Killswitch Engage formed following the disbandment of metalcore bands Overcast and Aftershock in the late 1990’s. Following Overcast’s breakup in 1998, bass guitarist Mike D'Antonio came together with the guitarist from Aftershock, Adam Dutkiewicz. These decided to collaborate together, and with Dutkiewicz deciding he was now going to play drums, they recruited Aftershock band mate guitarist Joel Stroetzel to come on board. This trio began to collate and demo material. Numerous songs were written without a lead vocalist - indeed, all of the songs that made the debut album had been written before a lead vocalist had been found. Adam’s brother, who had also been the lead vocalist for Aftershock, also owned a record label, and signed to that label was a band called Nothing Stays Gold. Their lead singer was a guy by the name of Jesse Leach, and after some cajoling from Adam he came on board to perform the same role for the new band, which took on the name Killswitch Engage. Apparently, the band's name is derived from an episode from Season 5 of The X-Files entitled "Kill Switch".
In 1999, Killswitch Engage recorded a demo containing four tracks, including "Soilborn", the first song written by the band. The demo was first released at the band's first show, opening for melodic death metal act In Flames, in November 1999. While writing the album, D'Antonio asked Ferret Music if they would sign Killswitch Engage as a favour to him, as he had done the illustrations for the covers for some of the albums released through the label. As metal was becoming less popular at the time, at least in terms of album sales, the label’s representatives felt that they might be the last metal band they would ever sign. And thus, it came to pass that the band released their debut album in July 2000, carrying the name “Killswitch Engage”.
There is little doubt that this is a very different band than what you'll hear on the albums going forward. And judging debut albums on what then followed is a difficult thing to do at the best of times. But perhaps that is more so here. Like most debut albums, the band’s sound on this release is very raw and unrefined. Some suggest it is the band’s heaviest output, but that argument can be also bleached out a little by suggesting it was just a natural progression from the two bands that this band came together from, and that it was after this that they developed their own version of the sound they wanted to produce.
Jesse Leach's vocals are certainly a central figure to the album, and for the time and what was being recorded they are up and about. They offer mostly the scream rather than the melodic but for the time this was the norm. The lyrics offer some change within that structure. On the album opener “Temple from the Within: “So easy to look back on life, and question what I want - You teach me to inscribe these words upon my heart, you cover me with the shadow of your hate”. The album’s lyrics follow along the lines of believing in yourself, and making a difference in society. Sometimes that isn’t always easy to pick up through the vocalisation that it rendered on the album. “Vide Infra” picks up the pace, and at times comes close to being in a death metal tone, while also invoking slightly more melodic pieces, and this is followed on by “Irreversal”, where Jesse unleashes the full complement and range of his growls and screams into his clear lines as well. The switch from stand still slowness of riff back into the high energy double kick driven faster tempo brings several different ranges to the track.
“Rusted Embrace” follows the same basic song structure: intro, first verse, chorus, second verse, and so on. Guitar solos are basically non-existent, which does seem a shame and something that has been overlooked, a piece of the puzzle that would have improved these tracks with something out of the box to offset a little of the sameness that does creep in after a time. The instrumental “Prelude” kicks off the second side of the album, and showcases the excellent musical talents of the three musicians. It is interesting that just this two minutes offers a different side to the band that isn’t really heard throughout the rest of this album. It isn’t groundbreaking, but it is something that was incorporated more going forward. It segues nicely into “Soilborn”, the first song the band ever wrote, before Jesse came on board as well, so hearing the more melodic guitar on this track as well, combined with Jesse’s growl, actually combines terrifically well. The opening five minutes of side two is well worth the wait. This is followed by “Numb Sickened Eyes”, which combines a great guitar riff which is almost melodic but doesn’t quite reach that level, which then moves into a heavier rebuttal as the song progresses. The tempo and timing changes through the song are difficult to take, even when you are totally familiar with the song. They seem unnecessary and only to provide a point of difference rather than as an accentuation of the song itself.
Better is to come with the galloping guitar and drums as we enter into “In the Unblind”, kicking this song into a different level, suggesting tones of things to come down the track a little. With the tempo at its best, Jesse’s vocals are also given the chance to showcase the growl and not just the scream, and this song is one of the album’s best because of all of these factors. If any song on this album truly represents the best of this young and raw version of Killswitch Engage, it is this track. The album then concludes with the instrumental track “One Last Sunset”. The quietly contemplative build in the track, from the piano beginnings and into the slowly increasing domination of the guitar, brings a suggestion that this is about to break out into something truly special, a song with shuddering guitars and drums that will create an epic conclusion... and then it just doesn’t get going. Indeed, it is almost just a piano piece to bring the album to its finish. It never ceases to be a surprising disappointment, given what has been showcased on the album prior to this. You expect power and domination to complete the album. Instead, we get unrevealed puzzlement.
So this is where it all started or the band, and yes it is more metalcore here than what they became on later albums, but what this album does is introduce the main players to the fans, and showcase what they had to offer going forward. And sure, Jesse Leach disappeared for a decade when it felt that they were on the verge of that breakthrough. And given that, perhaps it was the best thing that happened for the band in the long runs. Fans have differing views when it comes to that discussion. The vocals aren’t quite as prevalent on this first album as they would become, and we get more of the guitar and bass here in a natural element.
It was through sheer good fortune that we came across Killswitch Engage the band, though it was four years after this initial album had been released. We went to the Metro Theatre in Sydney to see Anthrax on their “We’ve Come for You All” tour, and they had two support acts that night. One I was familiar with, by name and reputation at least, which was Soilwork. But the opening act I didn’t know anything about. But by the time they were halfway through their third song, we all knew that we were going to have to track down this band immediately. At the time of course, Howard Jones was the frontman, but the band and their music was just so incredible, it was impossible not to see that these guys had something special about them. That concert was on April 26, 2004, and they told us that night that their brand new album “The End of Heartache” was coming out in two weeks. And thus, the arrival of Killswitch Engage into our music realm was enacted.
As for this album? I didn’t hear any of the Jesse material until after “As Daylight Dies” had been released and I had been saturated in it, and was starting to look for their other material. And, it is fair to say that it was different enough that it took some time to get my head around it. Not just Jesse’s vocals, but also the music itself. As may fans of the band would agree with, the band’s sound is far more refined once Howard came along and released those two amazing albums that I have just mentioned. They are of a different era, built on the lessons learned from both this album and its follow up “Alive or Just Breathing”, and incorporating the differing styles of their new lead singer. So yes this album was different, so it wasn’t something I jumped on board with immediately or with any great enthusiasm. In the long run, it wasn’t until Jess rejoined the band in 2012 that I came back to this album, mostly in preparation for what he was going to bring back to the band. And I won’t lie – I am a Howard enthusiast, and I still have trouble with parts of this album that could be attributed to my favouring of Howard’s vocals.
Still, I’ve had this album on again over the past couple of days, and it hasn’t been unwelcome. It will never rate as one of my favourite pieces from the band, but I enjoy it more now than I did when I first discovered it back in 2008 or so. Perhaps that is old age creeping in, or a more localised element of being more used to Jesse’s vocals now than I was when I first had the album. Having seen the band a number of times now with Jesse on lead vocals has probably helped with that. There are still good moments on this album that are worth following up if you haven't been down this path before, but it is fair to say that of the Killswitch Engage catalogue, this would rank down at the bottom of the list for me. And as always, that isn’t necessarily a reflection on THIS album, it is more a reflection on what came after it.
