Metalcore godfathers Killswitch Engage certainly don’t see any end in sight for their career. The appropriately-titled new single, “No End In Sight”, from their upcoming album couldn’t be more appropriate for the band at this juncture. Back in January, long-time lead vocalist Howard Jones departed from the band. After several auditions, the band brought back original vocalist Jesse Leach to take the mic once again. I sat down with bassist Mike D’Antonio on the band’s tour bus at Trespass America Festival to talk about Jesse’s return, and much more.
When I asked Mike about having Jesse back in the band’s lineup, he said, “It’s amazing. It feels like a brand new band that people know the lyrics to. It’s really a cool feeling.” The band decided to bring things full circle, and after the auditioning process, they felt that Jesse was the best fit (once again). There’s more new things to come for KsE, as the band has been recording their upcoming sixth studio album. “Still have vocals and some guitar over-dubs to finish up, but once those are done – package it and get it out to the fans, ” Mike commented about the recording process. The band has been playing the new single from the album, “No End In Sight”, at recent live shows. “I think people are gonna be really happy [with the new album], especially our older [old-school] fans, ” Mike stated.
Killswitch Engage are widely regarded as one of the founders of metalcore, and a keystone in the New Wave of American Heavy Metal. Their 2004 album The End of Heartache hit #21 on the Billboard Top 200, and went gold. The albums title track, “The End of Heartache”, was nominated for a Grammy Award in 2005 for “Best Metal Performance”. KsE have graced some of the world’s largest stages, including Wacken Open Air, Reading and Leeds Festivals, Ozzfest, Download Festival, Rock on the Range, Rock Am Ring,Mayhem Festival, Pointfest, and the Australian Soundwave Festival. The band just finished a summer trek on the Trespass America Festival, and will be releasing a new album in the coming months. – by Matt Bishop (Photo by Kaitlin Follmer (Amped Up Aperture Photography)
