Killswitch Engage

Metalcore is far less of a sonic monolith than people realize. Take the case of Killswitch Engage: Although the Massachusetts quintet incorporate the genre’s signature jawing screams and blast beats, the band have forged a career from adding these elements to thrash metal, punkish hardcore, and melodic hard rock. Bassist Mike D’Antonio and guitarist Adam Dutkiewicz (who was then playing drums) formed Killswitch Engage in the late ’90s, along with guitarist Joel Stroetzel and vocalist Jesse Leach. Two albums followed, including their 2002 major-label debut, Alive or Just Breathing, before Leach was replaced as frontman by Howard Jones. This move boosted Killswitch Engage’s career, as the band notched hits from 2004’s The End of Heartache (the title track) and 2006’s As Daylight Dies (“My Curse”). The latter album also features a supercharged take on Dio’s “Holy Diver” that became the band’s biggest single until 2013’s hardcore- and ’80s-hard-rock-inspired “In Due Time,” which marked the return of vocalist Leach to the fold. Still, Jones and Killswitch Engage are on good terms—the former guested on the stinging 2019 track “The Signal Fire,” which reveals the band’s willingness to combine their own disparate lineup eras in order to create an enduring sound.