Nearly 14 years after the release of their hugely influential Alive Or Just Breathing, Killswitch Engage are still gracefully schooling the vast number of bands that have since hijacked and diluted their sound. Their second album since the return of original vocalist Jesse Leach, Incarnate picks up where 2013’s Disarm the Descent left off, with the Massachusetts quintet continuing to refine and redefine their attack. Until the Day I Die wears its 80s metal influences with pride and boasts a chorus fit for stadiums, while Hate By Design and Strength of the Mind feel like classic Killswitch rabble-rousers given a jolting dose of steroids. Leach is the true star of this show, however. Despite still occasionally erring towards po-faced earnestness, his impassioned and fiery performance ensures that Incarnate is a brash reaffirmation of this band’s superiority over their peers.
