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The band formed in Westfield, Massachusetts, US in 1999 and was birthed out of the dissolution of the two Boston heavy bands, Overcast and Aftershock. The idea of Killswitch Engage was sparked by a jam session shared between Overcast bassist Mike D’Antonio and Aftershock guitarist Adam Dutkiewicz. The second guitarist of Aftershock Joel Stroetzel was later invited to join the group. Stroetzel a guitarist noted for his technical and inventive style was a former student of Berklee College of Music and is influenced by the likes of virtuosic metal guitarists such as Zakk Wylde. The lineup of Killswitch Engage was eventually completed with the addition of former Nothing Stays Gold vocalist Jesse Leach. The band called themselves Killswitch Engage after an X-file episode written by influential cyberpunk author William Gibson.
Killswitch Engage landed their first gig opening up for the likeminded metal band In Flames. At this show they promoted their first release, a four track demo tape including the song “Soilborn”.The band released their debut album one year later on 4 July 2000 through l Ferret Music. Though this album was not a commercial smash it heated interest in the band and garnered the attention of Roadrunner Records. The group would later enter in a contract with the label.
The group’s next album “Alive or Just Breathing” gained the band a good bit of exposure and placed them at No. 37 on the Top Heatseekers chart. In the early 2000s the band experienced a hefty amount of fluctuation with their lineup. Pete Cortese from Overcast joined Killswitch Engage as their second guitarist, but left less than a year later. Still determined to be a band that featured two guitarist Dutkiewicz moved from drums to take up the position of second guitar. Aftershock drummer Tom Gomes was accepted into the band to fill the opening.
Perhaps the biggest change up for the band was vocalist Leach’s abrupt departure. Leach quit the band 3 days before the band was to play a show. After auditioning several vocalists (one being Philip Labonte of All That Remains) they decided on ex-Blood Has Been Shed vocalist Howard Jones. Justin Foley of Blood Has Been Shed also joined the Killswitch Engage lineup replacing drummer Gomes.
With this line up the band perhaps experienced the greatest success of their career. The group played MTV2 Headbangers Ball in 2003 and in 2004 released their third album “The End of Heartache” which climbed all the way to 21 on the Billboard 200 chart. Not only was this album a commercial hit it was also herald by the critics and was nominated for Best Metal Performance for the 47th Grammy Awards. The group continued their stride touring a few high profile festivals and releasing yet another commercially successful album “As Daylight Dies”. This album went to No. 32 on the Billboard 200.
The band released one more album with lead singer Jones, which would be the band’s second self-titled release. The band started a search for a new lead singer and recruited the groups initial frontman Jesse Leach. With the induction of Leach, the band went on to put out their sixth studio album, “Disarm the Descent”. The album did exceptionally well on the charts and with critics. It reached No. 7 on the Billboard 200 chart and No. 1 on the Top Hard Rock Chart and the Top Rock Albums Chart. Its leading single “In Due Time” was nominated at the 2014 Grammy Awards for “Best Metal Performance”.
The band was formed by bassist Robb Flynn, after he had unsuccessful stints in various bands including Forbidden and Vio-Lence. After leaving the latter, he, Adam Duce (Bass), Logan Mader (Guitair) and Tony Constanza (drums), decided to start a band named Machinehead. The band claim they chose the name because “it sounded cool”.
After spending $800 to record a demo in a friend’s bedroom, the band was picked up by Roadrunner Records, and recorded their debut album “Burn My Eyes”. With the records aggressive themes, based on Flynn’s previous struggles in the music industry, the album was a success, selling 400,000 copies. With this release, the band cemented their status within the metal genre, and began touring frequently, including opening for Slayer on their European tour.
A second album followed in 1997, titled “The More Things Change…”, during the recording of the album, Logan Mader left the band following issues with substance abuse. Once again the band toured heavily after, notably playing that year’s Ozzfest.
1999 saw a change in direction for Machinehead, when they released their third LP, “The Burning Red”. This effort featured variations to the bands previous style, with the addition of rapping vocals following the boom of the nu-metal genre towards the new millennium. However this album and their fourth similar LP, “Supercharger” were not received well by fans, who wanted the band to return to their metal roots.
By the release of their sixth studio album, “The Blackening” in 2007, Machinehead had completed a full turnaround, achieving commercial and critical success. The release drew comparisons the Metallica’s “Master of Puppets” with many reviewers calling it a triumph for the metal genre. That year the band toured around the world, including a show at Download Festival. The band have been releasing further records and touring since.
I suppose, if you’re a genuine subscriber to the notion that all screaming metal vocalists sound the same, that it should at least mean you can swap your old singer for a new one and yet still be able to continue relatively seamlessly. That’s precisely what happened to Killswitch Engage, back in early 2012; when their frontman of nine years, Howard Jones, left the band for reasons that are still to be disclosed, they were simply able to bring their original vocalist, Jesse Leach, back into the fold; he’d left the band back in 2002, after bouts of depression and problems with his voice - exacerbated by the uncontrollable nature of his screaming - had left him struggling to keep up with the relentless pace of touring. Not too much has changed since Leach’s return, really, with Killswitch continuing to include a slew of Jones’ material in their sets; with some of their biggest hits featuring him, including ‘My Curse’ and a cover of Dio’s ‘Holy Diver’, they didn’t really have much choice. Like Jones, Leach is an energetic performer, an intimidating physical presence and an incendiary screamer, although there’s no question that he lacks that deep, operatic quality that helped Jones bring a touch of real drama to proceedings. Earlier this year, Killswitch completed a rapturously received co-headline tour of the UK with Trivium; knowing their prodigious work rate, though, they’ll likely be back before long.
Joeg_67
Aside from Pantera, who I never got to see live, Machine Head are my favourite heavy metal band. The Californian thrash titans have always been loved more over here in the UK than in their native US, and singer-guitarist Robb Flynn has said they probably wouldn’t still be going even if it wasn’t for the support they’ve endured over here. I’ve seen them a bunch of times, the first being London’s sadly missed Astoria in 2003 when they were on something of a comeback with their Through the Ashes of Empires album. It was incredible to see them in a relatively intimate environment and songs such as ‘Imperium’ and ‘Descend The Shades Of Night’ were played with such intensity. Since then, Machine Head managed to re-hit the big time with their definitive album The Blackening; an album which finally managed to surpass their debut. Since the release of that record I’ve seen them at Brixton Academy, Hammersmith Apollo (supporting Slipknot) and Wembley Arena, among other shows, and there is no doubt in my mind that they are the most consistent live metal band working today, set apart by their killer riffs and Flynn’s distinctive vocals. Hearing audiences scream back the choruses to ‘Halo’ or ‘Davidian’ is genuinely spine-tingling and there is no better ringleader than Flynn, who can get even the most docile of crowds to form frantic circle pits. Can’t wait to see them again.
cliverozario
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