Killswitch Engage will release their first album in six years, This Consequence, next month – and they have six years of pent-up fury to unfurl!
In this exclusive interview taken from the new issue of Metal Hammer, singer Jesse Leach reveals that he initially wanted to write sage songs containing “words of wisdom”, but that the band saw through the holy positivity of his lyrics. Ultimately, the frontman’s penned 10 savage tracks, laced with trauma and anger from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Read the full conversation with Jesse below, and see which other albums you should be excited for this year by picking up the new Hammer.
How’s the new album sounding, Jesse?
“It sounds insane. It sounds maybe different to how we’ve sounded before. The songs are really full of piss and vinegar. There’s a good handful of thrashy songs, there’s a lot of anger, but it’s righteous anger – it’s not down in the dumps and negative. There’s a lot of ferocity and frustration.”
Did it all come together easily?
“No. The first eight songs I wrote for this record, the guys were like, ‘This is not your best work.’ I initially came at this record with words of wisdom and hoping to inject some positivity, but I don’t think it came off genuine. It took me a while to realise that, and it was kind of an ego death. Long story short, I came out the other side with a new perspective.
“The first song we came out with from that was called Broken Glass and it’s probably one of the most pissed-off songs we’ve written, it doesn’t end on a positive note. The guys were like, ‘More of this!’ and that’s what kicked off my anger.”
What kind of themes are you writing about this time around?
“It’s really about coming out of a dark time. The aftermath of the world coming out of an abusive situation, the PTSD of it. You have an awakening that the life you’ve been living is sort of a lie. So, it’s in reference to the dark, clandestine forces of the powers that be and what they imposed upon the common people. It’s very much a revolutionary fight back. It all stems from me for the times we’re living in now.”
What was it that inspired that approach?
“Coming out of the pandemic, I felt like I lost my voice and my artistic vision. You see families falling apart due to political differences, the police brutality, the propaganda they’re shoving down our throat, and you start to wonder who are the good and who are the bad. Some of the people I thought were good were actually bad. I felt a lot of betrayal and uncertainty.”
Nine albums into KSE’s career, how challenging is it to find new ways to create new sounds?
“Very challenging, and it should be. If you want to push yourself to be authentic then you have to. For me, there are certain topics that are off the table. I’m not allowed to talk about fire, for example.
“But I started reading books again, having stopped reading for a while. It was a whole personal process for me as a writer, you don’t want to do what you’ve already done, you want to give your audience something new every time. That’s the challenge; how do you do that whilst remaining authentic?”
This Consequence is out on February 21 via Metal Blade. Order the new issue of Metal Hammer now and get it delivered to your door.
