A little over a year ago, Howard Jones announced he was leaving Killswitch Engage due to personal reasons. He took the helm over from Jesse Leach who also left the band for personal reasons in 2002. With Howard as the front man, the band saw amazing success and was even nominated for a Grammy in 2005. His voice is still in my top 5 favorite vocalists to this day. When he announced his departure I was really shocked and worried where it would leave one of my favorite bands. I was thinking what every other fan was, "Wouldn't it be awesome if Jesse came back?" I was never able to say who I "liked better" between Jesse and Howard. They both have very unique styles and are so different, it's actually pretty amazing this band has had both talents.
With an announcement in Feb 2012 that Jesse Leach would in fact be coming back as front man, I was immediately excited and could not wait to hear what they came up with! What seemed like an eternity of waiting, they released Disarm the Decent this month. The question is how does it stack up? Howard left some huge successful shoes to fill and Jesse has been gone form KSE for almost a decade. Well, in short, IT ROCKS!
The album opens fast and brutal with "The Hell In Me" and continues it's assault for the remainder of the album. Things slow down a bit in "Always", and it really showcases Jesse's range. Fans of Alive or Just Breathing will feel right at home. It sounds like Jesse never left, they just picked back up and kept making great music. The vocals are definitely more refined but Jesse still has that emotional scream that really pulls you into whatever he's saying.
Musically it's fast, technical, and hard. Each piece flows into the next without taking you out of the music. The breakdowns and riffs are really great and the drums never stop! The whole thing is put together so well and sounds amazing. Taking Jesse out of the equation, Killswitch Engage stepped their game up big time on this album musically. The guys seem recharged and "new". There is a sense of aggressive excitement that really comes through in the music. I highly recommend everyone check this album out. Old fans, new fans, it doesn't matter. This is a masterpiece of an album and definitely worth a listen.....on repeat.
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