15 Best Heavy Metal Songs Of 2016 (So Far)

9. Killswitch Engage - Hate By Design

Genre veterans at this point, metalcore outfit Killswitch Engage are back on the scene with this year€™s very successful LP Incarnate. Appropriately titled, second single €˜Hate By Design€™ is the usual blend of hard hitting heaviness mixed with intricately fashioned melodies.

Frontman Jessie Leach gets the plaudits here for an emotive and dynamic vocal display, providing the perfect fodder for the diverse instrumentation to clash against. The stick work is also worthy of praise with its pounding beat and thunderous kick drums on the verses, further propped up by some guttural screams and a driving riff.

A very melodic chorus offsets the vicious verses, providing the same conflicting backdrops as the lyrical content. These contrasting styles that the band have gotten down to a T with their recent work, is the work only of a band as seasoned in the game as Killswitch Engage are.

€˜Hate By Design€™ is a very adept crossover of musical styles, and further proof that this five-piece still have a lot more left in the tank.

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Contributor

Music Journalism graduate and freelance writer from Northern Ireland, who enjoys scouring the music archives for the best sounds from the past and present. Writer for the awesome publications WhatCulture, Metal Injection, Scribol, The Gamer, and Prefix.