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Killswitch Engage

Killswitch Engage
Killswitch Engage
(Roadrunner)
www.killswitchengage.com

Killswitch Engage come roaring back into the metal scene with their new self-titled album. This marks a new step in Killswitch’s career, the first time they’ve wrote a record that they haven’t produced themselves. You may think the quality of the music will suffer because of this, fortunately for fans of the band this is not the case.

It opens up with Never Again, a song that is evidence that Killswitch are heading in a different direction. Experimenting with time structures and different beats but still maintaining their trademark sound, it definitely serves as a good opener. The second song, the album’s first single, Starting Over puts the band back in their comfort zone and sounds like nothing new. Although this could be a wise move, as it won’t alienate people who already love their sound, then they can wean them onto the more experimental stuff.

When we get into the 3rd song The Forgotten we truly see how much Killswitch have matured, the song opens with a riff so southern rock it could have came from the fingers of Dimebag himself. This is the case with other songs such as I Would Do Anything and Save Me, it’s very obvious the band are bringing in a wider range of influence, and it really works well!

If you are already one of the many Killswitch fans out there don’t be startled that they’re broadening their horizons, it is still an unmistakably Killswitch record. Howard Jones’ voice is unique and even if he’s trying new things it’s still him, they still combine melody with metal, just try new ways of doing it.

It may be a brave album for the band to make; however they have pulled it off. The sound is more mature and shows a new direction to head in. They already have a very broad range of fans, touring with bands like Slayer and then My Chemical Romance, they might just bring in a few more off the back of this record. Even if they don’t I’m sure it’ll strengthen their fan base.

There may be just a few too many ear pounding riffs for my head to cope with, and I must admit I had to take a break half way through to compose myself. I’m sure Killswitch lovers won’t mind this; they wouldn’t like the band if they didn’t enjoy getting their ears barraged with metal.

Jonathan Teggert