KILLSWITCH ENGAGE Vinyl & CDs

Review: Returning with their highly anticipated follow up to 2019's Atonement, while marking the sixth overall full-length to feature original vocalist Jesse Leach (who re-joined following the departure of his initial replacement Howard Jones for 2013's Disarm The Descent), the ninth album from melodic metalcore heavyweights Killswitch Engage serves as a triumphant victory lap of their sonic saga thus far. Self-proclaimed to be their most collaborative endeavour to date, the seasoned veterans deftly balance their complex, chugging anthemics and pioneering lead lines of the incomparable Adam Dutkiewicz with saccharine hooks and earnest bombast, while Leech's frenetic switching from gravel-throated shouts to vulnerable clarity add poignancy to cuts such as the triumphant lead single 'This Consequence' tackling "everything the past five years has thrown at us as a band, as humans, and society as a whole". Be prepared for a glorious return to form from one of the genre's most integral foundation builders..

Review: Killswitch Engage were late to the party in terms of NWOAHM - or New Wave of American Heavy Metal. The movement started in the mid-1990s, borrowing the name from British heavy metal new wave of the late-1970s, and was determined to offer a rawer, less caricatured take on a sound which, by this point, was running out of ideas/steam/cocaine. Despite arriving a few years after all that kicked off, this Massachusetts outfit quickly rose to become one of the most prominent in the scene, and 23 years on remain inescapable. A leading force in the development of metal core, their sound is huge, ferocious, cacophonous but also melodic, citing influences ranging from Iron Maiden to Van Halen, not to mention Mike 'Faith No More' Patton. Ultimately, though, they've carved out their own thing, which is laid bare in all its sweaty, juggernaut glory on this - the band's first ever officially released live recording.