SO, KILLSWITCH ENGAGE ARE RECORDING WITH BRENDAN O’BRIEN
Thursday, December 4th, 2008 at 11:44am by Vince Neilstein
We just received a press release via pneumatic tube here at the MetalSucks Mansion confirming what we’ve known through the rumor mill for some time — Brendan O’Brien will be producing the new Killswitch Engage record, due in Spring 2009.
This is kind of surprising… but kind of not.
KsE has been broadening their sound, moving in a more radio-friendly direction ever since… Ever. Their choice of O’Brien makes sense given his track record with Stone Temple Pilots, Pearl Jam, Incubus, and Mastodon’s forthcoming new record. The new record will mark the first time that KsE guitarist / background vocalist / class clown Adam D. — himself an acclaimed producer — will not produce the band’s record on his own. The press release claims he’ll have a role as “co-producer,” whatever that means.
Despite the fact that the metal fanboys are gonna be pissed, I think that this move is probably the right direction for the band. The worst thing KsE could do is to repeat the fate suffered by many of their first-wave metalcore peers, namely driving themselves into irrelevance by writing the same album over and over again. Despite their increasingly mainstream-leaning direction, Killswitch have proven themselves consistently excellent songwriters and the quality of their material has never suffered. It’d be quite swell if the band got heavier with every release instead of lighter, but realistically it was never in the cards, and the only band ever that I can think of who successfully did this was Pantera. And let’s face it: Killswitch is no Pantera, and never had aspirations to be. They’ve always approached their music with a sense of humor, which is one of the many things that I think draws people to the band. So if this is the direction the band wants to go in, then fuck it, go for the gold — I’m sure it will be damn good.
I hope.
-VN
I actually totally agree. They are the sing-a-long metal band of today, they have a mainstream sound, they get on soundtracks to popular movies, and I for one, dont have to have screaming to enjoy a song. I hope they pull it off without completly departing from their fanbase unlike the new mudvayne.
I agree.. Killswitch has been getting progressively lighter over the years, but somehow they seem to kick it up a notch on every record at the same time. Joel and Adam’s guitar work has gotten more intricate and creative on every single record. It would be nice if Howard would change it up a little bit though. His choruses get a little monotonous after a while. Either way I’m sure the new record will kick more ass than the last, just like the ones before it.
Killswitch are fuckin boring!!!
I think VN is wrong; metal fanboys won’t care because most metal fanboys despise KsE. Me? I fucking love them and I think Adam D.’s production is crystal clear, no doubt, but a little too sterile, if you ask me. Not that O’Brien is some master of recording dirty-sounding metal, but I think he’d add a bit more “grit” and “character” to KsE, and hopefully the drums and guitars sound a little more “human.” I agree with Jesse, the band’s guitar work has become more creative and intricate, even if the songs themselves might not seem as “heavy.” (Although, I’d say “Desperate Times” and “Reject Yourself” are two of the heaviest songs the band has ever done, and I feel were two of the most overlooked songs on the great AS DAYLIGHT DIES album.)
As a long time Killswitch fan, this news is kind of unsettling in a way. In one way, there was always that security of Adam D producing their stuff, you knew what you were getting, a solid, well written and produced record. Saying that, I think it’ll be good to change things up a bit, might bring up some fresh sounding material, hopefully a more diverse record of heavy and lighter songs. Even if it’s with a new producer, its still Killswitch… they write solid music…
Fingers crossed really…
lol @ pneumatic tube
and as long as Mike D. is ’somewhat’ involved, i’m sure it will be solid.
GOT I LOVE THESE GUYS! I LUST U ADAM D!
Killswitch is beginning to be formulaic, better formulaic than most of the others around but that doesn’t change anything. I want Blood Has Been Shed back…
Metal fanboys not liking KSE? I am yet to meet a metal head in person who doesn’t like them or kind of like them
I think that KsE is doing the right thing here. I think (not in a chastising way) that left to their own devices again, the temptation to essentially write “As Daylight Dies” all over again would be too great. From longtime experiences with playing in metal bands, and the writing processes of such bands, i can say that sometimes you need a foreign element brought to the table to truly push you to think outside of the box and write the best shit you can. “As Daylght Dies” was essentially the Part Two to “End of Heartache”. And thats good. I personally was glad to see them bring that style full circle with expanded & more experimental songwriting and techniques. Now, though, I think that this is a good time to push the envelope like this. If I had my druthers, I would like to see some more shit done with the melodic aspect of their sound, and at the same time break out some more of earlier, heavier sound, and expand on that as well. I’m pretty damn confident it’ll be good either way.
They should somehow involve a saxophone and/or deer skull.
@ ClosetMetalHead :
why not both? I hear the two together are quite *ahem* interesting
Devin, how old are the metalheads you hang out with, 15? Most “die-hard” metalheads hate metalcore and, in particular, hate KsE. I don’t agree with those people at all, but that’s what I’ve seen for years now.
godofdeadlydeath is right. KsE is one of THE most hated bands among elitists. Personally, I love ‘em and I’m looking forward to the next album no matter who’s producing.
When i saw them in Long Beach Adam was wearing a cape and doing ridiculously awesome stage moves and making a complete ass of himself. It was great, I loved it.
The main problem w/ KSE has always been (IMO) the almost rote formulaic approach to screamed verse/clean chorus arrangements. But Adam D creates the almost PERFECT metal guitar tone and Howard is a truly phenom when either singing or screaming, I’ve always thought they were just a great producer away from being a Top 5 metal band.
Hearing Adam D. invite all the ladies to come back stage so he can shove his thumb up their poopers and slather them in piss is worth the ticket price anyday.
I can’t wait to hear their new stuff.
Adam D. is a terrific producer, but I think it’s the best thing for the band to get an outside perspective and maybe incorporate a few new ideas. The heavier songs on As Daylight Dies (Daylight Dies, Eye of the Storm) is the direction I’d like the band to take — but it seems unlikely.
I really hope thet step it up on this record… they really played out the generic metalcore formula with the last record. Lets face it, As Daylight Dies was pretty awful. I think they are still riding their last bit of credibility left over from Alive or Just Breathing which was astonishing. Another shitty record will have people turning their backs on them.
As Daylight Dies really wasn’t a bad record. It had some dudes, but ultimately suffered from a terrible track listing job. The songs didn’t feel placed well, and some could’ve been left off completely. The album itself features what i feel are some of their best songs, like “This is Absolution” and “Reject Yourself”.
Now with this producer news, yes its a little unsettling, but the producer is not the band. They write the songs and craft the music. At times the producer has a goal for the band sound wise, but really it is up to the band. I think it is the right choice, but Adam is still one of the best producers in metal/hardcore/etc. They’ve never been a been who only stuck with their own. They are trying to open kids up to better metal, and they can only do that by becoming a little more friendly. No one can say that Judas Priest toning down their shit for Hellbent for Leather, or Screaming for Vengeance was a mistake… they’re classics now. Maybe one day after KSE makes some more friendly albums… maybe we’ll get their Painkiller.
“This song is about when Howard slipped on stage the other day…. WHEN DARKNESS FALLS!!” – Adam D
Killswitch put on an amazing live show, especially when Howard crowd surfs and Adam D plays guitar on the bar in the House of Blues.
KSE used to be good…what happened guys? I’m sure you’re still a great live band but christ, write some good songs!
Daylight Dies was an amazing album. They have yet to release any bad material.
They’ve been releasing nothing but shit.
“AS Daylight Dies” was like End of Heartache 2.0. If you had lied to me before I knew and told me that the new ‘album’ was a bunch of B-Sides and unreleased tracks from the End of Heartache sessions, I would have believed you. They’re going to make End of Heartache 3.0, this time it’ll just sound more radio friendly. They’ll get a few spins on Fuse and then they’ll be dropped with the rest of the shit.
this could be good or not really matter. Adam Ds a perfectionist and I know he’s not gonna let anything fuck up the bands sound so hopefully it just stops them from doing end of heartache 3.0 cause anyone that’s been listening to em since the beginning, knows without a doubt that Alive or Just Breathing shits all over the last 2 records. Mainly it’s because of jesse because the last two woulda been unbelieveable if he didn’t vag out and quit. Sorry howard. Eitherway, their music is so good that even w/losing such a great singer, they’re still fuckin great. And live well, if you don’t like Adam Ds antics then you’re just a fag. I don’t think that they’ll get too mainstream unless they kick out joel, his hands just won’t stop riffing. He’s like a fuckin riff machine