Killswitch Engage — Killswitch Engage

Killswitch Engage formed in Westfield, Massachusetts, in 1999. They went gold, then platinum, earned three Grammy nominations, swapped singers twice and, in 2025, scored their first top-ten Mainstream Rock hit. They aren't a Christian band, and singer Jesse Leach has said he doesn't "subscribe to organized religion anymore." But faith runs through their story, and their sound runs straight into Christian metalcore.

Overcast and Aftershock

The band came together after two Massachusetts metalcore bands, Overcast and Aftershock, split up. Bassist Mike D'Antonio, formerly of Overcast, teamed up with Aftershock guitarist Adam Dutkiewicz, who switched to drums. They brought in Aftershock guitarist Joel Stroetzel and singer Jesse Leach from Nothing Stays Gold. The name came from an episode of The X-Files called "Kill Switch."

Their first show, in November 1999, was opening for In Flames. The self-titled debut came out in 2000 on Ferret Music, produced by Dutkiewicz. It didn't sell much, but Ferret's Carl Severson pushed the band to Roadrunner Records, which signed them.

Kerrang! later called that debut one of metalcore's most important albums. It pointed to how its lyrics stood apart from the pessimism of metal at the time. Lines like "We must teach forgiveness and compassion for all life" were, in Kerrang!'s words, "overtly tapping into Jesse's faith while paving the way for Christian metalcore darlings like The Devil Wears Prada and August Burns Red."

Alive or Just Breathing and a new voice

Alive or Just Breathing, mixed by Andy Sneap, came out in 2002. The video for "My Last Serenade" raised the band's profile. Dutkiewicz moved to guitar, and Tom Gomes took over on drums.

Then Leach, newly married and struggling with depression, quit by email days before a show. "I didn't have the mental energy to face them," he said later. The band found Howard Jones of Blood Has Been Shed, who admitted he wasn't sold at first. "Killswitch sounded so clean," he said. "But the more I listened to it, I realized there's some really good songs here." He learned seven songs fast for his first show, at Hellfest in 2002. Justin Foley, also from Blood Has Been Shed, replaced Gomes on drums in 2003.

The End of Heartache and As Daylight Dies

The End of Heartache came out on May 11, 2004, and reached No. 21 on the Billboard 200. It went gold. The title track was the lead single for Resident Evil: Apocalypse and was nominated for the Grammy for Best Metal Performance. They toured with Slayer and played the first Taste of Chaos tour with My Chemical Romance and The Used. Jones also sang on Demon Hunter's Summer of Darkness that year.

As Daylight Dies followed on November 21, 2006, and went platinum in the US. "My Curse" became a platinum single and turned up in Guitar Hero III, Rock Band and Burnout Paradise. Their cover of Dio's "Holy Diver" reached No. 12 on the Mainstream Rock chart. Dutkiewicz's back problems forced him off several tours and into surgery, but the band kept going.

In 2006 Dutkiewicz also co-produced Underoath's Define the Great Line, the album that debuted at No. 2.

The second self-titled album and a break

The band toured Australia in 2006 and again in 2008, and made their first appearance at the Dubai Desert Rock festival. Their second self-titled album, co-produced by Dutkiewicz and Brendan O'Brien, came out in 2009 and was their first to top Billboard's Hard Rock Albums chart. In 2010, when Jones missed a tour, Leach came back for a few songs a night. Dutkiewicz and Leach then started Times of Grace, releasing The Hymn of a Broken Man in 2011.

Leach returns

In January 2012, Jones left. He later said he needed to manage type 2 diabetes, which touring had made worse. In February, Leach returned. Disarm the Descent came out in April 2013, debuted at No. 7, and its single "In Due Time" was nominated for a Grammy. Incarnate followed in 2016 and peaked at No. 6, and No. 5 in Australia.

In March 2017 they toured Australia and New Zealand, playing Alive or Just Breathing in full for its fifteenth anniversary. After surgery on Leach's vocal cords, they supported Iron Maiden in 2018.

Atonement and This Consequence

Atonement came out on August 16, 2019, and reached No. 13. It included "The Signal Fire," a duet between Leach and Jones. "Unleashed" earned the band's third Grammy nomination. In 2022 they toured North America with August Burns Red and Light the Torch, Jones's band.

In September 2024 they celebrated twenty-five years with a show at the Palladium in Worcester, Massachusetts, reuniting with Jones, and supported Iron Maiden in Australia. This Consequence came out on February 21, 2025. Its single "I Believe" reached No. 4 on the Mainstream Rock chart, the band's first top-ten hit there. In 2026 they toured North America with Machine Head and played Louder Than Life, and announced an Australian headline tour for later in the year.

Faith in the lyrics

Leach's father was a minister, and some of his lyrics draw on that upbringing. In 2025 he said, "Even though I don't subscribe to organized religion anymore, I like using biblical words here and there to sort of tie in the themes."

That's why Killswitch Engage belong in this story. Their early, hope-filled lyrics came from a singer raised in the church. Their guitarist produced one of Underoath's biggest records, and their second singer sang on a Demon Hunter album. Kerrang! credits their debut with paving the way for Christian metalcore bands. Whatever their members believe today, the line from Westfield to Solid State is easy to trace.