This is the kind of metal that ends up on rock radio, Myspace pages, and Madden video game soundtracks.

February 11, 2008 · Print This Article

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Bring up Massacheusetts metal band Killswitch Engage with a heavy music fan and you’ll quickly find out one or two things – they love it because it’s good, clean hardcore music, or they hate it because it’s the kind of thing that you’ll hear on repeat at Hot Topic. While I don’t have anything against Hot Topic or the music they play in their fine establishments – though they could use a little more Aqua – I’ll be the first to admit that I’m usually in the latter camp. However, the group’s new album As Daylight Dies has gone a long way toward changing my mind.

It’s difficult to have not heard Killswitch Engage by now – they’re hardcore music that straddles the line between heavy and mainstream. This is the kind of metal that ends up on rock radio, Myspace pages, and Madden video game soundtracks. It’s important, then, to not go into As Daylight Dies expecting a face-melting head-bursting metal extravaganza; Killswitch Engage caters to a casual sort of metalhead, the kind that isn’t ashamed to turn around and enjoy some Jack Johnson afterward.

As Daylight Dies shows that there’s nothing wrong with that at all. Rather, Killswitch Engage has finally managed to combine the genres that influence them into a unique sound. For instance, the single “The Arms of Sorrow”, a slower, more melodic track that combines shredding guitar and percussion work with more mainstream vocals to produce something else entirely. You might hear music like this on the radio, but that doesn’t mean you can’t headbang to it without glancing about nervously…unless you’re in public.

Other highlights on the album include “My Curse”, an angry track that stands opposite to “The Arms of Sorrow” by focusing on metal rather than mainstream influence, “Reject Yourself”, which focuses on the melodic side of the band’s sound, and a kickass rendition of Dio’s classic “Holy Diver”. This is an album that rock fans who only dabble in metal can still enjoy, yet it’s still heavy enough to convert hardcore metal fans.

All in all, Killswitch Engage has done well for themselves with As Daylight Dies. Add half a star to this review score if you’re a mainstream fan who enjoys metal, subtract half a star if you’re a metal fan who can tolerate mainstream, and give it a shot one way or the other.

Cory