Customer Reviews

Alive Or Just Breathing

5 star:		(159)
4 star:		(20)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

If you like Hatebreed, but want something with more melody, look here. If you want Atreyu, with less emo and more punch, look here. If you're looking for run-of-the-mill hardcore that goes nowhere, bye. You won't find that here.

Killswitch Engage are a mix of bands playing balls-out hardcore/thrash like Hatebreed and Mudvayne, coupled with the clean vocals and soaring guitar melodies of In Flames and Atreyu. There are no solos, and only one song sounds remotely death metal("To The Sons Of Man"), but if you're into In Flames and you want more aggression, you're at the right place.

"Sel Revolution," for all intents and purposes, could pass for an In Flames song. The catchy chorus is much more well-done than In Flames' choruses, but the melodic riffs and style of growling is unmistakably similar(without being derivative). Vocalist Jesse Leach was amazing on this album due to the juxtaposition of his growling and singing. New singer Howard Jones is equally versatile, but their styles are different, and Leach will be missed. "My Last Serenade" is my favorite song, and has a great riff, coupled with a sick head-banging time change and amazing chorus(also has a cool video). "Numbered Days" kicks you in the crotch and keeps kicking as you're on the ground, even when the growling stops. The melodic riffs of the title track and "Temple From The Within" are effortlessly catchy, and "Life To Lifeless" has a great rhythmic groove. "Fixation On The Darkness" sounds a bit like Sevendust, and "The Element Of One" and "Vide Infra" have equal parts melody and heaviness. One track is a synth/acoustic lead-in, and aside from the aforementioned clunker in track 07, everything is right as rain. The drummer is very talented(also the producer!), and more praise is to be heaped on the melodic riffs, settling the music between 80's thrash and the Gothenburg sound, with a distinct American flavor to everything.

A great melodic hard/metalcore record worthy of any headbanger's collection. A band worthy of the acclaim achieved by groups like Linkin Park.

Every once in awhile an album in heavy music comes along that completely destroys your perception of heavniess, or brutality, and truely pushes the limits and recreates the rules. Albums like "Master of Puppets" from Metallica, Korn's first record, Slipknot's debut, Pantera's "Vulger Display of Power", Meshuggah's "Chaosphere", Deftones' "Around the Fur", System of a Down's debut, Slayer's "Reign in Blood", or just about anything from Opeth. This is one of these albums.

This album completely reinvigorated my love for real metal again. In a world saturated with nu metal clones, a band comes out of nowhere and just totally crushes everyone.

This album probably has the best combination of truley brutal music and incredibly melodic vocals that I have heard, possibly ever. The singer belts out screams and death growls like the best death metal bands, and sings the melodic parts so perfectly catchy POP fans almost would dig it - and that doesn't mean its cheesy. Not even close. You will be blown away by his vocal range.

You're gonna get semi-blast beats, a metric ton of double-bass, and cutting, crushing riffs that will stick in your head for days. On top of that, the production on this is crystal clear. I wish every metal record sounded like this!

All you need to get hooked on this album is to listen to the opening track "Numbered Days" - and listen to it very loud. I'm a big believer in the opening track needing to set the tone and destroy you with the very first listen - its critical to set the tone. Well, this does that, and then some.

This is one of those albums that even other metal artists envy. This is one of those bands that after one release, people are already talking about how hugely influential these guys could become.

One of the best metal records of the last 10 years

Do yourself a favor. If you like HEAVY, BRUTAL music with a very good mixture of melody that isn't cheesy, get this record. Whether you like death metal, grindcore, nu-metal, old school metal, hardcore, emo... this is a must for any fan of heavy music, period.

Besides the opening track "Numbered Days", the band has also released 2 singles: "My Last Serenade" and "Fixation on the Darkness". Any of these will give you a good feel for the record. "My Last Serenade" is the most radio friendly song on the album, still good, but keep that in mind if you check some tracks out. You can watch the video in its entirety on the band's homepage.

On a tragic note - right when this fantastic debut was released, the incredible singer of this band had a "religious" experience of sorts and quit music altogether, even as the band were being showered with unfettered critical acclaim and rave reviews. The band has since recruited another singer who's vocal range is quite similar. They redid the single "Fixation on the Darkness" and added his vocals for the video that you may have seen, and there is much promise. Let's hope they can recreate the magic again! All the more reason to get this record. It could end up being a one of a kind gem.

I got this cd on a bit of a whim. I was just wandering around a cd store with some cash but nothing particular in mind to buy, and I found this. I remembered hearing "My Last Serenade" on the radio a week or so ago, and really liked it, so I gave it a shot. I wasn't 100% sure what I was getting into, but it was well worth the risk.

Killswitch Engage is commonly referred to as being a metalcore band, which in their case means that they're a mix of hardcore and melodic death metal. This means you get fairly short, relatively straightforward and solo-free songs, combined with surpisingly melodic yet extremely metallic crunch and unconventional song structures. The riffs vary from being more hardcore and driving,(like in My Last Serenade) to choppier, and more staccatto, as in Numbered Days.

2 particular things really make this album standout; the production and the vox. The production is perhaps the best I've ever heard on a metal album. The distorted bass rumbles thickly and clearly much of the time, and it has some very, very powerful drumwork with out making the guitars sound weak or under-emphasized. Some might claim it is over-produced, but I disagree. I suppose it could be more "raw", but the outstanding mix makes up for this slight deficiency. As I mentioned before, the vocals are just great. Leach has got probably the best "extreme" vocal style I've yet heard. It's kinda a mix of hardcore styled howling and death growls. This means it's got the emotion of punk vox (something death growls usually lack) with the extra power and extremeity of death vox.(He occasionally uses black-metal screeches as well, though they aren't as good) Leach has got a good singing voice too. He's no highly complex pseudo-operatic guy, but he fits the music well and has reams of emotion. Sadly, he has since left the band.

This album is very consistent. There is a fair amount of variety, though many of the songs follow a basic pattern of having pounding verses and pre-choruses mixed with gentler, more melodic choruses. The opener, Numbered Days, is probably my second favorite track. It's thunderously heavy, with some outstanding vox and a great melodic yet crushing bridge. My Last Serenade also stands out, with some ferocious, driving metalcore riffage giving way to one of the more transcendantly beautiful choruses on the album. Just Barely Breathing is definitely my favorite track. It has a good atmospheric intro giving way to a slow, grinding opening riff, giving way to speedy death-metal, giving way to another great, cleanly sung chorus. The closing section, with the slow, atmospheric yet powerful riffage combined with clean vox backed by death vox is also especially powerful. This song is simply awesome. To the Sons of Man stands out, as it starts out the heaviest and fastest of all the songs, leading up to an immensely heavy mosh-type breakdown with demonic choir vocals. Another great track. I'll stop with the specifics, they're all good, many of them great.

So, anyway, go get this album. It's definitely one of the top 3 from last year.

I don't understand how someone on here can say that fans of heavy metal won't like this album. I love heavy metal and I love this album. KSE is an awesome band. I mean, sure it's not like it's pure death metal or anything, but it is what i would call "heavy" music. Seriously people stop trying to be so hardcore by saying bands aren't "brutal" or "loud" enough. That is the stupidest thing i've ever heard. How loud or brutal a band is doesn't make you more hardcore. It's just music for godssake!
Anyway, enough ranting. Alive or Just Breathing is my favorite KSE album. It's heavy, fast, melodic, and extremely wonderful. There is just enough fierce growling, clean vocals, and amazing guitars, to please the ears of any heavy metal listener. There was not a single disappointing moment on this album. If you think KSE's new album is too melodic, than I highly recommend ALOJB if you don't already have it. Sure, it's still melodic, but you're not constantly overwhelmed by clean vocals. Overall, this album has a very nice production. Fans of hardcore and metal will enjoy this. Trust me. Don't hesitate to buy this album if you want to headbang to some real metal. = )

This album may be in the top five albums of the year! The vocalist Jesse Leach can scream hardcore style, metal style or sing very well. The guitarists are both very good and pull out some sick riffs. Sadly Leach is no longer with the band, but he has been replaced by Howard Jones the former singer of the New England hardcore band Blood Has Been Shead. Howard will be playing with the band on the Ozzfest Second Stage which also features heavier bands like Cradle of Filth, Shadows Fall (great band) and Voivod. My personal favorite tracks are Fixation on the Darknness, Last Sarenade, Life to Lifeless, Just Barely Breahting, To the Sons of Man and The Element of One. This is definatly an album to check out, espicially to one who is just getting into heavier music. If you like Killswitch Engage I would also suggest checking out Shadows Fall, Chimaira, Superjoint Ritual or Lamb of God. Keep making sick metal!

I'm proud to say that this band hails from my home state, Massachusetts. The underground scene in this state is incredibly strong, and I love that this band has sprung, claws bared and going for the throat, from this potent scene.

I was turned on to these guys by a friend who plays in a hardcore band here, and I cannot thank him enough. Killswitch Engage is one of the best new bands I've listened to in a while.

Everyone else here has mentioned it, and I have to as well. Their mix of hardcore and traditional metal leaves me breathless. It's fantastic. Not to mention sophisticated; the key changes are very sophisticated for a group that's only two records into their careers. Some artists go twenty or thirty years without evolving, but these guys have done it early.

Vocalist Jesse Leach will scream his lungs out on one line and then sing the next one in a perfect tenor. My favorite parts of all of these songs are where he harmonizes with himself; the screaming meshing with the singing. I know I'm getting redundant, but it's brilliant.

The chunky guitar riffs, the melodies, everything about this band is great. If I must play favorites, my favorite songs are "Fixation on Darkness" and "Element of One." Metal head or hardcore fan, buy this and don't despair.

Killswitch Engage may not be the first band to mix hardcore with metal, but they have a way of doing it that is sure to grab your attention pretty quickly. On "Alive or Just Breathing," the band effortlessly combines the aggression and tightness of hardcore with the musicianship and melodic sensibility of classic metal pioneers like Iron Maiden. The songwriting is extremely focused and diverse, especially for such a young band. The album is chock-full of tempo changes, as Killswitch Engage manage to mix equal doses of all-out aggression and killer melodic passages. The musicianship, especially the twin-guitar assault, is excellent, but I think the real star of this band is definitely vocalist Jesse Leach. He can sing, he can scream, he can do everything in between, and it's evident that he puts a lot of emotion into what he's singing. It's his stunning range that makes the Killswitch Engage's diverse and emotional sound work so well. I expect many good things to come from this band.

Killswitch Engage, as they are now, are regarded as some of the best in their genre. I'm left wondering why people like the Killswitch Engage of now more than the Killswitch Engage of before. Sure their new singer (yes I said it...singer) is decent when it comes to screaming but when the time comes to let out an ear shattering scream, he comes up short sometimes. Jesse David Leach doesn't miss that opportunity ever. In fact, his singing is only really sprinkled in to give a song a little something extra...not to mention his singing voice is surprisingly great.

Enough bashing the band's new line-up though. I don't listen to Alive Or Just Breathing much but I've always held it in high regard. Yes, it does take some getting use to, but when all is said and done there are some true anthems on this CD that refuse to be forgotten. There's choruses you'll be left singing to yourself days after hearing it and there's beats that are sure to make any rock fan stand up and notice. This bands' refusal to be commonplace with their instruments is the only reason I even care about them now. And just as noticeable as it is now, it's certainly evident here as well. How they'll go from a break-neck fast riff to an all out beautiful melody at the drop of a hat is always entertaining.

Numbered Days is a great way to start out giving you every impression of how the rest of the CD is sure to follow. Fixation On The Darkness is the first song on AOJB that I was left knowing that I'd be listening to it for years to come, and I have. My Last Serenade's music is worth a listen alone. The verses are really great as well. Life To Lifeless is the shining point on this album. Excellent vocals, remarkable beats, and a catchy sing-along chorus are all key ingredients. Temple From The Within is one of the last truly unforgettable songs featured. Incredibly heavy with only a few melodic breakdowns, the verses really seem to be the main attraction. And finally, Rise Inside. As a closer you just can't go to wrong with this one.

My favorite songs are Numbered Days, Fixation On The Darkness, Life To Lifeless, Temple From The Within, and Rise Inside. Killswitch Engage, in my opinion, have went downhill since releasing this but I'll always retain hope that Jesse will come back. Far-fetched I'm sure, but I can dream. As far as Alive Or Just Breathing though, definitely worth checking into for any fan of heavy rock.

This is probably one of the best melodic metalcore releases from one of the best bands of this style. Yes, this band is definitley overated to the extreme but unlike some of their contemperaries like Lamb of God and Shadows Fall, this band actually deserves to be listened to. They don't have a bunch of melodic riffs and shredding like that of the great In Flames that every other melodic metalcore band uses. Also, the metalcore in this is some of the best sounding I have listened to. It doesn't sound like too much hardcore and especially emocore. This is 110% metal here people. Since this is my only cd that I own buy these guys, I can't compare it to their other stuff, but if this cd is this good , I have no doubt that their s/t and End of Heartache are equally excellent. A definite buy.

First off, I'd like to say that it's pretty sad that people who don't listen to numetal says that this is numetal. This is REAL METAL, whether you like it or not. I've been listening to metal for far too long now, and I'm sure I can tell the difference between the many subgenres of metal.

I just love everything about this whole album: the riffing guitars, thunderous bass, awesome drumming....the whole package. And of course, how can I ever forget about the great Jesse Leach? His voice is simply incredible whether he's screaming or not.

It's pretty hard for me to pick out my favorite song, because this whole album is just flawless. The speed, heaviness, and complexity of this album is off the wall. I highly reccomend this album along with their latest, The End Of Heartache, which is another awesome album. I also reccomend their first live DVD, Set This World Ablaze, which features an unbelievable 70+ minute sold-out concert in their home state of Massachusetts.

KSE RULES!!!! 'Nuff said.