Killswitch Engage Are Set To Flick The Switch On The Upcoming Tour

Legends of modern heavy music, Killswitch Engage return to Australia and New Zealand next month, bringing more than two decades of genre-defining metal to the stage with their biggest Antipodean headline shows yet, joined by special guests, British heavyweights, Sylosis. The Western Massachusetts metallers helped redraw the map for modern metal in the early 2000’s, fusing blistering European‑inspired guitar work, East Coast hardcore energy and emotionally charged, uplifting lyrics into a sound that changed the game for a generation of bands and fans.

Across a landmark career, Killswitch Engage have earned three Grammy nominations for Best Metal Performance, multiple gold and platinum records, billions of streams and forged a reputation as one of the most powerful live acts in heavy music. From classic albums like Alive Or Just Breathing, The End of Heartache and As Daylight Dies through to chart‑topping releases Disarm the Descent, Incarnate and 2019’s Atonement, they’ve consistently raised the bar while packing out venues and festival main stages around the world. Fresh from celebrating twenty five years as a band and the release of their latest album This Consequence, which featured blockbuster single I Believe, the biggest radio hit of their career, Killswitch Engage are set to deliver a career‑spanning set for their Australian and New Zealand fans.

Less than three weeks to go to another Australian tour. You must be getting really fully amped and raring to go, to get back?
Oh yeah, absolutely, man. I love, love, love, love touring Australia. Super fun.

Outside of the US, has Australia always been up there as one of those favourite places for you guys to play?
Yeah, and I would say the last time we played, they really solidified it. You know, touring with Iron Maiden is one thing, but the sideshows we did, the small sideshows in front of, like, you know, three to four hundred capacity crowds were some of the best shows we’ve ever played. Like, the energy was just unreal. So yeah, Australia has a lot of love for us, and it goes both ways.

Does it continue to blow you away that as each year rolls past, the interest and the supporter base for Killswitch Engage just gets even bigger and bigger, and new fans are finding you guys all the time? That must be really humbling?
It’s humbling and it honestly gives me a sense of purpose. Bigger than just the music, there’s a connection there with our audience that feels bigger than just music. There’s something else happening there and there’s a lot of love and a lot of stories that have been told to me by fans who can identify with the lyrics, so there’s a real powerful thing going on there that I think is kind of unspoken. It’s just in the ether, if you will.

There’s this surge of young fans coming through. Does that keep it fresh and exciting for you guys, especially creatively?
Yeah, and that’s something that I really want to push for. I think we had a couple of tracks in this last record stepping outside of the norm, pushing into different genres, developing our sound even this late in the game. I’m excited to do different things. There are a couple songs in this latest record that I think sound completely different for us, and that, to me, is exciting, the fact that we can still evolve and still be somewhat relevant to a core group of people who are now bringing their children to shows. So you got the parents and the kids. It’s mind‑blowing.

I was reading that whatever happens next, the focus is going to be going harder, heavier, and even faster. Is that what you’ve got in the back of your mind?
That’s what I’m pushing for. But to be real about it, whatever comes out, comes out. You can’t force something. It all depends on what the guys want to write. I don’t write the music itself, but I’m encouraging hard and heavy, for sure.

Even a thrash EP? That’s going to be interesting, even if it’s just something you flirt with in the rehearsal space. That must be exciting to try anything?
There’s a song off our new record called Where It Dies, it’s like a good thirty‑second intro and man, when we play that live, I just get so amped up. We have our roots in hardcore, so I would love a bit of a return to form and embrace our roots, the thrashy, hardcore‑sounding stuff. I’m totally into that.

For the Australian tour set list, is that leaning more towards The Consequence, or are you going for the best and greatest of Killswitch Engage?
We’ve been trying to rotate at least four new ones, potentially five and rotate out certain stuff, but you’re still going to hear pretty much a song off every record, in addition to the new ones as well. I think it’s important to play what people are expecting to hear, but also to push the new material as well. If it were up to me, I would play six or seven new songs. But, you know, I’m one of five, so my vote counts one‑fifth.

So have you been dusting off the Aussie slang in preparation for coming down under?
It’s something that I really enjoy and once you’re there long enough, you sort of start saying certain things like I just put a Y after certain things or I love all the little dialect things. I think probably my favourite word that you guys use so well is cunt. It’s just like… it’s such a… it’s a term of endearment, and it’s hysterical to me, but here in the States, it’s such a no‑no word, but I think it’s hysterical. I love it.

Are there any favourite spots or things you love doing here, or any favourite cities?
Melbourne to me has the food. The food scene there is ridiculous. Their little Italy is incredible. I’m pretty much a food and wine guy, and Australia’s got some of the best wine in the world. So yeah, I’m looking forward to sampling some nice wines and some food. I think those are my top things for Australia, but other than that, if I have time, it’s trying to sightsee as much as I possibly can and of course, beaches, that’s a huge… for all of us in the band. Adam and I especially, we just love the beach, and you guys have some of the best beaches in the world.

The Consequence, fantastic album. Has that set the platform for what might come next, especially when you read the fan feedback and response?
I never know what’s coming next. Again, it’s really up to what those guys write, but you know, I think one thing I’ve embraced a lot on that record was anger and frustration, and sort of more of a righteous anger. It’s not based in anger, hatred rather, it’s based more in frustration for where we are in the world. Our division, our bickering, our fighting, the strategy of divide, rule, and conquer by the powers that be. That’s really the main focus for me on this record. It’s just about feeling betrayed as a society, and trying to find a solution, trying to find something positive through all the negativity that we’re experiencing. It’s just on display in front of us on social media on a regular basis. So for me, that’s my stance and what I’m trying to push, more unity and more clarity, people seeing the real truth of things instead of being spoon‑fed division.

Is that lyrical content something you’re looking to explore on whatever might be next? Because it still seems like there’s no shortage of things to write about around that at the moment.
Yeah, wanting people to just wake up and see through the haze, see through the smokescreen that they’re continually putting in front of us. You know, here in the States, it’s just almost like a cartoon. Like, you just wake up, and it’s like, what now? What are we doing now? What did this person say now? Like, it’s just… it’s beyond frustrating, and I have plenty to write about when it comes to that stuff. But I don’t want to bombard people with one thing more than anything. I think there’s diversity in what we present as a record, and I think focusing on the love, the positivity, the overcoming those types of things eventually make their way into my lyrics. Anger is kind of the forefront of my mind, a desire to see change in the world.

Do you think that’s going to be something that we’ll start seeing more of, not necessarily just by Killswitch Engage, but a lot of other bands going back to that more traditional kind of sound where there is more of the yelling rather than the screaming?
I don’t know, it depends, because I feel like there’s a whole generation of kids who are doing all kinds of vocal acrobatics, and making noises that are beyond what I thought a death metal voice could do, and I find that interesting, but a lot of it starts to sound very similar. So, to me, what I really enjoy is hearing a band that has a very unique vocalist. You know, something that interests me is like, do something else, like, what else can you do with your voice? And having a personality. That to me is more important than technique that just… I don’t know, I guess maybe I’m a little old school, but I love heart on your sleeve, your voice is cracking, and there’s a lot of personality in what you’re saying, and you don’t sound like everybody else. I like those kind of vocals.

Is that the tricky balance, being able to push forward creatively, but still keep that connection and not be too dissimilar from what fans already know and love about you guys?
I think that is the challenge, yeah, but I’m all for it. I think we can still bring new elements in. Or even bring old elements back. If you listen to our first record, it is raw. Some of that stuff’s super fun for me to listen to now because I was like, wow, I was really going for it back then. I think the important thing too is balancing the technique because as I get older too, I have to be careful with my voice. So it’s a matter of trying to find that middle ground between technique, and then just sounding like the passion is tearing through. That’s the stuff that gives you chills, that’s the stuff that, why I love music is when I hear a vocalist bleeding their heart and you can hear it in their voice even in the quiet melodic stuff. If you sing it a certain way, it just hits your nerves, and I love that stuff. So that’s what I try to go for. I want to give people chills, whether it’s with an impassioned scream or a melodic vocal. That’s the stuff for me, that’s the buzz, when your hair stands up on your arm when you’re listening.

When you talk about those chills, are there any bands, old or new, that excite you and give you those chills?
So, yeah, there’s a band called High Vis, a British band, punk rock, I guess punk rock is a good term for it. Hardcore punk and they have a song called Trauma Bond. When I first heard it, I had tears in my eyes. It was just like, it’s so impassioned, and it’s about abuse, it’s about trauma bonds, it just hits home for me on such a different level. Then I got to see them, actually, in Australia, they opened up for Speed, another great hardcore band. Getting to see that live, we got off stage at the stadium, you know, Iron Maiden, and I ran across town to catch High Vis’s set, and I got to jump on stage, grab the microphone and sing that song with the singer, and then I jumped into the pit and danced for a while, and yeah, that was a fun night.

Interview By Rob Lyon

Catch Killswitch Engage on tour with Sylosis on the following dates, tickets from SBM Presents…