KILLSWITCH ENGAGE are celebrating the 20th anniversary of their debut album this year. The first self-titled album, which originally arrived on July 4, 2000, will be released on vinyl for the first time on October 9. The vinyl release will be available in two different color variants: Clear with Mint Splatter and a Coke Bottle Clear/Olive Green split. It will also include expanded artwork by bassist Mike D’Antonio and four bonus tracks from their 1999 demo.
“I had a lot of fun taking this artwork apart and putting it back together,” says Mike D. “I especially had a good time searching through all the old photos and reminiscing. It was a simpler time in 2000 and the ‘hunger’ in the music still shines through to this day.”
“I wrote lyrics and did vocals for this album in a handful of days,” explains singer Jesse Leach. “From what I can I recall, it was raw, emotive, and filled with a certain cathartic power. This was us at our most primal and most stripped down stage. This was the beginning and still holds the core of what I believe to be the heart of what this band still is deep inside.”
He finishes, “I am honored and privileged to be a part of this album. Before any big labels, world tours, and even the term ‘metalcore,’ it was just us four guys playing metal steeped in hardcore roots. We had no regard for a career, ambition, or any thought of longevity or legacy.”
The track listing for the re-release is below.
Pre-orders are live here.
A limited amount of both color variants will be available and bundled with an exclusive t-shirt at the band’s official store. Get the bundle here.
Both color variants will also be available at Metal Blade’s pre-order and at retailers nationwide.
KILLSWITCH ENGAGE TRACK LISTING:
SIDE 1:
“Temple From The Within”
“Vide Infra”
“Irreversal”
“Rusted Embrace”
“Prelude”
“Soilborn”
SIDE 2:
“Numb Sickened Eyes”
“In The Unblind”
“One Last Sunset”
‘Prelude” (Bonus 1999 Demo)
“Soilborn” (Bonus 1999 Demo)
“Vide Infra” (Bonus 1999 Demo)
“In The Unblind” (Bonus 1999 Demo)
KsE recently celebrated two decades as a band with a comprehensive and in-depth 20-year timeline that documented so many of the band’s memorable career milestones and storied history with plenty of captivating images. The clickable, scroll-through timeline boasts flyers from early shows, live shots from festival appearances, and fan tattoos. It also traces major tours, video shoots, album releases, Grammy nominations, lineup changes, and beyond. The timeline functions as a digital museum that effectively tells the complete KsE story The timeline was created specifically for KsE fans to enjoy and to reminisce. View the entire timeline on the band’s official website at this location.
ABOUT KILLSWITCH ENGAGE:
Recently recognized by Forbes as “one of modern metal’s most cherished acts,” KsE first shook the structure of heavy music upon climbing out of snowy industrialized Western Massachusetts in 1999. The band pioneered a DNA-distinct and oft-imitated style, fusing 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, which followed an attention-getting, self-titled debut, earned its reputation as a definitive album and was named among “The Top 100 Greatest Metal Albums of the Decade” by Decibel and celebrated by everyone from Metal Hammer to Revolver. Original singer Jesse Leach departed the band in 2002 and was replaced by Howard Jones, who would front the band until Leach’s return in 2012.
Along the way, KsE have garnered three GRAMMY®Award nominations in the category of “Best Metal Performance” in 2005, 2014, and 2020. They’ve received gold certifications for The End Of Heartache [2004] and 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 would also both capture #1 on the Top Rock Albums and Top Hard Rock Albums charts. Their total streams have exceeded half-a-billion to date. Along the way, the band has shared stages with some of the biggest acts in the world and have sold out countless headline gigs in six continents across the globe. Their eighth full-length Atonement debuted #2 on the Billboard Top Album chart, #13 on the Billboard Top 200, and once again #1 on both the Top Rock and Hard Rock Album charts.
KsE have spent most of their career on the road, sharing stages with Iron Maiden, Slayer, Mastodon, Slipknot, and more. They’ve appeared as a featured attraction at OZZFest, Rock Star Energy Drink Mayhem Festival, Taste Of Chaos (With My Chemical Romance), Warped Tour, and more.
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Press release courtesy of Metal Blade Records
