Killswitch Engage

Sometimes, a much-loved and highly successful band needs to shake things up a bit to keep things fresh and interesting for their fans and for themselves, all the while retaining the signature sonic hallmarks that have defined their sound. For their upcoming sixth album, Massachusetts metal pioneers Killswitch Engage reunited with original singer Jesse Leach, whose vocals and lyrics on 2002's landmark Alive or Just Breathing are fan-favorite qualities and part of what helped put KsE on the map as one of the most important bands of the '00s metal revival. Poll KsE fans and ask which album they like best and Alive or Just Breathing is usually right at the top of the list. Call it coming full circle, returning to their roots or coming home again. Whatever the case and no matter what you choose to label it, Leach's return to the fold is welcomed and anticipated by all involved, from the band members themselves to the fans. Leach is a fitting piece of the KsE puzzle. KsE enjoyed a decade of success with Leach's replacement Howard Jones, who has moved on amicably. "This change is very exciting," the band said upon announcing Leach's triumphant return. "We know you're going to love it. This is truly a new era in KsE history and it is ready to shred your face off. So, please help us in welcoming Jesse back into the KsE family; he is a rare and great talent, a fact that older KsE fans have known for years. Here is to a killer new record and a bright future. The five of us cannot wait to write this record and play shows together and bring that feeling to our fans. It's been far too long." KsE burst onto the scene with the genre-defining Alive or Just Breathing, notching a Grammy nomination in 2005 for the title track from 2004's gold-certified The End of Heartache and following up that landmark album with the Gold-selling As Daylight Dies and an appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live along with gracing the covers of countless metal and rock magazines around the world. Through the '00s, KsE adopted a versatile, non-stop touring schedule. The band's road history includes two treks on Ozzfest, stints on Warped Tour and Taste of Chaos, as they have that rare ability to straddle the line between the metal and alternative scenes by touring with Slayer and Mastodon as easily as My Chemical Romance and Underoath The band's DVD Set This World Ablaze also enjoyed Gold-selling status, proving that KsE have the metallic Midas touch. However, KsE have never coasted on the wave of prior successes, which saw them become one of the premier, most successful bands to emerge from the so-called New Wave of American metal. With Leach back at the vocal helm and behind the mic and a renewed sense of what they want to accomplish, what once was is brand new again and 2012 (and beyond) looks to be another exciting year (and decade) for Killswitch Engage.

Undisputed masters of murderous riffs, pugnacious grooves, and ferocious hooks since 1991, Machine Head is long established as one of the most influential and incendiary bands in the metal world. Exploding into the world’s consciousness with 1994’s seminal Burn My Eyes album, the now legendary Oakland crew brutishly redefined what it meant to be heavy, incorporating a wild array of influences into some of the sharpest and most brutal metal anthems ever written. <br><br> Nearly three decades later, the band was founded and led by vocalist/guitarist Robb Flynn on Oct 12, 1991, at a Metallica concert, (at the end of a 7-year, 3 1/2 album stint as lead guitarist in thrash metal pioneers Forbidden and Vio-Lence) has amassed an extraordinary catalog of classic albums – including the all-conquering might of 2007’s The Blackening, which saw the band traverse the globe several times as headliners and as main support to both Metallica and Slipknot - while routinely enhancing an already formidable reputation as one of heavy music’s most powerful and relentless live bands. <br><br> In 2022, Machine Heads is back with its most crushing and complete album yet. Of Kingdom And Crown is an hour-long conceptual monolith, rich in color and dynamics but hell-bent on destruction. Set in a futuristic wasteland where the sky is always crimson red, Of Kingdom And Crown tells the tale of two characters, both faced with incalculable trauma, whose stories become bloodily entwined as this deep, dark record progresses. Character #1 loses the love of his life and goes on a murderous rampage against the perpetrators who murdered her. Character #2 loses his mother to a drug overdose and becomes radicalized in the aftermath, embarking on his killing spree. <br><br> “The album and concept were loosely inspired by the Japanese anime series Attack On Titan,” says Robb, “in the sense that in that series, there is no “good” or “bad” guy… There are no cowboys (good), no Indians (bad). Both sides believe they’re doing the right thing, but both are committing atrocities and evil.” <br><br> Produced by Robb Flynn and long-time collaborator Zack Ohren, Of Kingdom And Crown is a self-evident upgrade for Machine Head and their ageless, epoch-shattering sound. The album begins with Slaughter The Martyr – a ten-minute epic, mercilessly heavy and brimming with wild melodic ideas, and featuring a career-best vocal performance from Flynn himself, it sets the scene with Character #1’s origin story. Equally stunning are Choke On The Ashes Of Your Hate – simply the most brutal and intense song Machine Head has ever recorded – and Unhallowed: a dark, brooding, and subtly progressive hymn for the disdained and discarded, with powerhouse harmony vocals from Flynn and bassist Jared McEachern. The album ends with arguably the finest song Machine Head has ever written: Arrows In Words From The Sky, the grandiose but emotionally visceral climax to the finest and most ferocious album of the band’s 30-year career. <br><br> A perennially vital force in heavy music, Machine Head has continued their exhilarating evolution, while never losing the furious spirit of their old school, underground roots. Impervious to trends and proud to stand alone: Machine Head is still the bulldozer that crushes all!

IRON REAGAN are no strangers to the art of crossover. Comprised of Tony Foresta (vocals), Phil Hall (guitar), Mark Bronzino (guitar), Rob Skotis (bass), and Ryan Parrish (drums), between them they fill, or have filled the ranks of Municipal Waste, Cannabis Corpse and Darkest Hour alike. Now, with their recent signing to metal powerhouse Relapse Records, the hardcore thrash quintet are ready to take their bruising antics to the next level.<br><br>Formed in 2012, they’ve already released a demo EP, the Worse Than Dead full length via A389 Recordings, and most recently a split with gore-masters Exhumed through Tankcrimes. The gang are currently in the process of recording their sophomore release and Relapse debut at Blaze of Torment studios in Richmond, VA. Self-produced and mixed by Kurt Ballou (Converge), the record looks set for a fall release date. In the meantime, they’ll be hitting the road and joining Ghoul and Occultist across the US in April. Stay tuned for more mayhem and destruction as they begin their maniacal global conquest. 2014 is the year of Iron Reagan!