10 Biggest Metal Albums Still To Come In 2019
3. Killswitch Engage - "Atonement" (16 Aug)
The third Killswitch Engage album since original vocalist Jesse Leach returned to the fold in 2012, "Atonement" is all sounding very, well... Killswitch at the moment, with singles I Am Broken Too and Unleashed not straying far from the group's signature soaring, melodic, metalcore sound.
"Unleashed is about inner passion and rage coming up to the surface," said Leach at the time of the song's release. It certainly sounds like it, with the frontman belting verses out over lurching verse riffs, then roaring himself hoarse on the refrain. I Am Broken Too, meanwhile, is a more tuneful affair driven by hand-on-heart melodies, straightforward power chords, and harmonic leads. They display a band with undeniable mastery of their core sound: Killswitch are still as great at being Killswitch as Adam Dutkiewicz is at rocking short shorts.
On the album itself, Leach has called it "a reflection of perseverance and passion through the trials and suffering of our existence." Ex-vocalist Howard Jones and Testament legend Chuck Billy will show up as guests on what is sure to be another tasty slab of NWOAHM goodness.