Platinum-certified metalcore titans Killswitch Engage have begun demoing new material for their ninth studio album. The band’s frontman Jesse Leach confirmed the news to Heavy, stating the following about their plans for it.
“…So we’ve started to work on demos on for a new record. And we just confirmed a tour here in the States with Lamb Of God and a plethora of other bands as support. So we’ll be doing that in the fall. But predominantly between now and then, and then after then, we’re really gonna be working on the record, trying to get that wrapped up and done quickly too, because we want it to be a record that’s not gonna take a lot of time to create.
- Advertisement -We want that raw, fresh feeling, so a lot of these demos I’m trying to [get] through quickly just to get the energy and then we’ll sort of dissect them as new get into the studio. So I think there’s a real spirit within us to put out new material and then tour on that new record come next year, hopefully. So that’s kind of what we’re all thinking.”
He continued:
“We’ve got a couple of sessions [scheduled]. We haven’t really put deadlines or anything. But I’m personally setting goals for me to create quick, very emotional, raw stuff for the demos and then probably taking a little more time, once we get to the studio, to polish that up and make it sound really good. Some of these demos I’m getting ready to send to the guys, if you would listen to them, most people would probably laugh ’cause they’re just me going nuts, just trying to get the idea out quick and then we’ll worry about re-recording it and polishing it and sort of making it sound Killswitch-y.
I’ve always been really hard on myself — a perfectionist, if you will — and I think it’s hindered me in the demo-making process. So my approach to this record is I wake up in the morning and I write lyrics out of the sleep. I listen to the music. It’s moving very quickly for me, and it just feels fresh; it feels new. And then us getting into a room and jamming on that shit together, which we haven’t done in years, that’s the vibe we’re going for. We kind of wanna bring that live feeling, that live sound to this next record… I want that energy to be there.
Live music shouldn’t be perfect. I don’t like the studio fixes, I don’t like the tuning — I hate all that shit. So the less that can happen, I’m into it. I’d rather keep it raw. It’s rock and roll, man — it shouldn’t be perfect. I think metal, over the years, has become very compressed and very manufactured. To me, I’m all about pushing away from that. So I think this next record will be a push-and-pull, ’cause Adam [Dutkiewicz, Killswitch Engage guitarist/producer] is very much a perfectionist with the way he likes things to sound. So it should be interesting. He’s on board of that too — sort of getting more of a live feel to what we’re doing. I think it comes across. When you come see a band live like us, it is a little different than a record. But it should be.”
Addressing the lyrical direction of where the album is headed thus far, he offered:
“I’ve purposefully been extremely spiritually minded and positive and trying to write uplifting things that are gonna help people process what we’ve been through. I think there’s two ways you can go — you can get angry and write hyper-political stuff and anti-government or whatever, which I’ve done in the past, and I still stand by that, but I think, for me, where my gift lies, after what we’ve been through, is more of a comfort, more of an uplifting thing.
So I’m leaning hard on that — a little more existential, more looking forward, if you will, lyrically. It’s probably gonna be some of the most positive stuff that I’ve ever written, and I’m doing that on purpose — for myself, but also for the listener. I think it’s just time for us to put out a record that’s just beaming with positivity and hope. And that’s what I’m going to do.”
This fall will see the group out with Lamb Of God and more on the following tour:
With Lamb Of God, Baroness & Suicide Silence:
09/09 Brooklyn, NY – Coney Island
09/10 Camden, NJ – Freedom Mortgage Pavilion
09/11 Alton, VA – Blue Ridge Music Festival
09/13 Youngstown, OH – Youngstown Foundation Amphitheater
09/14 Baltimore, MD – Chesapeake Employers Insurance Arena
09/16 Atlanta, GA – Coca Cola Roxy
09/17 Jacksonville, FL – Daily’s Place
09/18 Tampa, FL – MIDFLORIDA Credit Union Amphitheatre
09/21 Boston, MA – MGM Music Hall at Fenway
09/23 Louisville, KY – Louder Than Life Festival *No KSE, No Suicide Silence
09/24 Chicago, IL – Huntington Bank Pavilion at Northerly Island
09/25 Sterling Heights, MI – Michigan Lottery Amp at Freedom Hill
09/26 Indianapolis, IN – TCU Amphitheater at White River State Park
09/30 Denver, CO – Fillmore Auditorium
With Lamb Of God, Motionless In White & Fit For An Autopsy:
10/01 Salt Lake City, UT – The Great SaltAir
10/02 Grand Junction, CO – Amphitheater at Las Colonias Park
10/04 Fresno, CA – Exhibit Hall at Selland Arena
10/07 Sacramento, CA – Aftershock Festival (no Fit For An Autopsy)
With Lamb Of God, Spiritbox & Fit For An Autopsy:
10/09 Vancouver, BC – Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Sports Centre
10/10 Kent (Seattle), WA – Accesso ShoWare Center
10/11 Portland, OR – Theater of the Clouds
With Lamb Of God, Animals As Leaders & Fit For An Autopsy:
10/13 Inglewood, CA – YouTube Theater
10/14 Phoenix, AZ – Arizona Federal Theater
10/15 Albuquerque, NM – Isleta Amphitheater
10/16 El Paso, TX – UTEP Don Haskins Center
10/18 San Antonio, TX – Freeman Coliseum
10/19 Houston, TX – 713 Music Hall
10/20 Irving, TX – The Pavilion at Toyota Music Factory
[via Blabbermouth.net]
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