leach who has, unsurprisingly, slipped effortlessly back into his KsE frontman role.
The album has superb progessive undertones running throughout as each track leads the listener on a merry dance of melodic brutality, switching at ease between driving guitar work and aggressive vocals to soaring choruses backed with harmonious vocal work. New Awakening for example has some HUGE riffs and its brutal anger is sure to be a real crowd pleaser, while In Due Time switches to an almost commercial driving rock track at times that just owns. You Don’t Bleed for Me has a brilliant acoustic middle before it breaks down into some grinding guitar work backed by machine gun drumming all the while undercut with soaring melodic vocal lines before charging into the brutality of The Call. Yep, there’s something for everyone to enjoy right here on this album in some shape or form, particularly as the album closes out. Always perhaps should have been the track to bring it all to an atmospheric and enigmatic close, but Killswitch Engage just can’t resist throwing one more melodically aggressive monster at you as they bring the album to a superb close.
Most importantly to me Killswitch Engage make all this seem so effortless, it’s a joy to listen to. Never mind pigeon holing them to a genre, this album is modern metal produced by one of its master crafters and it shows both in its execution and delivery.
Disarm the Descent is released on 2nd April through RoadRunner Records
Rating: 9/10
Track Listing:
1. The Hell in Me
2. Beyond the Flames
3. New Awakening
4. In Due Time
5. A Tribute to the Fallen
6. The Turning Point
7. All That We Have
8. You Don’t Bleed for Me
9. The Call
10. No End in Sight
11. Always
12. Time Will Not Remain
KillSwitch Engage are:
Jesse Leach – vocals
Adam Dutkiewicz – guitar
Joel Stroetzel – guitar
Mike D’Antonio – bass
Justin Foley – drums
LINKS:
www.killswitchengage.com
www.facebook.com/killswitchengage
twitter.com/kseofficial
