Killswitch Engage was formed in Massachusetts in 1999. In the mid-2000's they became one of my favorite metal bands. Their 2002′s Alive Or Just Breathing, with singer Jesse Leach, is considered a genre defining record that basically gave life to metalcore. The band, led by Adam Dutkiewicz (lead guitar), pioneered a union of thrash metal guitar riffs and clean singing with East Coast hardcore attitude and screaming. The following album, The End of Heartache (2004) with singer Howard Jones, is another masterpiece. Since then the band has been successful both commercially and with critics. In 2012 Jesse returned to the band and recorded two albums (2013 and 2016).
Atonement is now their 8th album and third since Jesse's return. The cover illustration was created by Richey Beckett (Mastodon). It does remind me of the cover of Once More 'Round the Sun. The album opener couldn't be better. "Unleashed" starts doomy followed by a scream from Jesse Leach that from the get-go demonstrates the benefits of his vocal lessons post surgery. The track is actually mid-tempo but heavy and very emotional. The other single "I Am Broken Too" is another mid-tempo, melodic and emotional tune. At first I didn't think much of it, but soon enough I was hooked, damn you Adam, you catchiness wizard! "Take Control" follows the same lines, but doesn't achieve the same results. While Jesse's performance is probably his best on record, the album is elevated another notch by the two songs with guest singers: "The Signal Fire" (Featuring good old Howard Jones) and "The Crownless King" (Featuring Chuck Billy of Testament). Two amazing songs. "Know Your Enemy" is a monstrous track and features some of the sickest riffs I've heard this year, including a guitar duo certainly inspired by recently opening for Iron Maiden. "Us Against the World" is another song with some Maiden influences and some amazing drumming. When you may think the album will lose steam during the last third, we are blessed with two tracks as good as any.
With 11 well-crafted, selected and sequenced songs in just 40 minutes, Atonement is a pure metal pleasure to listen to. The guitar work is superb and the vocals top notch. The bass and drums do a fantastic job holding it all together. The formula is not different from previous albums, great riffs, catchy melodies combined with hardcore heaviness and the balanced clean and screaming vocals. After three albums since Jesse's return, I just wonder, and kind of hope, if the next album will be a step up with some more risk taking and growth. But then again, why change a winning team? As far as enjoying 2019's Atonement, I really have no material complains and just can't help putting the album on repeat.
SCORE: 80/100
DR: 6
Genre: Metaclcore
Released by Metal Blade Records on August 16th, 2019
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