Killswitch Engage

Killswitch Engage is an American metalcore band that was formed in Westfield, Massachusetts, in 1999, after the disbandment of Overcast and Aftershock.
==History==
Killswitch Engage formed following the disbandment of metalcore bands Overcast and Aftershock in 1999. After Overcast broke up in 1998, Mike D'Antonio collaborated with Adam Dutkiewicz. Dutkiewicz recruited Joel Stroetzel and Jesse Leach to form Killswitch Engage. https://web.archive.org/web/20010210205445/http://www.killswitchengage.com/killswitchengage/band.f/band.html The band's name came from an episode of the television series The X-Files entitled "Kill Switch." https://web.archive.org/web/20170110020302/https://m.axs.com/5-interesting-facts-about-killswitch-engage-46963
In 1999, Killswitch Engage recorded a demo containing four tracks. The demo was first released at the band's first show, opening for melodic death metal act In Flames, in November 1999. They released their self-titled debut album the following year. Although initially the album was not a financial success and did not land on any charts, it attracted the interest of Carl Severson, who worked at Roadrunner Records at the time. Severson handed Killswitch Engage to several Roadrunner representatives. Mike Gitter contacted D'Antonio and offered the band a recording contract with Roadrunner. Realizing that Roadrunner had the resources to promote and distribute Killswitch Engage releases, the band accepted his offer, declining several offers from smaller labels. https://web.archive.org/web/20010808110151/http://www.killswitchengage.com/killswitchengage/release/release.htmlhttps://outburn.com/interviews/killswitch-engage-fire-from-the-lions-mane
For a brief time in 2000 and 2001, Pete Cortese joined Killswitch Engage, but left when he became a father. The band decided to expand and become a fivesome. Dutkiewicz moved to guitar and Tom Gomes filled in the vacant drummer position. After Leach was married on April 20, 2002 and began touring again he fell into a depression. Leach left the band a few days before the band was meant to play a show and sent the band members an e-mail telling them he had quit. https://web.archive.org/web/20071225194310/http://www.roadrunnerrecords.com/blabbermouth.net/news.aspx?mode=Article&newsitemID=4557
The band immediately started to search for a replacement vocalist and found Howard Jones. Jones disliked the band's sound when he first heard it. He later commented that "the more I listened to it, I realized there's some really good songs here." https://web.archive.org/web/20071226042252/http://www.decibelmagazine.com/features/dec2006/killswitchengage.aspx?terms=Killswitch%2BEngage&searchtype=2&fragment=True After hearing about Leach's vocal problems, Jones contacted the band and was accepted as the replacement. Philip Labonte also tried out for lead vocals but lost to Jones. Brandan Schieppati says that both he and James Hart were also asked to try out for the band in 2002, https://www.theprp.com/2022/08/29/news/bleeding-throughs-brandan-schieppati-says-he-was-asked-to-try-out-for-killswitch-engage-back-in-2002/ though Hart has contested this. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8jpx8RWKuVc
On January 4, 2012, the band announced on their site that Howard Jones had left the band after his nine-year membership with them. In the statement, the band did not disclose the reason for this decision out of respect for Jones, but simply thanked him for his nine years with the band and wished him well, as well as thanking the fans for their support as they began the search for a new lead singer. Jones later explained he departed the band to manage his type 2 diabetes. http://www.ultimate-guitar.com/news/general_music_news/howard_jones_explains_killswitch_engage_departure.html?no_takeover Soon after the announcement of Jones's departure, rumors began that Phil Labonte would officially take over lead vocals due to his previous history with the band, although Labonte dismissed the rumor. The band's search for a new singer ended in February with the announcement that Jesse Leach would return to the band. https://ghostarchive.org/iarchive/facebook/7318341580/10150528798241581
==Discography==
===Albums===
*Killswitch Engage (2000)
*Alive or Just Breathing (2002)
*The End of Heartache (2004)
*As Daylight Dies (2006)
*Killswitch Engage (2009)
*Disarm the Descent (2013)
*Incarnate (2016)
*Atonement (2019)
=== Video Albums ===
* (Set This) World Ablaze (2005)
* Beyond the Flames: Home Video, Part II (2016)
* Live at the Palladium (2022)
==References==
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