Metalcore is a long story. It has become good and bad, boring and interesting. Bands overload has lead to everyone waiting for the return of pioneers. We got an important comeback in 2013 when Killswitch Engage decided to wow us. Three years later, they wow us again. There is no catch that promoters can use to hype the new album. Incarnate is rising to the occasion. It is above any expectations.
Jesse Leach has turned his psyche into something else. He is not singing serenades anymore; he does not suffer for love. His instagram profile is full of quotes by Bob Marley and Martin Luther King. He is all about the fight for justice and equality. Hardcore movement and the ultimate positive mental attitude are sublimed into Incarnate. A time of deception, conflict and unrest, I will not cower in fear and submission, I will hold my ground and resist. He says it all at the beginning in Alone I Stand. Everything is in its right place – Adam’s riffs and epic chorus.
The band still suffers from the threat of being formula-band. What often happens when you listen to singles such as Hate By Design and Strength Of The Mind is that you think you have heard them many times before. Still, when you are a pioneer of something, you always find a way to pull some cards out of your sleeve. Gather all your pain and suffering, turn them in the strength and weaponry.
Embrace The Journey…Upraised is one of the best tracks the band has ever made. That screaming line I still believe has bought me forever.
We Carry On, It Falls On Me, The Great Deceit and Reignite are proof that they sound the best when they decide to be just metal. This album is stellar. They don’t need ambition anymore. They know who they are and their passion is still alive. Yasss!
