In a brand new interview with United Rock Nations, KILLSWITCH ENGAGE singer Jesse Leach spoke in regards to the band’s upcoming album, “This Consequence”, which due on February 21, 2025 through Metallic Blade. “This Consequence” is KILLSWITCH ENGAGE‘s ninth LP general, and sixth with Leach, who rejoined the band in 2012. Requested what the most important problem was in making the brand new file, Jesse stated (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): “I believe for me eager to be, and I exploit this phrase loosely, related, however related to me and my bandmembers. I needed what I needed to say to excite them, however I additionally wanted it to be real. I wanted it to be one thing that after I checked out these lyrics, I believed, ‘Sure. That is precisely what I wanna say.’
“I went by way of — I do not know — seven, eight songs the place I used to be type of simply throwing it out to see what would stick,” he continued. “And people guys have been, like, ‘This does not really feel such as you’re actually giving us your greatest.’ So having that form of rejection from them initially was very onerous. It form of felt like I used to be turning into insecure. I used to be questioning if I had it in me. However that changed into a willpower to rediscover myself as a author, to go deeper, to faucet into issues that I by no means tapped in earlier than, and to form of look outdoors of myself. I imply, after all the pieces we have been by way of, there’s a lot to attract from. There’s a lot to tug from. So I began pulling from issues that I used to be seeing on mainstream media. I began pulling from tales that I heard from those who they have been by way of. I began pulling from excessive relationships of abuse and simply type of dialing all of them right into a story — clearly coming from me and the best way that I noticed and felt about these issues, however it ended up turning into rather more of a worldview versus simply me going, ‘I, me, I.’ It was extra about us — ‘That is about us.’ Therefore the title ‘This Consequence’. It is about us — all of us. How do you reply to those conditions? How do you modify your habits? What classes have you ever realized? And realizing that with all the pieces that you simply do, there’s going to be a response.
“So, the massive image to me is what I used to be specializing in and find out how to find out how to heal our PTSD from all the pieces we have gone by way of and realizing that we’re nonetheless all going by way of it,” Leach added. “We could not notice it, however we’re. And the way can we permit the surface sources which can be continuously manipulating us to manage our minds and to proceed to maintain us divided? The problem was how do I crack that code? How do I get that message by way of to folks? And I did the most effective I may. And I believe I did fairly rattling effectively.”
Requested if writing about all these subjects was a type of remedy for him, Leach stated: “Yeah, completely. Completely, it’s. And I believe it’s a necessity. You may’t keep away from it. And I believe I prevented it so much in the course of the pandemic. I needed nothing to do with it, ‘trigger it was such a unstable time. I believe we’re all form of coming down off that, and it is not so intense the place individuals are really open to discussions of, or possibly you were not one hundred pc correct or appropriate in your perception. Possibly you will have room to be fallacious right here, and in that case, what did you study from that? And the way do you progress ahead with out having that assumption being a part of your vocabulary? I believe all of that is essential. And as a author, how do I write it in such a approach the place you as a listener can draw your individual conclusion? So I am not providing you with the reply. I am asking you to consider this factor. After which what do you consider that? You because the listener can form of put the reply on that query. And that is actually what I attempted to do — writing with a broad sufficient brushstroke the place the music may be yours. I penned the lyrics, however I very a lot need you to form of take the torch and run with it.”
In a separate interview with Joshua Toomey of the “Speak Toomey” podcast, Leach acknowledged in regards to the “darkish”, “indignant” and “aggressive” nature of “This Consequence”: “Yeah, I believe indignant, darkish and aggressive, for higher or for worse, is type of what the world wants proper now, I believe, therapeutically talking. I believe loads of us can relate to frustration, anger, betrayal, all these issues, and that is type of what I highlighted lyrically with this album; I used to be actually specializing in that stuff. However I’ll say this: in case you actually learn into the lyrics, there is a positivity by way of a righteous anger, anger that desires to form of wake folks up and have folks select their very own path as an alternative of simply the blind main the blind, which is what we see a lot in society and our governments and arranged faith and all these items that management us as folks. It’s extremely a lot about breaking out of the matrix, if you’ll, and carving your individual path. And there is a righteous anger beneath all of it, and that is the place the positivity lies. However I believe with steel music, the wonderful thing about it’s you can speak about darkish stuff and it is therapeutic. That is why loads of us get into this sort of music.”
Jesse additionally talked in regards to the lyrical inspiration for the primary single from “This Consequence”, a music referred to as “Without end Aligned”, which was made accessible in November. Talking particularly in regards to the line “now my tongue should confess”, Jesse stated: “Yeah, I am at all times weaving out and in… I used to be raised by a minister, I used to be raised in a Christian house, so although I do not subscribe to organized faith anymore, I like utilizing biblical phrases right here and there to form of tie within the themes. I am very a lot a believer in in God, if you’ll, usually. I do know folks roll their eyes when different folks say that, however my journey has been such the place I’ve simply seen a lot deeper issues that I do not assume may be outlined by a specific human organized faith. And ‘Without end Aligned’ is about that. It is about love. It is about, before everything, the music was impressed by the love I’ve for my spouse and the connection we have been capable of have in the course of the pandemic, particularly, the place it was simply the 2 of us, no person else, and actually studying what love and sacrifice is, after which weaving that into what I imagine God is. God is love, to maintain it actually basic for folks to grasp. We will attempt to faucet into that as people, that phrase ‘love’, however it’s far past human comprehension. In order that music could be very a lot about being damaged and in a darkish place and discovering salvation by way of love.”
Elsewhere within the chat, Leach touched upon his development as a vocalist because the launch of 2019’s “Atonement” LP, saying: “Fact be informed, [‘This Consequence’] was very troublesome for me to write down and form of discover my inspiration once more. And even vocally, studying new methods, just like the vocal fry, and making an attempt so as to add that into my outdated approach and nonetheless sound like me, it was a protracted, onerous course of.
“Particularly after my vocal surgical procedure in 2018, I relearned find out how to converse in a different way — I converse in a different way than I did,” he defined. “I am extra measured; I be certain that my voice is positioned in the proper place. And thru that, it went into my vocals, my singing, particularly. I used to be actually specializing in my singing before everything to remain in key and never go flat or sharp. Then it was, like, my screams have been — I used to be so paranoid. I used to be actually fearful about… We do three reveals in a row. That fourth present, I am, like, ‘It is getting troublesome. I can really feel the swelling occurring.’ So I used to be actually learning vocal fry, ‘trigger you are able to do loads of cool stuff with fry, however me with my voice, it has such a signature sound to it, I assume, in keeping with Adam [Dutkiewicz, KILLSWITCH ENGAGE guitarist and producer], no less than, that if I simply went into that new approach fully, the lows have been lacking one thing, my yelling. It completely different. So I used to be going into these demos simply doing fry, saving my voice, particularly considering that, as soon as I get to the studio, it is going to be fatiguing; we’re doing four- or five-hour classes. However I stored falling flat and the voice simply did not sound correct. For a few of the excessive stuff, it really works, however for the decrease, mid stuff and for the dying steel growls, that is all old style… It is the old-school approach, the best way all of us began doing it within the late ’80s and early ’90s. So I’ve realized, fortunately, by way of loads of trial and error, and this album had so much to do with it, to mix the kinds. So I can do my old-school stuff, after which I can form of mix in a few of the vocal fry to hit these loopy, maniacal-sounding highs with out it destroying my voice.”
“Atonement” was launched in August 2019 through Metallic Blade Data within the U.S. and Sony Music Leisure in the remainder of the world. The disc featured visitor appearances by former KILLSWITCH ENGAGE singer Howard Jones and TESTAMENT frontman Chuck Billy.
KILLSWITCH ENGAGE will embark on a headline tour in March 2025. It is their first tour of North America since late 2022. The trek will function assist from KUBLAI KHAN TX, FIT FOR A KING and FROZEN SOUL, and can kick off on March 5 in Nashville and runs by way of April 12 in Portland, Maine.