Killswitch Engage
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Killswitch Engage

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“If you ask those guys, I’m sure if you even ask Howard, three or four years ago the band was not in a good place,” Leach says. “The energy wasn’t there, the vibes weren’t there. The last record they put out, nobody’s really stoked on it.”

Indeed, title of the new album – Disarm the Descent – is not merely alliterative, it’s a mission statement. “It’s something that me and the bass player Mike [D’Antonio] talked about,” Leach says. “This sort of redemption – falling down and hitting rock bottom and just pulling yourself up to find redemption. That’s kind of what the whole record’s about.”

Leach left Killswitch not long after releasing 2002’s metalcore paradigm, Alive or Just Breathing. The rest of the band pushed forward, quickly recruiting Jones and releasing three further albums (The End of Heartache in 2004, As Daylight Dies in 2006 and Killswitch Engage in 2009) before medical complications prompted Jones’ departure. While some fans certainly rejoiced upon Leach’s return, plenty of listeners would’ve only been acquainted with the Jones-led incarnation of the band.

“When we were writing the record,” Leach says, “I tried to really focus on the task at hand and block out all the white noise of expectations or criticisms. I tried to focus on just putting out the best record I can without reading too much on outside influence and not making too much about being anywhere near the type of singer that Howard is. [I wanted] to put out a good record for the sake of putting a good record out. Once that was said and done there was definitely a part of me that was wondering what the reaction would be.”

Meanwhile, there was speculation among the band’s older fans about how closely the new record would resemble Alive or Just Breathing – the last batch of songs this group worked on together. “I think it’s impossible to make another Alive or Just Breathing,” says Leach.“That album captured such a different time. Hopefully that’s what we did with this record: captured a moment in time.”

When Leach left Killswitch Engage ten years ago it wasn’t because he’d grown tired of the music or run into creative hostility with the other members. Rather, he was struggling to cope with the touring lifestyle and thus resolved he wasn’t suited to a career in music. However, he couldn’t stay away from music for too long. In the intervening years he’s assumed lead vocal duties in southern metal group Seemless, the more aggressive sounding The Empire Shall Fall and experimental metalcore duo Times of Grace (a collaboration with Killswitch guitarist/producer Adam Dutkiewicz). Still, music never became his chief vocation. “Prior to joining the band,” he explains, “I was working a regular job behind a bar, which I’ve always done – I work regular jobs, I’m a regular working class guy.”

Given his past grievances, rejoining a full-time touring band was probably a daunting prospect. But Leach has learned to acknowledge the gig’s privileged nature. “[First single] In Due Time especially, it’s about my experience. [This is] almost like a second chance. All the struggle that I’ve gone through, all the pain and suffering that I put myself through, it all reveals itself.”

Leach’s revitalised outlook rubbed off on the rest of the band, too. Even if it’s not always evident in the songs, genuine positivity underlined the Disarm the Descent recording sessions. “It was a pretty fun family atmosphere for all of us,” Leach explains. “Coming back into the band after being away for so long, and just being genuine friends on the basis of all that, it was exciting for us. It was a new lease on life for those guys and a total change of life for me.”

The record’s gutsy vitality clearly reflects everyone’s in-studio enthusiasm. Leach notes that his close relationship with Dutkiewicz was hugely important for his harmonious re-entrance into the group. “He’s the guy that I need in the chair when I work; listening to what I have to say and helping me along here and there, correcting me or helping me refurbish or refine certain things. He’s sort of my creative/musical partner. He’s a soul brother of mine for sure.”

Since dropping Disarm the Descent,the band’s touring program has been more expansive than ever, taking in Russia, South Africa and everywhere in between. They’re coming back to Australia this week and if anyone’s worried about Leach’s former distaste for touring besmirching his onstage attitude, well, they can rest easy.  “I come out and I’m non-stop,” he boasts. “I run around like crazy. Between me and Adam it’s like an aerobics program out there. It’s definitely tough but I love it. I’ve fallen in love with it; it’s become a part of me. It’s not something I see that I’m going to stop doing anytime soon.”  

BY AUGUSTUS WELBY