Killswitch Engage - Adam Dutkiewicz [lead guitar], Joel Stroetzel [rhythm guitar], Mike D'Antonio [bass], Justin Foley [drums], and Jesse Leach [vocals] - first shook the structure of heavy music upon climbing out of snowy industrialized Western Massachusetts in 2000. A musical outlier, the band pioneered a union of thrashed-out European guitar pyrotechnics, East Coast hardcore spirit, on-stage hijinks, and enlightened lyricism that set the pace for what the turn-of-the-century deemed heavy. 2002's Alive Or Just Breathing became avowed as a definitive album, being named among "The Top 100 Greatest Metal Albums of the Decade" by Decibel and celebrated by everyone from Metal Hammer to Revolver. Not only did they bust open the floodgates for dozens to follow, but they also garnered three GRAMMY Award nominations in the category of "Best Metal Performance" in 2005, 2014, and 2019, respectively, a gold certification for The End of Heartache [2004], and a platinum certification for As Daylight Dies [2006]. The group landed three consecutive Top 10 debuts on the Billboard Top 200 with Killswitch Engage [2009], Disarm The Descent [2013], and their career high best bow at #6 with Incarnate [2016]. The latter two releases, along with 2019's Atonement, would also both capture #1 on the Top Rock Albums and Top Hard Rock Albums charts. The band's total streams are nearing 3 billion to date, while they've remained consummate road warriors who've sold out countless headline tours and have shared stages with everyone from Iron Maiden to Slipknot to Slayer to My Chemical Romance to Mastodon to Parkway Drive, which is a testament to their ability to cross genres and appeal to all fans of hard rock.
