Killswitch Engage (2009 album)
Encyclopedia
Killswitch Engage is the fifth studio album by American metalcore
band Killswitch Engage
. It was released on June 30, 2009 through Roadrunner Records
. It is the band's second album to be self-titled, the first being their debut album of the same name. It was produced by Adam Dutkiewicz
and Brendan O'Brien
. It debuted and peaked at number 7 on the Billboard 200
, selling 58,000 copies in its first week, making it the band's highest charting album to date. The album's reception from critics and fans has been generally positive, with praise directed towards Howard Jones
's vocals and the band's use of metalcore
, post-hardcore
, and melodic metalcore, and criticism directed towards Dutkiewicz's and O'Brien's production and the album's reliance on formula. It was supported by four singles, "Reckoning", "Starting Over", "Take Me Away", and "Save Me", as well as two music videos.
. In February 2009, bassist Mike D'Antonio confirmed in an interview with Metal Hammer that "drums were finished", and that he had “finished up the last few bass fixes". He also stated that Howard [Jones] is in Atlanta finishing vocals, and that "it shouldn’t be too much longer now.” The album's name was announced on April 14, and was revealed to be their second self-titled album since their debut album of the same name.
Before the album's release, "A Light In a Darkened World" was added to the band's setlist in the first half of 2009. The band also performed it at the 2009 Golden Gods Awards. On May 28, 2009, the band's official fanclub, Take This Oath, were granted access to listen to the track "Reckoning". It was released as a promotional single the following day, and was available as a free download on Roadrunner Records
' official website.
On June 19, the entire album was available for preview at various Hot Topic
locations. It was posted on the band's official Myspace
on June 25.
. It debuted at number 7 on the Billboard 200
, selling more than 58,000 copies in its first week, making it the band's highest charting album to date. A special edition and vinyl record was released on the same day.
If the album was pre-ordered on the band's official website, the buyer would be entered into a drawing to win a custom Parker P44 guitar with artwork from the album as the paint job.
Throughout July and August 2009, the band participated in the Mayhem Festival with headlining bands Marilyn Manson
, Slayer
, Bullet For My Valentine
and more in promotion of the album.
The album's first official single, "Starting Over", was available for digital download
on June 6, 2009. It charted at number 30 on the Billboard
Rock Songs
Chart. A music video for the track was shot in early 2009 and directed by Lex Halaby. The video was premiered on VH1 on June 5, and on MTV the following the day. "Take Me Away" was released as a promotional single in mid-2009. On May 24, 2010, a trailer of the music video for the album's fourth single, "Save Me", was released on the band's website. The video premiered on Craveonline the following day. The entire video was created using claymation, and depicts the band members saving lead vocalist Howard Jones from aliens
.
scored the album a 72 out of 100, citing "generally favorable reviews" based on 6 critics. While praise has been generated around Howard Jones' vocals and the album's stylistic use of the metalcore
and post-hardcore
genres, criticism has been directed towards Adam Dutkiewicz
's and Brendan O'Brien
's production as well as the band's reliance on formula. James Christopher Monger of Allmusic gave the album a positive review, scoring the album a 3.5 out of 5, commenting that "where 2006's "As Daylight Dies" hinted at an accelerated focus on the more melodic aspects of extreme metal, Killswitch Engage cements the notion." Monger indicated "Starting Over", "Reckoning", and "A Light In a Darkened World" as his AMG track picks. Alternative Press gave a positive review as well, scoring the album a 4 out of 5, saying "this album isn't going to change the way you think about metal, but Killswitch Engange aren't Mastodon; they just want to get the pit going, and this album will surely acomplish that."
However, Christa Titus of Billboard
gave the album a mixed review, scoring it a 50 out of 100. While positively commenting, "As an act that forsakes breakdowns and unintelligible screaming in favor of focused aggression and predictable melodic swells, you can't help but enjoy such quintessential Killswitch Engage tracks as "Never Again" or the Metallica-esque chords that open "The Forgotten," the review concluded, "Aside from a few unique moments ("The Return," "Take Me Away"), there's not much new to report here." Adrien Begrand of PopMatters
gave a mixed review as well, scoring the album a 5 out of 10. While praising Howard Jones' vocals, commenting "With its contemplative tone and sense of melodrama, the contagious “Starting Over” borders on post-hardcore and features some of Jones’s strongest vocal melodies to date," and "“Reckoning” and “This is Goodbye” feature some very effective melodic death metal touches reminiscent of Swedish stars In Flames and Soilwork, while “The Return” is a daring foray into teary-eyed power balladry, a terrific showcase for Jones," the review criticized Adam Dutkiewicz
's and Brendan O'Brien
's overall production, commenting, "Unfortunately, though, the production by Dutkiewicz and mainstream go-to guy Brendan O’Brien strips the guitars of any bite whatsoever, rendering the overall tone surprisingly muddy and often flaccid, something we notice most on tracks like “Never Again” and “The Forgotten”, which play up the crunchy riffs, but completely lack the power they deserve on record."
Special Edition DVD
Production
Metalcore
Metalcore is a subgenre of heavy metal combining various elements of extreme metal and hardcore punk. The name is a portmanteau of the names of the two genres. The term took on its current meaning in the mid-1990s, describing bands such as Earth Crisis, Deadguy and Integrity...
band Killswitch Engage
Killswitch Engage
Killswitch Engage is an American metalcore band from Westfield, Massachusetts, formed in 1999 after the disbandment of Overcast and Aftershock. Killswitch Engage's current lineup consists of vocalist Howard Jones, bassist Mike D'Antonio, guitarists Joel Stroetzel and Adam Dutkiewicz, and drummer...
. It was released on June 30, 2009 through Roadrunner Records
Roadrunner Records
Roadrunner Records is an American record label that concentrates primarily on heavy metal bands. It is currently a subsidiary of Warner Music Group.-History:...
. It is the band's second album to be self-titled, the first being their debut album of the same name. It was produced by Adam Dutkiewicz
Adam Dutkiewicz
Adam Jonathan Dutkiewicz is an American musician, recording engineer and music producer, best known as a guitarist and backup vocalist from Massachusetts metalcore band Killswitch Engage.-Biography:...
and Brendan O'Brien
Brendan O'Brien (music producer)
Brendan O’Brien is a record producer, mixer, engineer, and musician.At age 14, O'Brien played guitar for the Atlanta-based cover band Pranks. In the late 1970s, he moved on to writing, performing and recording with the Samurai Catfish band...
. It debuted and peaked at number 7 on the Billboard 200
Billboard 200
The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...
, selling 58,000 copies in its first week, making it the band's highest charting album to date. The album's reception from critics and fans has been generally positive, with praise directed towards Howard Jones
Howard Jones
Howard Jones is the name of:*Howard Jones , American football coach*Howard Jones , American metalcore singer*Howard M...
's vocals and the band's use of metalcore
Metalcore
Metalcore is a subgenre of heavy metal combining various elements of extreme metal and hardcore punk. The name is a portmanteau of the names of the two genres. The term took on its current meaning in the mid-1990s, describing bands such as Earth Crisis, Deadguy and Integrity...
, post-hardcore
Post-hardcore
Post-hardcore is a genre of music that developed from hardcore punk, itself an offshoot of the broader punk rock movement. Like post-punk, post-hardcore is a term for a broad constellation of groups...
, and melodic metalcore, and criticism directed towards Dutkiewicz's and O'Brien's production and the album's reliance on formula. It was supported by four singles, "Reckoning", "Starting Over", "Take Me Away", and "Save Me", as well as two music videos.
Background
The album was officially announced in late 2008. Recording began in October 2008 with Dutkiewicz and co-producer Brendan O'BrienBrendan O'Brien (music producer)
Brendan O’Brien is a record producer, mixer, engineer, and musician.At age 14, O'Brien played guitar for the Atlanta-based cover band Pranks. In the late 1970s, he moved on to writing, performing and recording with the Samurai Catfish band...
. In February 2009, bassist Mike D'Antonio confirmed in an interview with Metal Hammer that "drums were finished", and that he had “finished up the last few bass fixes". He also stated that Howard [Jones] is in Atlanta finishing vocals, and that "it shouldn’t be too much longer now.” The album's name was announced on April 14, and was revealed to be their second self-titled album since their debut album of the same name.
Before the album's release, "A Light In a Darkened World" was added to the band's setlist in the first half of 2009. The band also performed it at the 2009 Golden Gods Awards. On May 28, 2009, the band's official fanclub, Take This Oath, were granted access to listen to the track "Reckoning". It was released as a promotional single the following day, and was available as a free download on Roadrunner Records
Roadrunner Records
Roadrunner Records is an American record label that concentrates primarily on heavy metal bands. It is currently a subsidiary of Warner Music Group.-History:...
' official website.
On June 19, the entire album was available for preview at various Hot Topic
Hot Topic
Hot Topic is an American retail chain specializing in music and pop culture-related clothing and accessories, as well as licensed music on CD. The majority of the stores are located in regional shopping malls. The first Hot Topic store was opened in 1988 by Orv Madden, who retired as CEO in 2000...
locations. It was posted on the band's official Myspace
Myspace
Myspace is a social networking service owned by Specific Media LLC and pop star Justin Timberlake. Myspace launched in August 2003 and is headquartered in Beverly Hills, California. In August 2011, Myspace had 33.1 million unique U.S. visitors....
on June 25.
Release and promotion
The album was released on June 30, 2009 through Roadrunner RecordsRoadrunner Records
Roadrunner Records is an American record label that concentrates primarily on heavy metal bands. It is currently a subsidiary of Warner Music Group.-History:...
. It debuted at number 7 on the Billboard 200
Billboard 200
The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...
, selling more than 58,000 copies in its first week, making it the band's highest charting album to date. A special edition and vinyl record was released on the same day.
If the album was pre-ordered on the band's official website, the buyer would be entered into a drawing to win a custom Parker P44 guitar with artwork from the album as the paint job.
Throughout July and August 2009, the band participated in the Mayhem Festival with headlining bands Marilyn Manson
Marilyn Manson
Marilyn Manson may refer to:* Marilyn Manson , an American rock musician* Marilyn Manson , the American rock band led by the singer of the same name...
, Slayer
Slayer
Slayer is an American thrash metal band formed in Huntington Park, California, in 1981 by guitarists Jeff Hanneman and Kerry King. Slayer rose to fame with their 1986 release, Reign in Blood, and is credited as one of the "Big Four" thrash metal acts, along with Metallica, Megadeth and...
, Bullet For My Valentine
Bullet for My Valentine
Bullet for My Valentine are a Welsh heavy metal band from Bridgend, formed in 1998. The band is composed of Matt Tuck , Michael Paget , Jason James , and Michael Thomas . They were formed under the name Jeff Killed John and started their music career by covering songs by Metallica and Nirvana...
and more in promotion of the album.
The album's first official single, "Starting Over", was available for digital download
Music download
A music download is the transferral of music from an Internet-facing computer or website to a user's local computer. This term encompasses both legal downloads and downloads of copyright material without permission or payment...
on June 6, 2009. It charted at number 30 on the Billboard
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
Rock Songs
Rock Songs
Rock Songs is a chart published weekly by Billboard magazine which ranks the airplay of songs on alternative, mainstream rock and triple A radio stations. The first chart was published in the issue dated June 20, 2009. "Know Your Enemy" by Green Day was the first number-one song. The Rock Songs...
Chart. A music video for the track was shot in early 2009 and directed by Lex Halaby. The video was premiered on VH1 on June 5, and on MTV the following the day. "Take Me Away" was released as a promotional single in mid-2009. On May 24, 2010, a trailer of the music video for the album's fourth single, "Save Me", was released on the band's website. The video premiered on Craveonline the following day. The entire video was created using claymation, and depicts the band members saving lead vocalist Howard Jones from aliens
Extraterrestrial life
Extraterrestrial life is defined as life that does not originate from Earth...
.
Critical reception
The album received generally positive reviews from music critics. The review aggregator site MetacriticMetacritic
Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
scored the album a 72 out of 100, citing "generally favorable reviews" based on 6 critics. While praise has been generated around Howard Jones' vocals and the album's stylistic use of the metalcore
Metalcore
Metalcore is a subgenre of heavy metal combining various elements of extreme metal and hardcore punk. The name is a portmanteau of the names of the two genres. The term took on its current meaning in the mid-1990s, describing bands such as Earth Crisis, Deadguy and Integrity...
and post-hardcore
Post-hardcore
Post-hardcore is a genre of music that developed from hardcore punk, itself an offshoot of the broader punk rock movement. Like post-punk, post-hardcore is a term for a broad constellation of groups...
genres, criticism has been directed towards Adam Dutkiewicz
Adam Dutkiewicz
Adam Jonathan Dutkiewicz is an American musician, recording engineer and music producer, best known as a guitarist and backup vocalist from Massachusetts metalcore band Killswitch Engage.-Biography:...
's and Brendan O'Brien
Brendan O'Brien (music producer)
Brendan O’Brien is a record producer, mixer, engineer, and musician.At age 14, O'Brien played guitar for the Atlanta-based cover band Pranks. In the late 1970s, he moved on to writing, performing and recording with the Samurai Catfish band...
's production as well as the band's reliance on formula. James Christopher Monger of Allmusic gave the album a positive review, scoring the album a 3.5 out of 5, commenting that "where 2006's "As Daylight Dies" hinted at an accelerated focus on the more melodic aspects of extreme metal, Killswitch Engage cements the notion." Monger indicated "Starting Over", "Reckoning", and "A Light In a Darkened World" as his AMG track picks. Alternative Press gave a positive review as well, scoring the album a 4 out of 5, saying "this album isn't going to change the way you think about metal, but Killswitch Engange aren't Mastodon; they just want to get the pit going, and this album will surely acomplish that."
However, Christa Titus of Billboard
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
gave the album a mixed review, scoring it a 50 out of 100. While positively commenting, "As an act that forsakes breakdowns and unintelligible screaming in favor of focused aggression and predictable melodic swells, you can't help but enjoy such quintessential Killswitch Engage tracks as "Never Again" or the Metallica-esque chords that open "The Forgotten," the review concluded, "Aside from a few unique moments ("The Return," "Take Me Away"), there's not much new to report here." Adrien Begrand of PopMatters
PopMatters
PopMatters is an international webzine of cultural criticism that covers many aspects of popular culture. PopMatters publishes reviews, interviews, and detailed essays on most cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, films, books, video games, comics, sports, theater,...
gave a mixed review as well, scoring the album a 5 out of 10. While praising Howard Jones' vocals, commenting "With its contemplative tone and sense of melodrama, the contagious “Starting Over” borders on post-hardcore and features some of Jones’s strongest vocal melodies to date," and "“Reckoning” and “This is Goodbye” feature some very effective melodic death metal touches reminiscent of Swedish stars In Flames and Soilwork, while “The Return” is a daring foray into teary-eyed power balladry, a terrific showcase for Jones," the review criticized Adam Dutkiewicz
Adam Dutkiewicz
Adam Jonathan Dutkiewicz is an American musician, recording engineer and music producer, best known as a guitarist and backup vocalist from Massachusetts metalcore band Killswitch Engage.-Biography:...
's and Brendan O'Brien
Brendan O'Brien (music producer)
Brendan O’Brien is a record producer, mixer, engineer, and musician.At age 14, O'Brien played guitar for the Atlanta-based cover band Pranks. In the late 1970s, he moved on to writing, performing and recording with the Samurai Catfish band...
's overall production, commenting, "Unfortunately, though, the production by Dutkiewicz and mainstream go-to guy Brendan O’Brien strips the guitars of any bite whatsoever, rendering the overall tone surprisingly muddy and often flaccid, something we notice most on tracks like “Never Again” and “The Forgotten”, which play up the crunchy riffs, but completely lack the power they deserve on record."
Track listing
- All lyrics written by Howard Jones, all music composed by Killswitch Engage.
Special Edition DVD
- 'Making Of' Documentary
- Exclusive band interviews
Personnel
Killswitch Engage- Mike D'AntonioMike D'AntonioMichael "Mike" D'Antonio is best known as the bass guitarist and founder of Massachusetts metalcore band Killswitch Engage and of the band Overcast....
– bass guitarBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick.... - Adam DutkiewiczAdam DutkiewiczAdam Jonathan Dutkiewicz is an American musician, recording engineer and music producer, best known as a guitarist and backup vocalist from Massachusetts metalcore band Killswitch Engage.-Biography:...
– lead guitarLead guitarLead guitar is a guitar part which plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs within a song structure...
, backing vocalsBacking vocalistA backing vocalist or backing singer is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists... - Justin FoleyJustin FoleyJustin Foley is best known as the drummer of the metalcore band, Killswitch Engage. He is also an active member of the band Blood Has Been Shed along with Killswitch Engage's lead singer, Howard Jones...
– drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person .... - Howard Jones – lead vocalsLead vocalistThe lead vocalist is the member of a band who sings the main vocal portions of a song. They may also play one or more instruments. Lead vocalists are sometimes referred to as the frontman or frontwoman, and as such, are usually considered to be the "leader" of the groups they perform in, often the...
- Joel StroetzelJoel StroetzelJoel Michael Stroetzel is best known as one of two guitarists from the Massachusetts metalcore band Killswitch Engage.Stroetzel's guitar style is influenced by the bands Slayer, Anthrax, Zakk Wylde, as stated on the World Ablaze DVD....
– rhythm guitarRhythm guitarRhythm guitar is a technique and rôle that performs a combination of two functions: to provide all or part of the rhythmic pulse in conjunction with singers or other instruments; and to provide all or part of the harmony, ie. the chords, where a chord is a group of notes played together...
Production
- Produced by Adam Dutkiewicz and Brendan O'BrienBrendan O'Brien (music producer)Brendan O’Brien is a record producer, mixer, engineer, and musician.At age 14, O'Brien played guitar for the Atlanta-based cover band Pranks. In the late 1970s, he moved on to writing, performing and recording with the Samurai Catfish band...
Charts
| Chart (2009) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australian ARIA Albums Chart ARIA Charts The ARIA charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling singles and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA commenced compiling its own charts in-house from the week ending 26 June... |
12 |
| Austrian Albums Chart Ö3 Austria Top 40 Ö3 Austria Top 40 is the name of the official Austrian singles chart, as well as the radio show which presents it, aired Fridays on Hitradio Ö3. The show presents the Austrian singles, ringtones and downloads chart. It premiered on 26 November 1968 as Disc Parade and was presented by Ernst Grissemann... |
3 |
| Dutch Albums Chart | 77 |
| Finnish Albums Chart | 15 |
| New Zealand Top 40 Albums Chart Recording Industry Association of New Zealand The Recording Industry Association of New Zealand is a non-profit trade association of record producers, distributors and recording artists who sell music in New Zealand... |
24 |
| Swedish Albums Chart | 52 |
| Swiss Albums Chart | 51 |
| UK Albums Chart UK Albums Chart The UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart... |
29 |
| U.S. Billboard 200 Billboard 200 The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists... |
7 |