Killswitch Engage are a metalcore band consisting of bassist Mike D’Antonio, lead guitarist Adam Dutkiewicz, rhythm guitarist Joel Stroetzel, drummer Justin Foley & frontman Jesse Leach. A dominant force in the subgenre spanning 25 years off their eponymous debut, Alive or Just Breathing, The End of Heartache, As Daylight Dies which was my favorite of the Howard Jones era, their 2nd eponymous album produced by Brendan O’Brien, Disarm the Desccent, Incarnate & more recently their Metal Blade Records debut Atonement. The band who wrote “This Fire Burns” for Monday Night RAW superstar, former 6-time WWE world champion, WWE Intercontinental Champion, WWE tag team champion, 2-time AEW World Champion, inaugural ROH Hall of Fame inductee, ROH World Champion & 2-time ROH World Tag Team Champion CM Punk who later albeit unsuccessfully competed in the UFC division of the Endeavor-owned TKO Group Holdings took 6 years off & are finally returning for their 9th studio LP.
“Abandon Us” sets the tone with this melodic metalcore intro airing out every single last person who turned their backs on them whereas “Discordant Nation” infuses more elements of melodic death metal into their sound so they can create a more metallic & melodic style of the metal/hardcore punk hybrid subgenre they’re known for suggesting to yield & bend a knee. “Aftermath” promises to give Jesse’s life to save this individual although it’s too late while the single “Forever Aligned” sings about connection & the spiritual energy that bonds us as humans.
Meanwhile on “I Believe”, we have Killswitch Engage mixing alt-metal influences with melodic metalcore confident of not being led astray & brighter days ahead just before “Where It Dies” singing about it being too late for one’s repentance & suffering Jesse’s vengeance because of it. “Collusion” observes the whole world being a conspiracy these days leading into “The Fall of Us” singing about bitterness overtaking an individual they knew. “Broken Glass” tells those who speaks in shards of shattered glass that they’ll suffer the consequences & “Requiem” ends by promising this isn’t the end.
Instead of making something contrasting from anything the band has previously done, This Consequence encapsulates of the things that fans have come to love from Killswitch Engage throwing it back to the Alive of Just Breathing era albeit making it feel modern. The energy is noticeably different from any of their recent material & they prominently address the topic of societal division in light of Donald Trump’s 2nd presidential inauguration last month cautioning the repercussions of our actions will come back to bite us in the ass in due time.
Score: 3.5/5
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