Killswitch Engage

Killswitch Engage emerged from Westfield, Massachusetts, in 1999 and became one of metalcore’s most commercially successful acts. The band’s early lineup brought together musicians from the disbanded Massachusetts groups Overcast and Aftershock, with bassist Mike D’Antonio, guitarist Adam Dutkiewicz, guitarist Joel Stroetzel and vocalist Jesse Leach among its founding members. Its name was taken from the title of an episode of The X-Files, “Kill Switch.”

Leach sang on the band’s first two albums before leaving in 2002. Howard Jones took over as lead vocalist and fronted Killswitch Engage through a period of wider recognition. The 2004 album The End of Heartache reached No. 21 on the Billboard 200, earned RIAA gold certification for more than 500,000 shipments in the United States, and produced the Grammy-nominated title track. Its follow-up, As Daylight Dies, was certified platinum in the US and included the platinum-selling single “My Curse.”

Jones departed in 2012, and Leach returned to the role he had held at the band’s formation. Disarm the Descent, released in 2013, was the first Killswitch Engage album following his return and reached the US top 10. The album’s “In Due Time” received a Grammy nomination, while “Unleashed” brought the group another nomination in 2020. Killswitch Engage has also received multiple Boston Music Awards and Metal Hammer Golden Gods Awards. In 2014, OC Weekly and Ultimate Guitar each called the band the greatest metalcore band of all time.

The current lineup consists of Leach on vocals, Stroetzel and Dutkiewicz on guitars, D’Antonio on bass, and drummer Justin Foley. The band released its ninth album, This Consequence, on February 21, 2025.