Atonement (Killswitch Engage album)


Atonement is the eighth studio album by the American metalcore band Killswitch Engage, released on August 16, 2019 through Metal Blade Records, making it their first album since 2000 not to be released through Roadrunner Records. The lead single "Unleashed" was released on June 25, and followed by "I Am Broken Too" in July which would later follow up with a music video in August, as well as "The Signal Fire" shortly before the album's release. The band began a co-headlining tour of North America with Clutch in promotion of the album in July.
In November 2019, the track "Unleashed" was nominated for the Grammy Award for "Best Metal Performance", making it the third Grammy nomination for Killswitch Engage.
On May 1, 2020, the band released an EP entitled Atonement II: B-Sides for Charity on their Bandcamp, featuring six previously unreleased songs taken from the recording sessions of Atonement. 100% of the proceeds from the EP's sales were donated to the COVID-19 relief organization Center For Disaster Philanthropy, raising over $30,000.

Background and recording

The album was recorded over a period of two years, with ideas for the album beginning in 2017. Recording sessions took place on both coasts of the United States, but they were put on hold when vocalist Jesse Leach developed scar tissue on a polyp in his throat and underwent speech and vocal therapy for three months. Following his successful recovery the band then went on a 2018 tour with Iron Maiden, on tour Leach began to experience writer’s block. By the end of tour, Adam Dutkiewicz took him aside and offered words of inspiration. Leach recalled “I shared my unfinished lyrics, and he said, ‘You don’t even need all of these. Keep it simple.’,” Leach added “I was stressed out. I was insecure. A lot was going on in my head between writer’s block and the surgery. It was amazing to have a friend and producer like Adam mentally slap me upside the face and encourage me.” Atonement was thus described as a "reflection of perseverance and passion through the trials and suffering of our existence" by the band, and by Leach as "musically the most diverse record we've done as a band".
While most of Atonement was written by the time they were touring with Iron Maiden in 2018 some of it going as far back as 2016. It was a conversation the band had London that solidified its direction. Leach recalled “I was like, ‘Let’s just crank out some heavy stuff.’ It’s what we’re good at,” Dutkiewicz added “I wanted to do that. Maybe that’s why I ended up writing all those fast songs,” The albums lyrics touch upon subjects such as social issues and mental health.
The song Signal Fire seen the band collaborate with former vocalist Howard Jones. Leach touched upon the song stating “I had an image from Lord of The Rings when they climb to the top of the mountain and light a fire to signal for backup,” “It felt powerful to me. At the same time, Howard’s Light The Torch was making new music. I thought, ‘‘Light The Torch’ and ‘Signal Fire’ make sense together.’ It needed to be a call-to-arms, and I wanted to invite him to sing on it. We hit it off for the first time, recently. Afterwards, we were texting back-and-forth. We needed a song with him to show the fans there’s solidarity. It’s a perfect ode to our bond as brothers and a nice nod to Light The Torch.” The album also features a collaboration with Chuck Billy, vocalist of the band Testament, Leach mentions Chuck Billy as one of his favorite metal singers and notes that, at the suggestion of bassist Joel Stroetzel, Billy was included on "The Crownless King" due to its similarity to Testament songs.
The album covers artwork was done by artist Richey Beckett, with the art direction and layout being done by the band’s bass player Mike D’Antonio.

Lyrics

In an interview the bands lead singer Jesse Leach stated
"There's some angry, political stuff," but noted that its written ambiguously "because I'd rather it read like a story than a direct statement.” "There’s a lot of heavy themes lyrically – I’d even go so far as to say it’s probably the most difficult record I’ve had to write, because it comes from such a dark, angry place," some of the lyrical themes tackle mental health which leach is a big advocate of.”

Critical reception

The album received positive reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalised rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album has an average score of 78 out of 100 based on five reviews, indicating "generally favourable reviews".
Wall of Sound writer Ricky Aarons wrote that Atonement "does what other releases have, and that is, craft the build-ups and hooks to what we would expect to hear as a crunchy breakdown" but then the band "steadily bring us back down to the start", which "retains old-school metal fans but also attracts the more contemporary metalcore fans". Aarons concluded that "maybe what Killswitch Engage have done here is perfect, and therefore it could be their best album". J Andrew writing for Metal Injection wrote Atonement is a great Killswitch Engage album, though it still follows the pattern of opening with its four best songs and then hitting cruise control. That said, closer "Bite the Hand That Feeds" totally slays as well. The rest of the album isn't as immediate or effective, but that's not meant as a slight. It's clear from the personal nature of "I Am Broken Too" and "I Can't Be the Only One" that Jesse needed to make this album. Max Morin writing for Exclaim! wrote “Atonement is a monster record in an almost untouchable career.” Blabbermouth.net stated “Atonement" is unlikely to be heralded as KILLSWITCH ENGAGE's masterpiece, but it is plainly their strongest album since Leach's return and a very timely reimagining of a sound that, like it or not, has helped to define a vast amount of metal in the 21st century. These are the best songs the band have written in 15 years, and there is fire in the KILLSWITCH belly again.

Accolades

Personnel

Credits adapted from album's liner notes.
Killswitch Engage
Guest musicians
Production
  • Adam Dutkiewicz – production, engineering
  • Daniel Castleman – assistant engineering
  • Andy Sneap – mixing, mastering
  • Mike D'Antonio – art direction and layout
  • Richey Beckett – cover illustration
  • Travis Shinn – group photos