Killswitch Engage

Infobox musical artist
Name = Killswitch Engage

---

Img_capt = Killswitch Engage performing at "Global Gathering" 2006 in Miami, Florida, USA. From left to right: Mike D'Antonio, Howard Jones, Justin Foley, Adam Dutkiewicz.
Img_size = 250
Landscape = Yes
Background = group_or_band
Origin = Westfield, Massachusetts, United States
Genre = Metalcore
Years_active = 1999–present
Label = Ferret, Roadrunner
Associated_acts = All That Remains
Aftershock
Blood Has Been Shed
Overcast
Seemless
Shadows Fall
Unearth
URL = [http://www.killswitchEngage.com/ http://www.KillswitchEngage.com/]
Current_members = Howard Jones
Mike D'Antonio
Adam Dutkiewicz
Justin Foley Joel Stroetzel
Past_members = Jesse Leach
Tom Gomes
Pete Cortese

Killswitch Engage (often abbreviated as KSE or Killswitch) is a metalcore band from Westfield, Massachusetts. Formed following the disbandment of the bands Overcast and Aftershock, Killswitch Engage's lineup consists of vocalist Howard Jones, bassist Mike D'Antonio, guitarists Joel Stroetzel and Adam Dutkiewicz, and drummer Justin Foley. Signed to Roadrunner Records, Killswitch Engage has released four studio albums and one DVD.

Killswitch Engage rose to fame with its 2004 release "The End of Heartache", which peaked at number 21 on the Billboard 200, and was certified gold in December 2007 for over 500,000 shipments in the United States. The title track, "The End of Heartache", was nominated for a Grammy Award in 2005, and a live DVD titled "(Set This) World Ablaze" was released in 2005. Killswitch Engage attended Reading and Leeds Festivals, Ozzfest, Download Festival, the Warped Tour, and Rock on the Range, and continued touring until May of 2008 in support of their "As Daylight Dies" album.

The band is considered one of the most influential members of the New Wave of American Heavy Metal.

History

Early Years

Following the break-up of his band, Overcast, in 1998 bassist Mike D'Antonio jammed with Aftershock guitarist Adam Dutkiewicz. As both bands had disbanded, Dutkiewicz recruited guitarist Joel Stroetzel from Aftershock, and Jesse Leach of Nothing Stays Gold as vocalist. Former Overcast vocalist Brian Fair was considered for the role, but he was unable to join due to obligations with his band Shadows Fall. D'Antonio said the band was initially going to be for fun and a "thing to do on the side".cite web
title=Killswitch Engage - Adam Dutkiewicz interview
publisher=Punktv.com
url=http://www.punktv.ca/?c=105&a=2051
accessdate=2007-12-17]

The band's name originated from the break-up of Overcast and Aftershock, using aspects that pushed and elevated the band and putting the combination into a new category. D'Antonio commented "basically shutting everything down that we once knew and starting over. Killswitch, which is like turning everything off. Like if someone’s hand gets caught in something in a metal working shop the foreman will press one button that will turn off the machines. A killswitch. Then the engage is just turning it back on or something like that". The band got their name from an episode of the television series The X Files entitled Kill Switch.cite web
title=Killswitch Engage - Blistering
author=McGrath, Ken
publisher=blistering.com
date=
url=http://www.blistering.com/fastpage/fpengine.php/link/1/templateid/7476/tempidx/5/menuid/3
accessdate=2007-12-17]

igned to a label, self-titled and "Alive or Just Breathing"

While playing shows and selling demos, Mike D was doing Ferret music ads and called up Carl from Ferret and told him about Killswitch his current project then signed the deal. The band released its self-titled debut album, and although initially the album was not a financial success and didn't enter any charts, it garnered the interest of Ferret Music founder Carl Severson. Severson, who worked at Roadrunner Records at the time, handed "Killswitch Engage" to several Roadrunner representatives. An A&R of the company, Mike Gitter, contacted D'Antonio and attended several of the band's shows, and his interest led him to offer the band a recording contract with Roadrunner. Declining offers from several smaller labels, the band accepted the Roadrunner deal as they thought the company had the resources to promote and distribute Killswitch Engage releases.cite web
title=An interview with Killswitch Engage
author=Lambgoat, John
publisher=lambgoat.com
date=2002-05-22
url=http://www.lambgoat.com/features/articles/killswitch_engage.asp
accessdate=2007-12-17]

Killswitch Engage began writing new material for their second album in November 2001. With a larger recording budget, the band entered Zing Studios in Westfield, Massachusetts in November, and was able to spend more time "getting things right".cite web
title=Killswitch Engage Interview
publisher=Punkrocks.net
url=http://www.punkrocks.net/display_interview.php?id=49
accessdate=2007-12-17] Mixed in January at Backstage Studios by producer Andy Sneap,cite web
title=Archive News - November 2001
publisher=Blabbermouth.net
date=2001-11-06
url=http://www.roadrunnerrecords.com/blabbermouth.net/news.aspx?mode=Article&newsitemID=239
accessdate=2007-12-21] the album was titled "Alive or Just Breathing" for lyrics in the song "Just Barely Breathing".cite web
title=Interview with Adam
author=Brodie
publisher=rocknworld.com
url=http://www.rocknworld.com/features/06/kse.shtml
accessdate=2007-12-17] A music video for the single "My Last Serenade" increased the band's exposure, and the album peaked at number 37 on the Top Heatseekers chart.cite web
title=Killswitch Engage biography
publisher=Roadrunner Records
url=http://www.roadrunnerrecords.se/artist/Killswitch+Engage
accessdate=2007-12-17] After the album's release, which was written and recorded for two guitarists, the band decided to expand and become a fivesome when Dutkiewicz moved to guitar, and former Aftershock drummer Tom Gomes joined as drummer. Kevin Boyce of "CMJ New Music Report" described the record as "more addictive than crack cocaine that's been smothered in caffeine and nicotine and drenched with chocolate",cite web
title=Killswitch Engage: "Alive Or Just Breathing"
author=Boyce, Kevin
publisher=CMJ
url=http://prod1.cmj.com/articles/display_article.php?id=34126
accessdate=2007-12-17] and Jason D. Taylor of Allmusic said the release is "a pure metal album that seemingly has ignored any fashionable trend and instead relies solely on skill and expertise to sculpt some of meatiest heavy metal since the glory days of Metallica and Slayer".cite web
title= "Alive or Just Breathing" - Killswitch Engage
author=Taylor, Jason
publisher=Allmusic
url=http://wm08.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&token=&sql=10:fnfyxqu0ld6e
accessdate=2007-12-17]

New lead singer and drummer

After Leach got married on April 20, 2002 and began touring again he started to become depressed. This started to affect his screaming as he would put too much emotion into the screaming and not enough technique. At his worst Leach would do a show then head back to the bus and go to sleep. Leach left the band a few days before the band was meant to play a show and sent the band members an e-mail telling them he had quit. D'Antonio thought that "after three years of hanging out with the dude, and considering him a brother, to just get an email was a little bit harsh."cite web
title=Killswitch Engage Land New Frontman
author=
publisher=Blabbermouth.net
date=2002-07-04
url=http://www.roadrunnerrecords.com/blabbermouth.net/news.aspx?mode=Article&newsitemID=4557
accessdate=2007-12-17] cite web
title=Interview with Mike D’Antonio
author=Benny, Rob
publisher=Rock eyez
date=
url=http://www.rockeyez.com/interviews/int-killswitchengage-mikedantonio.html
accessdate=2007-12-17]

The band immediately started to search for a replacement vocalist and found Howard Jones of Blood Has Been Shed. Jones disliked the band's sound when he first heard it. He commented "I was like, ‘Meh.’ I come from hardcore and dirtier metal, and Killswitch sounded so clean. But the more I listened to it, I realized there’s some really good songs here". After hearing about Leach's vocal problems, Jones contacted the band and was accepted as the replacement. Without listening to the entire self-titled album or "Alive or Just Breathing", Jones had to memorize seven songs for his debut at the 2002 Hellfest.cite web
title=Killswitch Engage - "Decibel Magazine"
author=Parks, Andrew
publisher="Decibel Magazine"
url=http://www.decibelmagazine.com/features/dec2006/killswitchengage.aspx?terms=Killswitch+Engage&searchtype=2&fragment=True
accessdate=2007-12-17]

The new lineup played on the Road Rage tour in the United Kingdom and the Netherlands in 2002 with 36 Crazyfists and Five Pointe O. Touring continued through the New Year's Day, and in 2003 the first song to feature Jones, "When Darkness Falls", appeared on the soundtrack of the 2003 horror film "Freddy vs. Jason".cite web
title=Freddy vs. Jason soundtrack
publisher=Amazon.com
url=http://www.amazon.com/Freddy-vs-Jason-Various-Artists/dp/B0000ALFXD
accessdate=2007-12-18] cite web
title=Freddy vs. Jason
publisher=imdb.com
url=http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0329101/soundtrack
accessdate=2007-12-19] Following the 2003 Ozzfest, drummer Gomes left the band because he wished to spend more time with his wife, to pursue his band Something of a Silhouette, and because he was tired of touring.cite web
title=For metalcore’s prodigal sons Killswitch Engage, The End of Heartache is just the beginning.
author=Terry, Nick
publisher="Decibel Magazine"
url=http://www.decibelmagazine.com/features/jan2005/killswitch_engage.aspx
accessdate=2007-12-17] He was replaced by Justin Foley of Blood Has Been Shed and Red Tide, and Foley's first tour with the band was the MTV2 Headbangers Ball in 2003.cite web
title=Killswitch Engage Allmusic
author=Ditzel, Eleanor and Apar, Corey
publisher=Allmusic
url=http://wm08.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:0zfrxqtkldte~T1
accessdate=2007-12-17] cite web
title=Billboard Bits: EMI/WMG, Liza/VH1, 'Headbanger's Ball'
author=
publisher=Billboard.com
date=2003-09-22
url=http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/search/google/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1984261
accessdate=2007-12-18]

"The End of Heartache"

"The End of Heartache" was released on May 11, 2004, and peaked at number 21 on the Billboard 200 with 38,000 sales in its first week,cite web
title=Usher Keeps Rolling At No. 1
author=Whitmire, Margo
publisher=Billboard.com
date=2004-05-19
url=http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/search/google/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1000513474
accessdate=2007-12-07] and it also peaked at number 39 on the Australian album chart following an Australian tour with Anthrax.cite web
title=Australian charts
publisher=Australiancharts.com
url=http://australian-charts.com/showitem.asp?interpret=Killswitch+Engage&titel=The+End+Of+Heartache&cat=a
accessdate=2007-12-17] The album went on to sell more than 500,000 copies in the U.S and was certified gold on December 7, 2007.cite web
title=Gold and Platinum
publisher=RIAA.com
url=http://www.riaa.com/goldandplatinumdata.php?table=SEARCH
accessdate=2007-12-17] The album received mostly positive reviews, with Jon Caramanica of "Rolling Stone" calling the album a "stunning collection, retaining much of their signature musical brutality".cite web
title=Killswitch Engage - "The End Of Heartache"
author=Caramanica, Jon
publisher="Rolling Stone"
date=2004-08-19
url=http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/killswitchengage/albums/album/5243697/review/6383805/the_end_of_heartache
accessdate=2007-12-18] Ed Rivaria of Allmusic commented "riff upon riff are piled sky-high into each number that follows, it's the unpredictable rhythmic shifts used to build and then relieve internal pressure that fuel the Killswitch Engage power source".cite web
title="The End of Heartache" - Killswitch Engage
author=Rivadavia, Ed
publisher=Allmusic
url=http://wm08.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&token=&sql=10:djftxq9aldte
accessdate=2007-12-17]

In late 2004, the band supported Slayer on its U.S. Jagermusic dates, and headlined shows with From Autumn to Ashes, Eighteen Visions, and 36 Crazyfists. "The End of Heartache" became the main single for the movie "", and in 2005 the song was nominated in the Best Metal Performance category for the 47th annual Grammy Awards. The award was given to Motörhead for "Whiplash".cite web
title=47th Grammy Awards - 2005
publisher=rockonthenet.com
url=http://www.rockonthenet.com/archive/2005/grammys.htm
accessdate=2007-12-17] In late 2004, "The End of Heartache" was re-released as a special edition album, with a second disc featuring various live performances, a Japanese bonus track, and a re-recorded version of "Irreversal". During the summer of 2005, the band returned for Ozzfest, and on November 1, 2005, "Alive or Just Breathing" was re-released as part of Roadrunner Records' 25th anniversary. On November 22, 2005, the live DVD "(Set This) World Ablaze" was released, which contained a live concert at the Palladium in Worcester, Massachusetts, an hour-long documentary, and all the band's music videos. The DVD went gold in the U.S. on April 8, 2006 for 50,000 sales.

"As Daylight Dies"

Killswitch Engage played the Reading and Leeds Festivals in August 2006, having already played Australian dates without Dutkiewicz, who was suffering from back problems and needed corrective surgery. On May 23, 2006, the song "This Fire" was released on the "WWE Wreckless Intent" album.cite web
title=Wwe: Wreckless Intent CD
publisher=CDuniverse.com
url=http://www.cduniverse.com/search/xx/music/pid/7067002/a/WWE:+Wreckless+Intent.htm
accessdate=2007-12-19] The track was intended to be the new theme song for WWE superstar Randy Orton; however, it was scrapped and later became the theme song for the WWE Judgment Day 2006 pay-per-view. "This Fire" is currently used as the entrance theme for Raw superstar, CM Punk.cite web
title=Goddamn Electric
publisher=cm-punk.org/
url=http://www.cm-punk.org/
accessdate=2007-12-18]

Recorded in three months, "As Daylight Dies" was released on November 21, 2006 and peaked at number 32 on the Billboard Top 200 Albums chart with 60,000 sales in its first week.cite web
title=Jay-Z Reclaims His 'Kingdom' With No. 1 Debut
author=Hasty, Katie
publisher=Billboard.com
date=2006-11-29
url=http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/search/google/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003465594
accessdate=2007-12-17] It also entered the Australia album chart at number 29. Mixed by Dutkiewicz, the album received mostly positive reviews—Thom Jurek of Allmusic called it "a Top Five metal candidate for 2006 for sure".cite web
title= "As Daylight Dies" AMG review
author=Jurek, Thom
publisher=Allmusic
date=
url=http://wm08.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:fzfrxq9rldde
accessdate=2007-12-18] "Decibel Magazine" contributor Nick Terry said "To call "As Daylight Dies" addictive would be an understatement. That it outdoes its already impressive enough predecessor could almost go without saying".cite web
title=Engage your boners
author=Terry, Nick
publisher="Decibel Magazine"
url=http://www.decibelmagazine.com/reviews/dec2006/killswitchengage.aspx?terms=Killswitch+Engage&searchtype=2&fragment=True
accessdate=2007-12-18] Cosmo Lee of "Stylus Magazine" commented "the album is astonishingly badly sequenced", even though it contributed to the album being "less emotionally heavy-handed, and a lot more fun".cite web
title=Killswitch Engage Stylus
author=Lee, Cosmo
publisher="Stylus Magazine"
date=2006-12-05
url=http://www.stylusmagazine.com/reviews/killswitch-engage/as-daylight-dies.htm
accessdate=2007-12-17] As of November 27, 2007, "As Daylight Dies" has sold more than 300,000 units in the United States.cite web
title=Success Keeping Killswitch Engage Out Of Studio
author=Graff, Gary
publisher=Billboard.com
date=2007-11-27
url=http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003677914
accessdate=2007-12-18]

The album's first single, "My Curse", peaked at number 21 on the Hot Mainstream Rock chart, and was available as a bonus song in the popular game Guitar Hero III and as downloadable content for the video game Rock Band. "The Arms of Sorrow" peaked at number 31 on the same chart. The band's cover of Dio's "Holy Diver", originally recorded for a "Kerrang!" compilation album titled "High Voltage",cite web
title=Killswitch Engage Don Swords, Armor for ‘Holy Diver’ Video
author=
publisher=
date=2007-08-08
url=http://headbangersblog.mtv.com/2007/08/08/killswitch-engage-don-swords-armor-for-holy-diver-video/
accessdate=2007-12-18] peaked at number 12 on the Mainstream Rock charts.cite web
title=Killswitch Engage Artist Chart History
publisher=Billboard.com
url=http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/retrieve_chart_history.do?model.vnuArtistId=403514&model.vnuAlbumId=811005
accessdate=2007-12-18] Early in 2007, the band had to cancel three of its European tour dates with The Haunted due to Dutkiewicz's back problems. He required emergency back surgery and was replaced on the tour by Soilwork guitarist Peter Wichers.cite web
title=Killswitch Engage explain tour postponement
publisher=NME
date=2007-01-16
url=http://www.nme.com/news/killswitch-engage/25862
accessdate=2007-12-18]

Recent Events (2007–present)

Killswitch Engage headlined the No Fear Tour in early 2007 with Dragonforce, Chimaira, and He Is Legend. Due to Dutkiewicz's back problems, he was replaced by Damageplan and The Mercy Clinic frontman Patrick Lachman, who was formerly the guitarist for Diesel Machine and Halford. Dutkiewicz recovered and was able to finish No Fear tour, and the band began filming its video for "As Daylight Dies"'s second single, "The Arms of Sorrow".cite web
title=Killswitch Engage
publisher=Killswitch-Engage.info
url=http://www.killswitch-engage.info/
accessdate=2007-12-18]

Killswitch Engage played the 2007 Download Festival with Iron Maiden, Evanescence, Lamb of God, Linkin Park, Slayer, and Marilyn Manson. The band also toured at Bamboozle 2007 and Warped Tour. On August 6, 2007, Dutkiewicz was forced to leave Warped Tour so he could fully recover from his back surgery and continue daily physical therapy. He was replaced by Killswitch's guitar technician Josh Mihlek for select songs, until his return on August 14, 2007.cite web
title=Video Interview
publisher=RoadrunnerRecords.co.uk
date=2007-10-23
url=http://www.roadrunnerrecords.co.uk/artists/KillswitchEngage/
accessdate=2008-01-01] Killswitch Engage spent November 28 through December 17, 2007 on a U.S. tour with co-headlining band Lamb of God, and supporting acts DevilDriver and Soilwork.

In 2008 The band played in Dubai for the annual Dubai Desert Rock Festival.

Killswitch Engage took part in the Soundwave Festival in Australia during February and March 2008. Other bands attending include The Offspring, Incubus, As I Lay Dying, Alexisonfire, Haste The Day, Saosin, and Carpathian.cite web
title=SoundwaveFestival
publisher=SoundwaveFestival.com
url=http://www.soundwavefestival.com/tickets/perth.html
accessdate=2007-12-18] The band toured until May 2008 ending their Canadian tour for As Daylight Dies in Vancouver, BC on May 29th. They entered the studio in October to start recording their next album, on track for a spring 2009 release date.cite web
title=KILLSWITCH ENGAGE To Enter Studio In October
author= Chris Harris
publisher= MTV
date=2008-08-22
url=http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1593310/20080821/overcast.jhtml
accessdate=2008-02-22]

Band members

;Current
*Joel Stroetzel - rhythm guitar (1999 - present)
*Adam Dutkiewicz - lead guitar, backing vocals (2002 - present) / drums, percussion (1999 - 2001)
*Mike D'Antonio - bass guitar (1999 - present)
*Howard Jones - lead vocals (2002 - present)
*Justin Foley - drums, percussion (2003 - present)

Discography

*2000: "Killswitch Engage"
*2002: "Alive or Just Breathing"
*2004: "The End of Heartache"
*2006: "As Daylight Dies"
*2009: Killswitch Engage's 5th Studio Album

References

External links

* [http://www.killswitchEngage.com Official Site]
*MySpace|killswitchengage|Killswitch Engage
* [http://www.takethisoath.com/ Take This Oath- The Official Fan Club for Killswitch Engage]
* [http://www.lambgoat.com/features/interviews/killswitch_engage2.aspx Interview with Howard Jones and Justin Foley]