ALBUM REVIEW: This Consequence – Killswitch Engage

Imagine the scenario: your band releases a critically acclaimed album and you sit on the cusp of touring only for a global pandemic to cease any and all operation. The album you and your bandmates poured everything into becomes lost to the ether of restriction and rumination. You have a choice: sit and let the darkness of the world’s turmoil consume your unit, or emerge from the prison of COVID-19 armed with a musical suite filled with your venomous proclivity to fight back. KILLSWITCH ENGAGE answered the ravenous call within and has arisen from the ashes with the blistering new album This Consequence.

Wings of Atonement (2019) tattered and clipped, the metalcore titans seek to claw back lost time and do so in devastating fashion. The angularity of opening Abandon Us is a mission statement to expose not only the failures of the powers that be but our own. Sat atop of a bed of hardcore inspired riffs from the tandem of Adam Dutkiewicz and Joel Stroetzel sits Jesse Leach’s monolithic growls and ingrained frustration. From the off, this is the KILLSWITCH ENGAGE we are not only familiar with but had been craving. Nuanced aggression uncovering “the system of your violence” seamlessly transitions into the melodic chorus which made their headlining slot at Bloodstock in 2023 so triumphant. The shorter Discordant Nation goes straight for the jugular. While it’s certainly a case of kicking the doors of Congress off its hinges, this ruthlessness doesn’t compromise the richness of Justin Foley’s blast beats. The juxtaposition between this and the melodic vocal rousing a call to arms proves KILLSWITCH ENGAGE has always been the gold standard of metalcore. With that said, the fickle nature of reservation creeps in as guitars swell toward the point of explosion, yet with the detonation of the mosh call, it seems the brood let their foot off the accelerator for a moment.

Aftermath completes the premature shifting of gears with its murky opening. Guitars are wonderfully thick and atmospheric. Dust settling perhaps. Yet KILLSWITCH ENGAGE shatters the illusion as the “eradication of our promised land” comes with cymbal heavy beats and the personification of distress. “This is a consequence of people lost and dispossessed” Leach bellows and this seems like a typical, yet vastly improved KILLSWITCH ENGAGE. However with the introduction of higher screeching and the bounce between Leach and Dutkiewicz toward track’s end lays the foundation that something lies beneath. Lead single Forever Aligned’s droning guitar feels reminiscent of Always between transforming into the hardcore punk which KILLSWITCH ENGAGE gestated from. Fry screams perfectly executed against the unifying nature of the chorus create an incredibly catchy track full of hooks from both guitar and vocal. A solo is teased yet never becomes fully realised, personifying the proclamation “deliver me a revelation”.

The revelation comes with the recent single I Believe. The ushering in of the KILLSWITCH ENGAGE ballad will always draw comparison to the standard setting Always or would it touch the pedestal of In Due Time? In reality it does a touch of both. The verses have a wonderful cadence to them which allows the track to become the earworm it was created to be. “Self-inflicted paranoia hindering our sight” isn’t necessarily sung either, the track almost becoming a reading of Jesse Leach’s journal. Is it a typical KILLSWITCH ENGAGE ballad? Yes but this is what makes it a stand out moment. It weaves its way into the broken souls and tells them its “time to let the light guide you”, let go of that which weighs you down. It’s a beautiful tableau of resilience and the innate power of humanity to adapt “come what may”.

Business quickly resumes with the driving force of Where It Dies. Disgusting riffs rattle against the pounding drums of war. Squealing notes puncture the atmosphere left by its predecessor. What is left is a powerful moment. Preaching of there being “no one left to manipulate” with a mix of fries and gutturals. Mike D’Antonio’s bassline reverberates through the brain cavity. “It is too late for your repentance” drips with poisonous vengeance and the promise of “you drown in your misery” leads to perhaps the most technical guitar solo KILLSWITCH ENGAGE has ever produced. When paired with Collusion, a track exposing the fascist conspiracists governments have become, This Consequence takes the fire of Atonement and pours gasoline on it until it becomes the inferno we have been presented with. “The revolution cannot be contained” has the threads of Know Your Enemy, but it is the declaration of “stop waiting for a symbolic saviour” which slices through the sinew and illuminates so many of us for what we are. It seems this band haven’t just improved in sonic fashion going by Leach’s lyricism. Not one to stop there, influences of death metal come through in the closing growls and screeches. A prime reason of the band’s longevity comes from the willingness to reinvent certain facets of themselves whilst maintaining their core being.

The Fall Of Us pulls from earlier Abandon Us with angular riffs but makes them denser. The powerhouse rhythm section of Foley and D’Antonio command attention for the longest yet most oppressive track of the album. Four minutes may seem like a long time when compared to runtimes between two and three minutes but the nuances both vocally and instrumentally ramp up the replayability factor. Again speaking of our own faults such as “normalising your arrogance” makes for compelling listening. But it is the latter half of the song which piques curiosity. It grinds to a crawl as Leach bathes in the muddy instrumental whispering self-talk of fear and hate before these become ramblings of the “mirror of the darkness you hide”. Walls close in with the spiral of “your weakness consumes you” punctuated by a crushing growl of fear and spite. It’s this spite which fuels Broken Glass. Another faster track maybe? On the contrary. This is no ballad. It is an exercise in the calculated beasts we become when consumed by rage. Simplistic instrumental breeds discomfort. The measured nature of the layered vocal which comprise the chorus stiffens the spine. Squeals of guitar hide in the distance mimicking flashes of anger which lay beneath the surface. While it’s a short and simple song, there is so much to submerge in and explore, much like the phenomenon of shadow work.

It seems fitting the final track comes in the form of Requiem; a token for the dead. Bouncy riffs become chunky instrumentals. As Leach states however, this is not a requiem, this is not the end. “Emerge from the pain again” he encourages in a track which would transfer incredibly well into the live arena. It’s a strong closing statement with all the components of KILLSWITCH ENGAGE coming together to form a neat little package of introspection, resilience, and damn good choruses. It is the closing track KILLSWITCH ENGAGE should have penned years ago – the antithesis of replayability, the force which keeps people coming back to your material time and time again.

Let’s go back to the opening scenario. An album a band poured their heart and soul into criminally flies beneath the radar thus missing out on many top five lists. Perhaps needing to prove something to themselves KILLSWITCH ENGAGE spits in the face of requiems and emerges from the darkness with their most powerful album in years. This Consequence demands to be heard and KILLSWITCH ENGAGE shall atone no more.

Rating: 8/10

This Consequence is set for release on February 21st via Metal Blade Records.

Like KILLSWITCH ENGAGE on Facebook.