Overview: After making a bunch of legendary metalcore albums like Alive or Just Breathing? and landing mainstream success with singles such as My Curse and The End of Heartache, one might ask; is there any way that Killswitch Engage can improve anymore? The pressure and the expectations are huge no matter do you prefer the straight-up vocals and contrast-filled song structures of the newer or the metaphoric screams and crunchy riff variations of the older Killswitch, as they release their second eponymous record in total.
Review: While the album introduces some new and rather interesting landings for the band, Killswitch is by now starting to strain out its trademark sound that’s once again present on almost all the songs on the album. Despite the overall sound being fresher than on As Daylight Dies, the same formula of brutal verses and laid back and catchy – almost poppy – choruses, lead into bridges with the blend of the two does not showcase anything technically significant in sound. The biggest flaw on the album, however, is found in the vocals – while Howard Jones doesn’t sound any different from song to song (let alone some transient stuff like the background vocals in the bridge of The Forgotten and the overall vocals in The Return) nor from album to album, the lyrics he growls/sings/growls/sings/growls portray a lack of meaning and are more predictable than anything the band has written before. What’s the saddest thing about this is that 1) some lines are actually full of imaginary and uniqueness, such as the verses of The Forgotten and the switching choruses of I Would Do Anything yet covered in a pool of less admirable words and 2) there’s plenty of potential in the themes for the songs, especially in the epic The Return and the melodic-driven A Light In A Darkened World. As Justin Foley’s double bass kick is sometimes used just where it’s not really necessary and not used where needed, the best part of the record is, predictably, the guitar work. The “king of metalcore”, Adam Dutkiewicz, is blending riffs like a magician once again alongside his colleague Joel Stroetzel, yet their performance isn’t flawless either – while some of the guitar work, such as the in-your-face verse of I Would Do Anything and the harmonizing leads of Take Me Away are simply innovating, too often the guitars are toning each other down with melodic bits pieced together here and there on rougher guitar stems. Metalcore does that yes, but it should do it varyingly, not all the time. The opening track Never Again is the only song we hear a highlighted guitar solo in and the bass-emphasized parts hearable on Starting Over and Save Me are unfortunately very brief - with further usage and experimentation these kinds of things would make the album better more than a notch.
At its best, the album is very different from the Killswitch the fans have learnt to know and love. The Return, Take Me Away and Lost are mostly power ballads with a lot of emotion and atmosphere, while there are a lot of good things about the starter Never Again, the wicked I Would Do Anything and the faded in closer, This Is Goodbye as well. A band such as Killswitch can’t simply make a song with zero potential, but on this album, it’s really hard for any true listener, reviewer or musician to find a song with nothing major that couldn’t be improved.
Despite the few signs of evolvement, Killswitch Engage II is a grower and will, by no doubt, make old Killswitch Engage fans very happy. For those who are looking for a completely redefined Killswitch Engage, the album is a slight disappointment – but who knows, maybe already on the next record they will be able to give up on their standard formula completely and simply go nuts ignoring the name Killswitch Engage, ignoring the term ‘metalcore’, ignoring what they’ve done in the past – just play without any limitations whatsoever.
"We’ve never tried to come off as better than our fans, our fans... when they come to see us play, they’re actually a part of, you know, us playing. Sonny, the way he is on stage, he connects with them, emotional and in every kind of way you can imagine, you know, musically, and I think that they can see that it’s not, you know, a put on, it’s not something that’s fake, it’s real." - Mark Daniels of P.O.D.
It is a good album. I bought the album because...well it's KSE! Now the only album I got by them before their latest one was As Daylight Dies which I really really like. Now as for KSE 2 (new album) there are good songs with good and addicting choruses! I like it. Now as for it being 7.7 I think it should be given something more. They are one of the bands that don't just scream in the microphone and say what comes up in their mind. Hell they are Melodic Metal (I think that's a genre).
First of all, my point was that it's not a good album. As you're a rather new fan it's understandable that you like this record, but the fact is that they've had the same sound for years and that's becoming a burden now instead of an adventage. The choruses are way too poppy compared to the heavy verses - they should turn that formula upside down every once in a while or at least alternate with it a bit. The Return is a good example of what they should try to do in the future - experiment and let go of all the prejudices that might exist. As for "not just screaming in the microphone and saying what comes up in their mind"... That's exactly what they do, at least judging by the lyrics, because they were awful on this record.
And it's metalcore, not melodic metal.
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Dreaming of Zion, Awake Sleeping Awake.
"We’ve never tried to come off as better than our fans, our fans... when they come to see us play, they’re actually a part of, you know, us playing. Sonny, the way he is on stage, he connects with them, emotional and in every kind of way you can imagine, you know, musically, and I think that they can see that it’s not, you know, a put on, it’s not something that’s fake, it’s real." - Mark Daniels of P.O.D.
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As you're a rather new fan it's understandable that you like this record, but the fact is that they've had the same sound for years and that's becoming a burden now instead of an adventage. The choruses are way too poppy compared to the heavy verses - they should turn that formula upside down every once in a while or at least alternate with it a bit. The Return is a good example of what they should try to do in the future - experiment and let go of all the prejudices that might exist. As for "not just screaming in the microphone and saying what comes up in their mind"... That's exactly what they do, at least judging by the lyrics, because they were awful on this record.
