KILLSWITCH ENGAGE are currently working away on the follow up to 2019’s “Atonement” album
Speaking with The Razor’s Edge at this past weekend’s Bloodstock Open Air festival, KILLSWITCH ENGAGE singer Jesse Leach was asked how important it is to him to stay true to the band’s sound and style when writing new music. He responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): “Yeah, I think it’s super important. We do our best. You kind of wanna give people what they want, but you also wanna be satisfied as an artist.
“And I think with this record we’re working on currently, 15, 14 demos in, and we’re gonna be tossing out, like, four or five of them already to redo some stuff and to rethink some stuff just to make sure that everybody in the band feels like we’re doing the best we can, and it does sound fresh yet familiar. So it’s a challenge… You wanna please your fans, but you also wanna please yourself as an artist and as a band.
“So we’re focusing on us first. And then my hope is that the fans will in turn be pleased with what we’re doing because we are putting the effort in to ensure that it’s something that isn’t just a remake of something we’ve done before.”
KILLSWITCH ENGAGE drummer Justin Foley told Forever Loud at Bloodstock Open Air about the status of the band’s upcoming studio record, saying: “Yeah, we’re still working on that record. Hopefully we can start getting some of it tracked fairly soon. We’re just trying to do all the before work as much as possible, so when we get to the other work, it’s as easy as it can possibly be. So, yeah, hopefully that will be done soon enough. And then next time we’re back out here [in the U.K.], we’ll have some new stuff to play.”
When asked if KILLSWITCH ENGAGE guitarist Adam Dutkiewicz will be producing the band’s new album, Justin said: “Yeah. We’re pretty sure that we’re gonna do it with Adam and Adam’s gonna be the producer. I mean, it just makes sense. He knows what we’re doing. We know how to work with him. We all know how to work with each other real well, and he obviously gets the band and what we’re trying to go for. So it just makes too much sense not to do.”
Just last week, Adam discussed the status of the band’s new LP with Kerrang! magazine, saying: “We’ve been writing for quite some time now. Jesse has been working out some lyric ideas and demos for the last few days, actually. We’ve got a lot of songs kind of rolling around right now. I’m thinking about getting back into the studio after this tour and getting to work, and I’m hoping we’d like to have the record done by the end of the year. But it might take a bit longer than that, so I would assume new music next year, for sure.”
In August 2019, “Atonement” saw its release through Metal Blade Records in the United States and via Sony Music Entertainment for the global audience. Notably, this album showcased notable guest contributions from Howard Jones, the former vocalist of KILLSWITCH ENGAGE, and Chuck Billy, the frontman of TESTAMENT. This record marked the third comprehensive offering from the band since the reunion with Leach, who reconnected with the group in 2012.