Are they breathing, or just alive?

Killswitch Engage - As Daylight Dies
Posted by Tim Karan on 01-Mar-07 @ 11:40 AM

[3/5] True Killswitch Engage devotees openly admit that the most promising thing the band have done in the last year is release a cover of Dio's "Holy Diver." Spending so much time on the frontier of metalcore while also reaping the benefits of true metal's resurgence can wear on you when you're the one setting the bar. 2004's The End Of Heartache established this Boston quintet as one of America's finest metal acts-few bands could interweave melody and brutality as seamlessly. As with any genre-bending sound, the imitators started to pop up in droves (As I Lay Dying and Trivium, we're looking in your direction), making the two-and-a-half-year gap between Heartache and As Daylight Dies seem like it was actually filled with lots of Killswitch records. Perhaps lead guitarist Adam Dutkiewicz, who moonlights as a highly regarded producer for groups like Underoath and Unearth, has been giving away the band's songwriting secrets.

If you can't get enough of the bands employing the Killswitch model, then this is certainly a record-of-the-year candidate. Tracks like "Unbroken" and "My Curse" rock with the same effortless flow between ire and beauty that one might expect. Lead vocalist Howard Jones once again puts on a sensational display of range, particularly in the album's hard-hitting closer "Reject Yourself," though his melodies throughout the record lack the same epic quality that radio singles "Rose Of Sharyn" and "The End Of Heartache" possessed. Metal fans can be easily coaxed into enjoying a record through some strategically placed breakdowns and guitar solos (how else would Iron Maiden still be writing new songs?), but in the case of As Daylight Dies, the lack of growth really sticks out.

Anyone who's had the opportunity to see Killswitch Engage live (or perhaps enjoyed their recent live DVD release (Set This) World Ablaze) knows that they don't take their music quite as seriously as your run-of-the-mill, angst-ridden long-haired metal band. The number of guitar squeals quadruples, and Dutkiewicz has a penchant for performing in cut-offs and a cape. That lack of seriousness may help explain what As Daylight Dies has to offer. Is this what two-and-a-half years of writing and recording really yields? A lack of evolution isn't explicitly a bad thing, but in the face of so much imitation, fans don't want to hear a record that sounds like all the songs you tossed out when you recorded the last album.

For better or worse, Killswitch Engage are the exact same band they were two years ago-and they were pretty damn good two years ago. Someone page Ginsu, because metalcore's cutting edge is in dire need of a sharpening. (ROADRUNNER) Kevin Wade

ROCKS LIKE: Killswitch Engage's Alive Or Just Breathing • Killswitch Engage's The End Of Heartache • Shadows Fall's The War Within


Official Website: http://www.roadrunnerrecords.com