Killswitch Engage is celebrating an astonishing, 25-year career as one of the most vital and genre-defining bands of the ’00s and continues its incredible legacy by unleashing “This Consequence,” a masterfully executed record that captures the band’s signature sound all the while leveling up on teeth-baring tracks like “Forever Aligned,” “I Believe,” and “Collusion”.
The album arrives via Metal Blade Records on February 21, 2025, and can be pre-ordered HERE. Stream the album’s first single “Forever Aligned” below.
“‘Forever Aligned’ is one of those songs that is not just about us as humans, our love, and connection, but that connection to the unknown, the greater power, the universe, or God,” explains Leach. “It feels like a really good first song to release not just sonically, but lyrically, as it is all about connection. The device of world we live in could use a lot more connectivity.”
Regarding the album, Leach continues, “This Consequence, to me, is the combination of everything the past five years has thrown at us as a band, as humans, and society as a whole. This album is just as much about everybody and their stories as it is me about my journey personally. Sonically, I love the combination of everybody’s ideas and contributions on this album. It feels more like a collaboration than the past few records have been. When all is said and done, I wouldn’t change anything about this album.”
He finishes, “I think it’s the exact record we needed to make. I’m honored and proud of what we all were able to create and refine through this music and message.”
Killswitch Engage first shook the structure of heavy music upon climbing out of snowy industrialized Western Massachusetts in 2000. A musical outlier, the band pioneered a union of thrashed-out European guitar pyrotechnics, East Coast hardcore spirit, on-stage hijinks, and enlightened lyricism that set the pace for what the turn-of-the-century deemed heavy.
2002’s “Alive Or Just Breathing” became avowed as a definitive album, being named among “The Top 100 Greatest Metal Albums of the Decade” by Decibel and celebrated by everyone from Metal Hammer to Revolver. Not only did they bust open the floodgates for dozens to follow, but they also garnered three GRAMMY® Award nominations in the category of “Best Metal Performance” in 2005, 2014, and 2019, respectively, a gold certification for “The End of Heartache” [2004], and a platinum certification for “As Daylight Dies” [2006].
The group landed three consecutive Top 10 debuts on the Billboard Top 200 with “Killswitch Engage” [2009], “Disarm The Descent” [2013], and their career-high best bow at #6 with “Incarnate” [2016]. The latter two releases, along with 2019’s “Atonement,” would also both capture #1 on the Top Rock Albums and Top Hard Rock Albums charts. The band’s total streams are nearing 3 billion to date, while they’ve remained consummate road warriors who’ve sold out countless headline tours and have shared stages with everyone from Iron Maiden to Slipknot to Slayer to My Chemical Romance to Mastodon to Parkway Drive, which is a testament to their ability to cross genres and appeal to all fans of hard rock.