What ever happened to these guys? (Killswitch Engage)

Man oh man where to begin..this post kind of hurts me in a way... First off i would love to say that Killswitch Engage is one of my favorite metal bands. It started out with the album "Alive or Just Breathing" for me and then shortly after into "The End of Heartache", which are both brutal as hell and I thought had the same singer because i was stupid. Killswitch has, in my opinion, done what a lot of bands/artist/talentless pop musician bastards have done with their musical careers. They started out with one sound and over the years changed into something that they were probably trying to do in the beginning but weren't sure what that sound really was or because they ended up wanting to please the rest of the world with what they wanted to hear.(which i guess to musicians is all they want to do ultimately). Well I can say that what they have turned into has been very slow and gradual..but i don't like it... and i feel like a child for saying that because all of their albums are absolutely incredible from a musician standpoint.
The only problem I have with newer KSE is the fact that it isn't KSE. In the olden days of Killswitch especially in "Alive or Just Breathing" the songs are very diverse in the way that they sound. Some start out brutal as hell and finish brutal as hell and then others start out pretty tame and calm and end up brutal as hell. There is so much emotion in the older albums that i am just not getting from the newer ones which i think has a lot to do with the first singer Jesse. Not only can Jesse (the first singer of Killswitch) scream like someone is stabbing his wife in front of him while they light him on fire but he has the voice of an angel. The man is talented to say the least. He had a lot to do with falling in love with KSE to me. Now don't get me wrong I love Howard Jones, the new singer, and he can scream/sing just as well and they do sound a whole hell of a lot alike, as he proved in "The End of Heartache" but as the albums go on i find myself drifting away from them because they don't have the same grasp on the sound that i was originally drawn to. I will say that Adam D. (the guitarist/backup vocals) probably has a lot to do with Killswitch's sound. He records the albums produces them, sings in them, plays drums, guitar...basically this guy has his crap together and knows what people want to hear. Adam D = Musical genius/craziest person i've ever seen on a stage. If you've made it this far in this post then I thank you. I'm going to post videos from the beginning of Killswitch to the current Killswitch. Hopefully you can see where I am coming from here. Please Enjoy because this has a lot to do with my passion for metal/music in general and i hold it close to my crotch so enjoy. Watch the first couple videos whether it's 10 seconds into it or whatever but just get through all of them.



"To the Son's of Man"


"Rise Inside"


As Mormotron was saying KSE first album was epic but shortly after the release of the album Jesse Leech the lead singer quit the band. This left the remaining members in a bind. They did the normally vocalist try outs and finally added Howard Jones of Blood Has Been Shed. Howard was a natural fit in the band's overall style. He was able to do unbelievable screaming while doing above par singing.  He remains, to this day, one of my favorite vocalist. With the addition of a new singer meant it was time to record a new album so they went to work on "The End of Heartache". Easily the second best album in the bands discography, "The End of Heartache" built on the sound of the first album making the sound bigger and capturing the heavy and light elements noticeably. This is the album that really transported them into the limelight and established their listener base. It also showed us that without Jesse, KSE was still the same old KSE.... or so we thought.

In 2006 KSE released "As Daylight Dies" and while its a good album the elements that would eventually lead to the bands regression in sound started to take hold. Nothing was hurt more than the lyrics. Jesse wrote deep and meaningful lyrics that were uplifting and at times beautiful. Howard tried his best to emulate the same style and feel that Jesse had done so well and he did a good job until "As Daylight Dies." It was also during this album were it was getting harder and harder to distinguish between songs. I'm still a fan of the album and still give it a listen every once in a while. Things didn't get really bad until the Self Titled album. -Daz

"When Darkness Falls"



"My Curse"


To me this sounds like Avenged Sevenfold or something... it just doesn't sound good to me...

"The Forgotten"




Long story short I still think Killswitch is the bees knees I just want them to start making good music again.