Killswitch Engage
Killswitch Engage first turned heads when
they formed in 1999 by blowing away audiences with their powerful melodic
metal-core sound while on tour supporting In Flames. That tour caught the
attention of Ferret Records who signed the band and released their 
self-titled debut in 2000. The critical and fan response from the underground
was unanimous, Killswitch Engage kicks ass! Now the band is about
to kick things up a notch and gain a more mainstream exposure with their
second album that is being released by Roadrunner Records.
So now we bring you a conversation we recently
had with Killswitch Engage’s Adam Dutkiewicz, who not only is a member
of the band but was the producer for the new album as well. You’re in for
a few surprises as Adam takes us behind the scenes and let’s us in on a
few secrets as well as gives us the lowdown on the group, their music and
the recording process behind the group’s Roadrunner debut.
RNW: Most metal-core fans know about
you guys from your self-titled debut on Ferret Records, which really turned
a lot of heads when it came out. But now that you are with Roadrunner a
lot of new people are going to hear your music for the first time, so basically
what I’d like to do today is first get some background on the group for
those who haven’t been exposed to you yet. First question, where
did the name Killswitch Engage come from?
Adam: Actually our bass player came
up with it after watching an episode of the X Files. He heard the word
killswitch and thought it was a cool visual so he took that and tried to
think of another word to go with it and came up with engage and we like
the power it conveyed like shutting down the system or something like that.
RNW: Can you give us a little of the
band’s history? How you guys came together etc?
Adam: Ok cool, back in like late
98, maybe early 99, me and the bass player Mike meet up and started jamming
together. (at this point we got cut off, so Adam couldn’t finish the story)
RNW: How did the deal with Roadrunner
Come about?
Adam: Yeah the guy who runs Ferret,
Carl, actually works at Roadrunner, he took the CD over to the guys at
Roadrunner, they liked the record and the rest is history.
RNW: Was it a major change for you guys
switching over to Roadrunner from Ferret?
Adam: The only difference is the
amount money they can spend of promoting you. A bigger label has more money
so they are basically there for you when you need them. Not that Carl didn’t
go a good job, he did a great job, it’s just that a smaller label doesn’t
have the resources to get you out there like the bigger ones.
RNW: I know the people over there that
I have talked to are really excited about the album it looks like they
are gonna make it a real priority.
Adam: Great! Yeah I know the European
office is really excited, they’re really behind us.
RNW: I know that Roadrunner took the
unusual direction of having you produce the CD.
Adam: Yeah, that kind of threw me
back at first. I’m really glad they let me have the chance.
RNW: Was there any pressure to tone
down your sound or change it any to fit better with the Roadrunner bands?
Adam: Actually, of course, they
always want to give their two cents but I don’t really think they asked
us to compromise the songs. Even if they did, to be honest with you, I
don’t know that I would have listened to them. That’s one thing about this
band, we’ve always done what he felt was right. We wouldn’t let our record
tell us what to do with the band. Yeah so nothing really was done like
that.
RNW: Is there a big difference between
the new album and your first one.
Adam: Oh God yeah, we got a better
sound. Actually we’re finding out who we are as a band. I think we’ve finally
figured out what everyone in the band wants out of this. I feel way happier
with the new stuff, like structure-wise and guitar- wise, the songs flow
a lot better now. They have a little more appeal now, they’ve got a little
more melody, a little more structure, I personally think it’s cool. I’m
actually very pop oriented.
RNW: Yeah, I noticed a lot more dynamics
this time around.
Adam: Yeah, it’s cool. I like how
the vocals turned out a lot better.
RNW: The titled of your new CD, “Alive
or Just Breathing” where did you come up with that?
Adam: That was Jesse’s idea. I goes
along with that song “Just Barely Breathing”, it goes along with the lyric
that song where Jesse is saying are we alive, living, are we really living
our lives in focus, do we have our eyes open to what’s happening around
us. You know, respecting the people around you and all that. Some
people are just there not really paying attention, not getting the best
out of the situation.
RNW: I know a lot of people classify
you as Metal-Core, do you think that fits you guys or are you trying to
achieve something else?
Adam: I think it fits just fine.
People in a band could sit there all day and try to explain what a band
is like and you really have to be general, because every band is different
but for a general term, I guess we’re just a “metal-core” band.
RNW: Are there any bands out right now
that you guys are excited about?
Adam: Well, if you asked me who
we’d like to go on tour with, we’re setting up a tour with “In Flames”
but to be honest with you, I don’t really listen to a lot of metal.
RNW: Really!? (laughs) The irony
of it all!
Adam: (laughs) yeah I know! Everybody
else in the band loves metal, the one record that really blew me away last
year was the “Nevermore” disc, I love that. There are a lot of great bands
out there right now, definitely.
RNW: So what are you into music-wise?
Adam: Me, myself?
RNW: Yeah
Adam: I like a lot of more poppier
music, one of the biggest band, I like Radiohead a lot and I actually like
Travis a lot too. A lot of Brit pop like that. Everybody in the band makes
fun of me for it.
RNW: Yeah, you gotta expect that.
Adam: To hell with them!
RNW: What is your song writing process
like? Do you work on songs collectively?
Adam: Yeah, we actually try to make
it a point. Bands that I’ve been in the past were like so one-sided that
I ended up writing most of the music for my old bands. I think it’s much
cooler when you get everyone’s opinion on a song. We try to make it point
to get everyone involved in the songwriting.
RNW: I noticed that most of your songs
have a positive message underling the themes, which sets you apart from
a lot of other bands out there today.
Adam: Yeah, we don’t try to be blatant
about it. It has positive views and a positive outlook that a lot
of bands don’t have right now. At the same time, I think it’s important
that you don’t try to force opinions or views down people’s throats. Just
be suggestive, I think that is best way to get your views explored, you
never wanna push something on people.
RNW: What are your favorite tracks on
the album?
Adam: “Last Serenade” and “Self
Revolution”
RNW: Being that hindsight is 20/20,
is there anything you would change about the album, looking back on it
now?
Adam: Always! You never have to
ask me that question. (laughing, in a mocking voice) “what would you change?”
Definitely, we would have worked on the vocals a little harder. We kind
of settled for some 
because we ran out of time, but it was mostly for a song that isn’t on
the record. But most of the vocals I’m pretty happy with. The guitar tones
on some of the songs I don’t like at all, we ended up settling for some.
We had some problems with one of the guitars going into the studio and
it was a nightmare, he should have had his guitars worked on before we
began working on the record. I guess that we settled for a guitar tone
that I didn’t really like, oh well, what are you gonna do?
RNW: So do you think people will get
a lot different experience hearing you live?
Adam: Well, it’s definitely gonna
be different from the record, energy wise. We’re a little more energetic
live (note from ed- that’s really saying something if you hear the intense
energy on the CD!)
RNW: Final question, Any major
tour plans in the works?
Adam: We are about to go out on
the tour with Hypocrisy and after that there is a possibility that we may
be up for the Slayer tour!
RNW: That would be sweet.
Adam: After that there is a chance
we’ll head over to England. But everything is so tentative--we’re waiting.
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more?
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