Jo Schüftan of Horns Up Rocks! recently conducted an interview with vocalist Jesse Leach of Massachusetts metallers Killswitch Engage. You can now listen to the chat in the YouTube clip below.
Killswitch Engage was nominated for a “Best Metal Performance” Grammy this year for its song ‘In Due Time’, the lead single from last year’s critically acclaimed “Disarm The Descent” album, which marked the return of original singer Jesse Leach after a decade-long absence.
This was the band’s second Grammy nomination. The title track from 2004’s gold-selling “The End Of Heartache” was nominated for a Grammy in the same category in 2005.
2013 was an incredible year for Killswitch Engage. Upon the April release of “Disarm The Descent”, the band maintained a near-constant presence on the road, embarking on a highly successful headline tour in the summer and returning to the road last fall to enjoy a co-headline trek with Lamb Of God.
The band’s latest single, the powerful and resonant ‘Always’, is currently at radio, with the emotional video garnering plenty of attention for its heartfelt and moving portrayal of a relationship in crisis between two siblings.
In a recent interview with ARTISTdirect, Leach stated about “Disarm The Descent”: “Mike D’Antonio thought up the title ‘Disarm The Descent’ even before I started writing. He approached me with a concept. Initially, it was ‘Disarming The Descent’. After some discussion with him, I said, ‘Let’s just shorten it up.’ I thought it was a great title. We talked about it a bit, and I wrote that at the top of the page and began writing notes from there. It’s kind of a concept record.”
He added: “[The title is] a creative way of saying ‘redemption’ or rising again. You’re in a state of your life where you’re approaching rock bottom and you find a way to pick yourself up again before you hit the floor.”
Asked about his lyrical approach on “Disarm The Descent”, Leach said: “This album is very different from anything I’ve written. That comes from trying to develop as a write over the year. I have a project called The Empire Shall Fall. The last EP we put out was a total concept record where I wrote a short story and we made an album about it. It’s broken down into three parts, and we finished one of the three. It’s a continuing story that will tell a story from start to finish, word for word. I thought it was a cool idea because I’d never written that way. I mixed that idea with my own introspective and cathartic lyrics I did with Times Of Grace. It’s a culmination of the writing I’ve done over the years. I wanted to find a way to blend it all together. Vocally, I’m trying to come up with different sounds of my voice and mix the screaming and yelling. I made an effort to push myself with the writing and vocals.”
Upcoming Shows:
Feb 03 Newcastle O2 Academy, Newcastle Upon Tyne, United Kingdom
Feb 04 Glasgow O2 Academy, Glasgow, United Kingdom
Feb 06 Birmingham O2 Academy, Birmingham, United Kingdom
Feb 07 Southampton Guildhall, Southampton, United Kingdom
Mar 07 RAMFest, Cape Town, South Africa
Mar 08 RAMFest, Johannesburg, South Africa
Apr 02 Club Quattro, Nagoya, Japan
Apr 03 Club Quattro, Osaka, Japan
Apr 04 Logos, Fukuoka, Japan
Apr 06 Club Quattro, Hiroshima, Japan
Apr 07 Tokyo Akasaka Blitz, Tokyo, Japan
May 03 Carolina Rebellion Charlotte, NC
May 04 Reverb Reading, PA
May 16 Rock On The Range Columbus, OH
May 17 Rock On The Range Columbus, OH
May 18 Rock On The Range Columbus, OH
Weblinks: Website / Facebook / Twitter
Video below ‘Always’
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‘Killswitch Engage’ Lyric Video For ‘In Due Time’ Released [Feb. 2013]
‘Killswitch Engage’ Music Video Released For ‘In Due Time’ [Feb. 2013]
New Video Interview With ‘Killswitch Engage’ [March 2013]
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New Video Interview With ‘Killswitch Engage [April 2013]
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‘Killswitch Engage’ Answers Fan-Submitted Questions [Video] [May 2013]
‘As I Lay Dying’ Pull Out Of ‘Killswitch Engage’ North American Tour, Replacement Announced [May 2013]
New Video Interview With ‘Mike D’Antonio’ Of ‘Killswitch Engage’, New Tour Dates [June 2013]
‘Killswitch Engage’ Drummer ‘Justin Foley’ Forced To Sit Out Shows; ‘As I Lay Dying’s’ ‘Jordan Mancino’ To Step In [July 2013]
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