Wednesday, July 1, 2009

Killswitch Engage: "Killswitch Engage" CD Review

I was able to review the new Killswitch Engage album for my job at The Daily Iowan. The first part of the review is below:

"Every band has that one album it will never be able to top. For Metallica, it was Master of Puppets. For Megadeth, it was Rust in Peace. Sadly, Killswitch Engage’s latest self-titled album is not its holy grail — that honor goes to the band’s major label début, Alive or Just Breathing.

Ever since vocalist Howard Jones joined Killswitch Engage, the band has taken a more commercial direction. Such albums as The End of Heartache and As Daylight Dies were catchy-yet-soon-forgotten examples of the metal-core genre that the group helped spawn. Killswitch Engage is a better album than the previous two in every way. Yet there is still something missing — the band’s balls."


For the rest of the review visit The Daily Iowan Web site.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

No balls? Ha! When will you people give it a rest. Alive or Just Breathing is a magnificent album, but KSE has continued to change and progress, as good bands must. As a Killswitch Engage fan, I would say that I love this album. It's different but great none the less. Is it there greatest? That's debatable. But your review blows, and makes it sound like trash. The album contains great lyrics, riffs, and some rip your face off tone. Why you are reviewing metal albums, I do not know. You come off as an opinionated fool.

Unknown said...

I'm sorry but I completely disagree with this, Alive or just breathing was a good album but personally i dont think it was their best, End of Heartache was definetly their most memorable album for me and I know a lot of people who would agree with me on that, ok yes maybe they have become more commercial since Howard joined the band but is that really a bad thing? they still pull out kick ass riffs and i'm sure their new album is no exception.

Randy said...

I'm glad I got such strong responses toward my review, even if they are negative.

The whole purpose of a review is to give your own opinion on a CD or band that people may or may not agree with.

Anonymous: I review metal albums because I love metal in every sense of the word. I love bands ranging from new to old from the likes of Iron Maiden to Death to Shadows Fall and beyond.

When I first heard "Alive or Just Breathing" I thought it was an amazing album with great guitar tone and memorable riffs.

And if you would actually READ the review I actually say a lot of good things about the album. I call it the best since "Alive or Just Breathing" and "a stunning example of what the metalcore genre can produce". I even say that the opening track is one of the band's best.

The album just isn't anywhere near as memorable as "Alive or Just Breathing" was for me. If you scan the other metal sites, I believe they are giving the album about what I gave it. Even at blogs like metalsucks.net where they are known to be strong supporters of Killswitch.

Greenfish15:

Howard Jones IS a better vocalist than Jesse Leach talentwise,but the songs felt more inspired on "Alive or Just Breathing" than any other album. "The End of Heartache" was a decent CD it just felt too generic to me and I am sure there are plenty that fall of both sides of the map on this topic.

Compare it to David Lee Roth v. Sammy Hagar for Van Halen. I would argue Sammy Hagar is a better vocalist than David lee Roth, but the songs were just better during Roth's time in the band.

Anonymous said...

I agree that Alive or Just Breathing is their best album, but the new album has some great stuff on it. I like it more than As Daylight Dies and The End of Heartache. Howard gives his best vocal performance to date and I like the direction they are going on this album. If I want more Alive or Just Breathing type songs, I'll just go listen to that album.

Quigley said...

Nah i agree with review they were way heavier when jesse leech was with them they lack the "Umph" factor that they when he was with the band AlIVE OR JUST BREATHING will always be there best album