Incarnate, the seventh studio album from Killswitch Engage, arrives this week as one ofRolling Stone’s‘ Most Anticipated Metal Albums of 2016’ – and it does not disappoint.
Three years after Disarm The Descent, the seasoned US metalcore quintet is back with a career-defining release. Co-founding guitarist Joel Stroetzel explains how Incarnate came into being.
“We never like to wait too long between records,” he says. “It’s been almost three years since [Disarm The Descent], so we were due for a new one, and it was really cool how it all came together.”
As proud recipients of two Grammy nominations, three Metal Hammer Golden Gods Awards and two Boston Music Awards, it’s safe to say these guys know a thing or two about metal. Since their inception in 1999, Killswitch Engage have sold millions of records, and are known in the right circles as one of the founders of metalcore.
However, such success has not come without its share of trials and tribulations. “We’ve been through some dark times, but right now the morale is good,” Stroetzel says. “I think we’re the strongest we’ve been in a long time.”
The most notable roadblocks Killswitch Engage have overcome include lead guitarist Adam Dutkiewicz’s crippling back issues, and the shock departure of long-time lead vocalist Howard Jones. When Jones left the band in 2012, to the surprise of many, original frontman Jesse Leach returned after a decade away. It was a welcome reunion.
“As a band in the ‘camp’, we’re very happy,” Stroetzel explains. “We’re a cohesive unit and we’re friends again.”
Despite uniting to undertake a mammoth tour of the Northern Hemisphere over the next few months, Stroetzel says Incarnate came to life while the five members were thousands of miles apart.
“Justin [Foley, drums] lives down in Florida; me, Mike [D’Antonio, bass] and Jesse live in Massachusetts; and Adam just moved to San Diego,” says Stroetzel. “So we were all kind of spread out. We all did a lot of homework and writing on the road.
“When we felt like we had enough material, we started meeting up and piecing stuff together. There was a lot of material – everybody wrote a lot of stuff. This album is definitely a unique collaboration.”
Through Incarnate, Killswitch Engage continue the tradition of producing hard-hitting metal anthems. ‘Hate By Design’ tackles the issue of self-sabotage; ‘Quiet Distress’ shines a light on the often hushed-up topic of self-harm; and their latest single ‘Cut Me Loose’ will speak to anyone dealing with anxiety or depression. This collection of songs celebrates the beauty in the breakdown, while others such as ‘Strength Of The Mind’, ‘We Carry On’ and ‘Ascension’ remind us that dark days will pass.
“I really liked ‘Cut Me Loose’ the first time I heard it, when it was just the bones of a song, and I felt the same about ‘Hate By Design’,” Stroetzel says. “Both of those were Justin’s songs, which is really cool. “Justin and Adam really took this record to another level with a lot of the songs. Incarnate as a whole is a little bit more melodic and it’s thicker, not as thrashy, as Disarm The Descent.”
To the delight of the band and fans alike, Dutkiewicz returned to his role as producer – a position he’s held on every Killswitch album bar one. “Obviously we’re very comfortable working with Adam at this point and it’s nice having someone who gets the songs and understands the vision,” Stroetzel says. “Adam is one of the main songwriters in Killswitch, so it’s cool having him do that, and we feel so lucky to have such an incredible engineer and producer as part of the band as well. It’s kind of a luxury that we certainly don’t take for granted.”
Stroetzel says that through all the band’s ups and downs, he has never taken his position lightly. “We’re coming up to 17 years as Killswitch Engage – it’s insane! Sometimes when you start a new band you wonder if you’ll make it 17 weeks,” he laughs. “Looking back on the crazy old days, it’s really funny – we’ve been very fortunate.”
The good fortune continues into 2016 for the boys. Stroetzel fulfilled a childhood dream when he was offered the opportunity to dress up as a cast member of history’s most successful film franchise, suggested by Revolver Magazine. “Everybody grew up with the Star Wars movies,” he says. “So when we got an email saying, ‘Hey, are you guys willing to dress up as Star Wars characters?’ we thought, ‘Yeah! That sounds awesome.’ So we flew to New York for a day to do the photo shoot and everyone got to pick what costume they wanted. I thought I might as well be Chewie, because I’m already hairy and bearded – I didn’t really need much more.
“Jesse wanted to be Han Solo,” Stroetzel adds, “and of course Adam had to be the princess because he’s always wearing dresses – and we couldn’t leave anybody out. We had a lot of fun with it and obviously we were honoured to be on the cover. One day, hopefully people can look back on it and have a good laugh.”
Incarnate byKillswitch Engage isout Friday March 11 through Roadrunner/Warner.
