It's quite interesting how I came across this band. Actually it's not, but I'll tell you
anyway. I just saw them in Kerrang!, and found the name hilarious. I mean, what sort of
knuckle-dragging shit-metallers would call their band Killswitch Engage? But then I
heard 'Fixation On The Darkness' on a compilation CD, and started taking them more
seriously. I found the album, 'Alive Or Just Breathing?' and took them very seriously
indeed.
This is the band's third effort (if you include the first self titled ("album"), with a new
vocalist on board, Howard Jones from Massachusetts screamo bunch Blood Has Been Shed. And it's all gone a bit emo (as if the album title didn't nod to that already). Not that that's a bad thing.
The album's first standout track is 'When Darkness Falls', which shows off the new guy's skills as a vocalist, and boy, can he sing. The chorus is soaring, the riffs metallic, the song marvellous.
This is followed by the simply beautiful 'Rose Of Sharyn'. Written about, one can only presume, a loved one who has passed on, the lyrics are enough to make you go "Aaw!", and the riffs are played to perfection by guitarist Adam.
The band have hit a songwriting niche on this album not present in the last effort, and now have the capability to write monstrous ballads like the eponymous track, 'The End Of Heartache'. Another highlight, Jones' deep baritone shines through over killer rhythms with the lyrics that make this album pretty damn good.
However, I do have one major problem with it - it gets much too samey. There's not a huge inherent problem with that, it just gets a little dull after a while. When this album gets good, it's GREAT. The rest, however, just sounds like filler.
Ollie Connors |
| Coding: Darren Burrows