Killswitch Engage is a metalcore band from Westfield, Massachusetts, USA.

Music

Killswitch Engage's sound infuses hardcore, crushing riffs, double bass drum patterns, and furious screaming-growling vocals with melodic elements. Their music, most frequently described as metalcore, Gothencore or melodic death metal, is strongly influenced by European metal bands such as In Flames, which seek to generate a sense of drama from the contrast between savagery and melody. This contrast between hardcore and melodic sounds is embedded within the band's familiar song structure, which juxtaposes savage, screaming verses and melodic, anthemic choruses. Guitarist Adam Dutkiewicz has described Killswitch Engage as "a metal-core band with a pop element".

A key feature of Killswitch Engage's sound is the use complex single-note riffs featuring dual-guitar harmonies, punctuated by pinch harmonic squeals, a guitar style which has its roots in European metal.

Band History

Following the demise of his band Overcast in 1998, bassist Mike D'Antonio trawled the underground Massachusetts hardcore and heavy metal scene in search of a line-up for a new band. In 1999, D'Antonio met Dutkiewitz and Joel Stroetzel, Aftershock's guitarists. Dutkiewitz became the drummer, while Stroetzel remained on guitar. The trio searched for a vocalist and eventually hired Jesse Leach, formerly of Corrin and Nothing Stays Gold . The now four member band took the name of "Killswitch Engage", a name proposed by D'Antonio after watching an episode of the FOX television programme The X-Files.

The band was signed to the music label Ferret on the strength of its live performances, and subsequently won an opening slot with In Flames during their U.S. tour.

This and their debut self-titled album was sufficient to earn the band a record deal with Roadrunner Records. In 2002 they released Alive or Just Breathing, a successful record which greatly increased the band's exposure and placed them on the Billboard Magazine Heatseeker chart. The CMJ New Music Report described the record as "more addictive than crack cocaine that's been smothered in nicotine AND drenched with chocolate."

Leach left the band in 2002 and was replaced by Howard Jones of Blood Has Been Shed on vocals. Jones also recruited that band's drummer Justin Foley , replacing Tom Gomes, who left to live in Los Angeles with his wife. The new lineup played on the Road Rage tour in The Netherlands in 2002 with 36 Crazyfists, and in 2003 played the Ozzfest and MTV2 Headbangers' Ball tours. Their first release was the song "When Darkness Falls" which appeared on the soundtrack to the 2003 horror film Freddy vs. Jason.

The band's third album, and the first to feature Jones on vocals, was The End of Heartache which was released on May 11 2004. The album ultimately went on to sell more than a quarter of a million copies in the U.S. It also debuted on the top 40 of the Australian album charts on May 17, 2004 following a successful tour of that country with Anthrax.

In the latter half of 2004, the band supported Slayer on their US Jagermusic dates, and headlined shows with From Autumn to Ashes, 18 Visions and 36 Crazyfists. In addition, the track 'The End Of Heartache' became the main single for the movie "Resident Evil: Apocalypse", and in December 2004 the song was nominated in the 'Best Metal Performance' category for the 47th annual Grammy Awards.

Band members

As of 2004, Killswitch Engage consisted of:

• Adam Dutkiewicz - guitar, producer, played drums on their self-titled album, and Alive or Just Breathing.
• Joel Stroetzel - guitar
• Mike D'Antonio - bass, artist for all album covers and t-shirts
• Howard Jones - vocals
• Justin Foley - drums

Jesse David Leach was the original singer of the band.

Discography

• Killswitch Engage (2000)
• Alive or Just Breathing (2002)
• The End of Heartache (2004)

References

• Killswitch Engage web site page on band history
• All Music Guide Killswitch Engage article
• Noize Pollution interview with Adam Dutkiewicz, 6/4/02 Retrieved January 27, 2005
• Wise Men Promotions interview with Joel Stroetzel, June 27, 2004 Retrieved January 27, 2005