Westfield, MA-based metalcore kings
Killswitch Engage's fifth full-length album (and second eponymous release) was co-produced by
Brendan O'Brien (
Bruce Springsteen,
AC/DC,
Aerosmith,
Mastodon), resulting in the group's most commercially viable collection of progressive/thrash/emo-metal to date. Where 2006's
As Daylight Dies hinted at an accelerated focus on the more melodic aspects of extreme metal,
Killswitch Engage cements the notion. After a typically brutal opener that epitomizes the band's penchant for scorching thrash-heavy verses and sweeping, melodious choruses, the quintet spits out the radio-ready "Starting Over." Flanked by dual guitar leads that echo classic
Iron Maiden and shot through with a truly great vocal take from lead singer
Howard Jones (who sounds remarkably like a classically trained
Trent Reznor throughout the album), it's one of the album's finest, though ultimately divisive moments. It sets a significantly different template for the remainder of the record, trading tight machine-gun riffs ("Save Me," "A Light in a Darkened World") for angst-fueled midtempo dirges ("Lost," "This Is Goodbye") that might disappoint fans who feel that the punk-infused slow-burn post-hardcore albums like
Alive or Just Breathing and
End of Heartache are the barometers for which all future endeavors must be compared. ~ James Christopher Monger