The new Killswitch Engage. An album that a lot of people have been waiting for. When KE released Alive Or Just Breathing 2 years ago, it was received with much enthusiasm. Killswitch was one of the bands that did not just play nu metal, but made a link with pure metal and modern metal/core. Alive Or Just Breathing is an excellent album with a good singer. Unfortunately, singer Jesse left and was quickly replaced by Howard Jones. The vocalist of the doomy metalcore band Blood Has Been Shed. He immediately went on tour with Killswitch. The reactions varied from positive to extremely negative. Unfortunately I missed that tour due to a broken ankle. I also had doubts about his vocal capabilities. Blood Has Been Shed is in I my eyes a cool band, with some cool musical twists, but Killswitch operates in a different league.

A few weeks ago I received the new record and I have to say, he did a great job. There, I said it. He replaces Jesse so good that I don’t think one is better than the other. Like on “When Darkness Falls” which is the new “Last Serenade”. The screams of Howard are pretty evil like in “A Bid Farewell” and the aforementioned “When Darkness Falls”.

My favourite song is “The End Of Heartache” which is an emotional song where he does a lot with his voice.

The music improved. Definitely. Where Alive Or Just Breathing at times sounded like they didn’t exactly know where to go to, this record sounds more balanced. There are more death metal influences (“Take This Oath”) and more clean parts. The melodies improved as well as the aggression. This is the album Killswitch stands for. Aggressive yet emotional metal. Along with bands like Shadows Fall and Lamb Of God they bring back metal with a modern twist. The production is the cream on the cake. Produced by guitarist and founding member Adam Dukiewicz. He gave Killswitch the sound they definitely need. Brutal, aggressive yet transparent. Comparable to Great Southern Trendkill by Pantera (I’m sure some metal fans will disagree with this). Personally I think this album is a little bit better than their last one and therefore it deserves a good rating.