Killswitch Engage

Killswitch Engage is a hardcore heavy metal band whose main aim seems to be to return to the glory days of Metallica and Slayer. Formed in 1999, following the dissolution of Overcast and Afterschock, two obscure Massachusetts bands, Killswitch Engage initially struggled to make a name for themselves. Killswitch Engage (2000) and Alive or Just Breathing (2002) did little to attract potential fans. The End of Heartache (2004) aroused interest mainly in the USA (#21) and the UK (#40). As Daylight Dies (2006) confirms this upturn, from a band that nevertheless seems destined for the second division of metal. Killswitch Engage II was released in June 2009, enabling the band to tour intensively throughout the summer. Three years later, while the band was working on its successor, it suffered the defection of its singer, Howard Jones. This was an opportunity for Jesse Leach, the band's original leader, to make a comeback. This was followed by Disarm the Descent , which did very well in the English and American charts. The following opus, Incarnate, was released three years later, in March 2016. Far from resting on their laurels, the band returned to the studio after their tour and announced in 2017 via social networks that they were working on a new album, in which their former singer Howard Jones would make an appearance. However, the project is slightly delayed by Jesse Leach's vocal cord surgery, which also forces the band to cancel a few concert dates. Soon back on track, the recording results in Atonement, an eleven-track concentrate that also features Testament singer Chuck Billy, and will be released in the heart of summer 2019. Since the release of Atonement in 2019, Killswitch Engage releases the EP Atonement II: B-Sides for Charity in 2020, with proceeds going to a pandemic relief fund. In 2022, the band releases Live at the Palladium, a live album capturing a concert where they perform their debut album and Atonement in their entirety. In 2024, they celebrate 25 years in the music business with a collector's magazine and unveil the single "Forever Aligned", heralding their ninth album This Consequence, released in February 2025 to mixed reviews.