Old Music Tuesdays: Killswitch Engage
If you’re into heavy music, you probably already know Killswitch Engage, and you either love ’em or hate ’em. They fall on the more melodic side of contemporary metal, and their music has a lot more singing than most current metal acts. Adam Dutkiewicz, the band’s lead guitarist, often wears ridiculous costumes and is a bit of a joker/prankster. Some of the more serious metalheads find it too campy. I love it. I’m a huge heavy metal fan, but can also appreciate its more ridiculous side. People who take anything too seriously are opening themselves up for mockery, and lots of die hard metalheads do just that.
If you don’t know the band, they formed in 1999 in the Boston metro area after the demise of the bands Aftershock and Overcast. Their first album (Killswitch Engage) came out in 2000. A tour with Swedish metal icons In Flames and a strong first album caught the attention of Roadrunner Records, who signed the band shortly after. They’ve been with Roadrunner ever since.
My favorite album is the sophomore effort Alive or Just Breathing, and the first on Roadrunner Records. For a long time, this was the last appearance of original vocalist Jesse David Leach, who left the band shortly after its release due to a battle with depression. They did film a video, though, for the song My Last Serenade, which has remained a fan favorite to this day. I’ve embedded it here.
Lyrics
This revelation is the death of ignorance
Tangled in a state of suffocation
Slave to self righteousness
Damnation is on your lips
From sorrow to serenity, the truth is absolution,
From sorrow to serenity, its on your head
This is my last serenade
I feel you as you fall away
This is my last serenade
From yourself you can’t run away
It’s your choice, point the finger
But it’s on your head
Your destination is a choice within yourself
Will you rise or become a slave
To self righteousness
Open up your heart and gaze within.
Jesse went on to take part in other projects, one of which I’ve already written about. (Here.) Howard Jones, from Boston metalcore act Blood Has Been Shed, was brought in to handle vocal duties. Jones has a better singing voice than Leach, in my opinion, but Leach’s screams are more varied and more brutal. With Jones, Killswitch Engage recorded three albums of decreasing quality, in this writer’s opinion. (All still good, though. A bad KsE album is better than most of the stuff out there.) Their second self-titled record was a lot darker, lyrically, than previous outings… something that doesn’t really fit with KsE’s image. I adore the first album with Jones, however, titled The End of Heartache. (Click my amazon link to buy it.) I’ve attached the video for my favorite song. They made it “radio-friendly” by replacing the original screams with singing. If you like the song, make sure you listen to the original version.
Enjoy the songs, check out the lyrics, and buy the CD by clicking the Amazon link. Thanks for reading!
Lyrics
Seek me, call me
I’ll be waiting
This distance, this dissolution
I cling to memories while falling
Sleep brings release, and the hope of a new day
Waking the misery of being without you
Surrender, I give in
Another moment is another eternity
(Seek me) For comfort, (Call me) For solace
(I’ll be waiting) For the end of my broken heart
(Seek me) Completion, (Call me) I’ll be waiting
(I’ll be waiting) For the end of my broken heart
You know me, you know me all too well
My only desire – to bridge our division
In sorrow I speak your name
And my voice mirrors my torment
(Seek me) For comfort, (Call me) For solace
(I’ll be waiting) For the end of my broken heart
(Seek me) Completion, (Call me) I’ll be waiting
(I’ll be waiting) For the end of my broken heart
Am I breathing?
My strength fails me
Your picture, a bitter memory
For comfort, for solace
(Seek me) For comfort, (Call me) For solace
(I’ll be waiting) For the end of my broken heart
(Seek me) Completion, (Call me) I’ll be waiting
(I’ll be waiting) For the end of my broken heart.
After three albums, Jones left the band and Leach returned. Their newest album features Leach once again on vocals, and it’s a return to form, as it were. Although I think both vocalists are fantastic, I think KsE put out their best stuff with Leach.
So which singer do you like better?
[yop_poll id=”5″]
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