Killswitch Engage- Killswitch Engage II (**)

Poor Killswitch Engage, it’s not easy going through the laws of diminishing returns like the kind found on their latest self-titled effort.

Still, it makes sense. When the band broke into the mainstream with 2004’s The End Of Heartache they had perfected the metalcore genre. By and large, they were the most accessible and talented group of musicians to emerge from the As I Lay Dying/Unearth crowd, and their album waved that flag proudly. Their riffs stopped/started like robots having seizures, the drumming created an expansive atmosphere, and Howard Jones’ voice could move mountains when he wasn’t rasping into the mic.

Since then, the band has failed miserably to measure up to that quality standard.

2006’s As Daylight Dies sported some interesting melodies but it was marred with guitarist Adam Dutkiewicz’s bizarre production choices (Namely, burying everything in the mix in white noise overdrive). It did, however, show a band that wanted to push beyond a genre they had reached the apex of, and that was a tad reassuring. If anything, it just seemed like a band going through some growing pains.

Sadly, all of the interesting elements found on those two albums are largely absent from Killswitch Engage II. The album feels uncomfortable, stuck between rehashing a tired sound while splashing in flashy 80’s style shredding. It all proves tacky rather than inventive, and makes the listener question how this band fell so far from what they once were.

There are two speeds on Killswitch Engage II. One is a pseudo thrash gallop that breaks into a harmonic laced bridge before galloping some more, and the other is an all-power-ballad-all-the-time tempo. Both styles sport some decent tracks, “Never Again’s” invigorating energy helps the album explode right out of the gates while the fuzzy and ominous “Lost” illustrates that the band can write an epic song without relying on ballad clichés.

Yet, the problem lies in musical tension. What used to separate Killswitch Engage was how their rises and falls within a given track could morph and change. Where every other metal band would go for an increase of speed to make their point, Killswitch wasn’t afraid to slow things down with either a machine gun-like breakdown or a positively exploding chorus that felt organ

In other words, Killswitch has largely forgotten how to make arrangements that are dynamic and the music suffers greatly.

On Killswitch Engage II, the payoffs aren’t as large or aren’t as fully developed as they should be. “The Return” begins promisingly enough with grinding riffs that seem to crawl and climb alongside Jones’ frustrated croon but the chorus underwhelms, petering out when it should truly take off. Elsewhere, “Reckoning’s” smashed chorus feels like a slipped gear within an arrangement that wants to shift into fourth and blaze on by.

While the band still displays a level of technicality in their playing (Disciplined drum rhythms, nimble bass lines, deft fret play) the melodies have never felt this phoned in before. Killswitch Engage seem unsure if they want to be a truly heavy band, or a metal radio staple. In either case, the mediocrity that permeates through the disc doesn’t help them in the slightest.

Even if it comes across as largely uninspired, Killswitch Engage II does have its bright moments. For one, the band seems to have benefited from sharing production duties with famed producer, Brendan O’Brien. The album doesn’t quite crunch the way it should, but O’Brien seems to have helped coach Dutkiewicz on the importance of space in the songs. It’s even allowed the band to explore some, if small, instances of vocal experimentation. The harmonies present on “Reckoning” are some of the smoothest on the record and Jones pushes his rich voice into really mournful territories on “Starting Over.”

Unfortunately, only appreciating the window dressing leaves a bad taste in your mouth as Killswitch Engage II’s meat and potatoes still lacks substance. The band is caught in a progress or die situation, and they are floundering with it at best. What would have really helped their plight in growing would have been for Jones to pen some lyrics about something other than absolution, forgiveness, or being wronged. Some lyrical maturity would have maybe made the sonic mediocrity passable, but it seems that both are a ways away for these men.

Hopefully, Killswitch Engage II will be remembered as a slight misstep in a good band’s discography rather than a new standard for which the band is compared to.

Sounds Like: Shadows Are Security (As I Lay Dying), The Fiction We Live (From Autumn To Ashes), The Oncoming Storm (Unearth)

Key Cuts: Never Again, Starting Over, Lost

Click on the artwork to sample some of Killswitch Engage II for yourself!