Killswitch Engage is one of the founding fathers of melodic metalcore, a metalcore subgenre that launched this bastard child of metal and HC into mainstream. Taking a classic metalcore formula, infusing it with melodic leads characteristic for melodeath, seeding it with a bunch of hooks spread equally across songs and introducing clean singing was a winning formula for many bands. And the biggest winners were KsE, gaining world recognition and becoming one of the metal’s premiere acts. But with Daylight Dies and (especially) with Killswitch Engage (the one from 2009) the KsE ship entered rough sea. Something had to change; 2012 saw lead vocalist Howard Jones being replaced by Jesse Leach, a guy who sang on their self-titled debut. And he did a good job on Disarm the Descent, their last offering. Are they still strong, or KsE failed to deliver? Well, the truth is (like always) somewhere in between.
At the first listen you get a clear view what this album is all about. Classic melodic metalcore arrangements with lots of breakdowns, melodic leads and a combination of clean and harsh vocals that will make you jump around the room wanting to hit that wall but still realizing that your hand will disintegrate if did that. The probable reason behind the decision of going peacefully and not starting a fight with the wall is in the lack of basses. Yeah, metalcore is not known for having a killer bass section but if someone in the recording studio cranked up the bass guitar just a little bit we could've got a bunch of killer songs. But that didn’t happen, leaving the music without the final punch, that wall of sound that can completely overtake you, making you music’s bitch, wanting to hear a song (or an album) just one more time, needing it more than you need food (in some cases).
Don’t get me wrong; there are some wicked tunes on this one. Until The Day is a premiere example of how melodic metalcore should sound, thumping riffs, a couple of breakdowns, melodic chorus and killer vocals. The first two tracks, Alone I Stand, and Hate By Design are probably made for sole purpose of being two giant hooks that should stick you to the music as soon as the album starts, but in reality, they are just two solid songs, nothing else. It Falls On Me and We Carry On should've stayed out of record; uninteresting, generic and bland, just artificially extending playtime. Reignite really reignites the last part of the album, and Triumph Through Tragedy contains some strong elements (Ascension also has nice, edgy moments), and proper growls also, nice. Oh, and Strength Of the Mind is average, at best, another example of the song made for the masses without any proper music appeal.
Incarnate is just too lengthy; there are too many songs on it, and production could’ve been better, but KsE are still much better than 95% of other melodic metalcore bands out there, who mostly play some lab made pop-melodic-metalcore music designed to attract as many people as it can. Incarnate isn’t groundbreaking, but it is fun listen that will hit just the right chords with most of their fans, and that’s what (melodic) metalcore is all about. Even if not being a fan, give it a chance it might surprise you.
