Definitely, Killswitch Engage It is one of the reference bands of the metalcore, who have managed to keep this subgenre strong and relevant in the metal industry, is of course the example of great successes that have become hymns for metalheads, such as 'The End of Heartache', 'My Curse', 'The Arms of Sorrow', 'As Daylight Dies' among other. The band started in 1999 with Jesse Leach as a vocalist who left the band taking his place Howard Jones in 2002, Leach Return to KSE in 2012 becoming the current frontman.
A few days ago, those from Massachusetts released their eighth album 'Atonement', that with the first singles they released ('Unleashed' and I Am Broken Too) left high expectations for the final result of the album, which maintains the essence core and elements that give freshness to the band, as well as some quite interesting and promising collaborations.
An excellent start to the album with 'Unleashed', where the slightly scary intro of the guitar complements perfectly with the following strumming accompanied by the gutturals of Leach; This was the first single that we could listen to and that left us with a very good taste in our mouths, an excellent decision to leave as an introduction.
What brutality to start! and if you're a fan of yesteryear of KSE, the moment came with 'The Signal Fire'where we can listen to Howard Jones in the second chorus, yes, the two singers of the band in one song! Even in the launching of the video of this, we can appreciate the singing battle - and guttural - of the two very talented vocalists. Can you imagine that this collaboration goes further when it comes to keeping both of them in the band? It would be a somewhat guajiro dream, since Howard is very well established with his new band 'Light The Torch', but it is worth dreaming, right ?, at least we have this little bit of fantasy come true.
The third song on the new plate is quieter with deeper lyrics: 'Us Agains The World', one of the songs that makes us fully enjoy the melodic chorus that will be stuck in your head, the guitars remain with the style that predominates from KSE, What a good song to enjoy after the thrill we had with 'The Signal Fire'!
We continue with 'The Crownless King' the second song on the album that has the collaboration of an excellent artist: Chuck billy, vocalist of Testament What a combination! It is something that I honestly did not expect and I was very surprised to see his name in the tracklist of the album, without a doubt Billy and Leach They achieved a quite enjoyable harmony by joining forces for this song, where Jesse stands out with screams highs mostly.
We continue with 'I'm Broken Too', an excellent song that we were able to know before the album was released, with deep lyrics and unforgettable riffs from start to finish, making it one of the calmest songs on the album. Let's remember that the lyrics of certain songs were somewhat predictable due to the emotional problems in which Jesse It was wrapped months before the release of this board.
We continue with 'As Sure as the Sun Will Rise', Another of the songs that highlights the choruses with a clean voice and a catchy melody. Without leaving rest, the guitarists' alternate picking rumble from the beginning with 'Know Your Enemy'.
'Take Control' It begins with clean verses, one of the most emotional and reflective songs on the album 'And I pray that you understand (You understand your pain someday)'.
The journey continues with 'Ravenous', now the intensity returns completely, a song full of the various guttural techniques of Jesse, which to top off the stellar chorus is clean.
We continue with one of the personal songs of Leach: 'I Can't be the Only One', with a fairly laid-back introduction that gets the power of riffs along with the clean vocals of Jesse: 'Don't lose your faith, Try to believe', Don't lose your passion Don't lose your love ', without a doubt this is a piece that motivates all of us who have gone through situations where we need a push from the music, if you pay attention to the lyrics will surely awaken many sentimental fibers in you, an excellent penultimate piece of the album.
To close with a flourish, we again give way to brutality with 'Bite the Hand that Feeds', which has heartbreaking gutturals and an agile rhythm of all the musical elements, which gradually fade away to end it.
