Killswitch Engage’s Jesse Leach Talks New Album, State of Metal

2012-04-21

Story by Anne Erickson

Killswitch Engage singer says it feels great being back in the fold

Singer Jesse Leach is back with the guys of Killswitch Engage, and all is well once again with the Massachusetts metal band. The last time Leach performed with Killswitch Engage was in 2010, and even in just a few years, Leach says a lot has changed in the world of metal.

“Metal has changed, but I’ve changed as well,” Leach told the Boston Phoenix. “And that’s what’s exciting about rejoining this band and doing the new record. I’ve always been a fan of the music that they call metalcore, this crossbreeding of hardcore and metal, but what passes for metalcore today I’m not a fan of. It’s been a by-numbers watered down thing.

“I mean, God Forbid, In Flames, Mastodon, these are metalcore bands that I love, so I’m speaking in general terms. But most new metalcore doesn’t grab me, it doesn’t have the conviction that I used to see, when people had something to say, had messages, went against the grain, fight for individuality no matter what society says, and the music as a whole has turned into something popular that is with the grain, that is part of society, and the revolution got dulled and doesn’t really do anything for me… “

As for the new album, Leach says he’s been putting everything he has into the upcoming gathering of heavy tunes. “ …To be honest with you, I’ve been doing a lot of going back in preparing for this. Listening to early Killswitch has made me listen to old Unearth, for example, and I think, ‘What was it about those times?’ Listening to those old seven-inches, trying to recapture that spirit…” Read more of the chat via the Boston Phoenix. (Photo via Facebook.)

 




Anne Erickson
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