Pioneers of noughties metalcore, Killswitch Engage assault the ears with songs about loss of love and faith, heartbreak and disillusion.
It is the sound of a discontented and displaced heart, a brutal reflection of chaos and anxiety. Their seventh studio album 'Incarnate', a fleshy, thumpy, potent hardcore offering is due for release this month. Rolling Stone hailed it one of the twenty five most anticipated metal albums of 2016.
At the risk of sounding like a mad hippie, seven is a number with cosmic significance. Things shift every seven years and multiples of seven have some kind of intangible importance (forty two being the answer to the universe and everything).
This makes me wonder, as their album releases reach that mystical point if the sound changes each time, or if there is a core dynamic that carries through each album. “It’s been 17 years, which makes me feel super old!” exclaims bassist Mike D’Antonio.
“In 17 years there’s no way you can’t change. I feel like as a band we’re definitely more comfortable with each other, we know each other’s strengths and weaknesses and we can kind of fall back on those which is great in the studio.
“A couple of years went by trying to figure out what we were doing and in desperation I was writing a lot of grittier material, pissed off and just wanting to play, to get it out of my system. With the new record we feel more secure having a job and with each other. So the sound is going to be slightly different.”
What about the influences behind the thunderous breakdowns on 'Embrace The Journey' or the gentle melancholia that colours the opening of 'Quiet Distress', classic examples of their song structures which the band has referred to as “brutal with sissy choruses”. “I’d rather put on an old Metallica record and rock out to something that I used to get thrilled over when I was a kid,” Mike says.
“When I was a kid 'Master Of Puppets' was leaps and bounds ahead of most other metal bands. I loved hardcore, I grew up in the hardcore scene so bands like Agnostic Front and Bad Brains, I fell in love with bands from that era.”
Having already played with the majority of the hardcore heavyweights, is there a group they would love to tour with that they haven’t yet? “Metallica would be a childhood dream, that would be insane.
“In theory it would be great to tour with Iron Maiden, but would you want to sit in front of Iron Maiden fans and have them yell to get off the stage because they really just came to see Iron Maiden? So in that respect it’s a tough call.”
I’ve been told by some musicians that Australians behave a lot worse in the pit and that we are pretty rowdy (read, pissed). Having dominated the Soundwave stage a few years back, I ask Mike whether that reflects his experience touring here. “When you behave worse it’s actually a better thing, you guys are top of the charts.
“You get a sense that you really are excited and appreciate that bands can get there. In that regard I feel like the fans go even crazier because this could be the only time they ever get to see their favourite band.
"You guys are insane and it’s awesome, because it is a big payoff for that 26-hour flight or whatever it is. You know once you get there you’re going to have really good fun.”
'Incarnate' is available now.
