Metal, Hardcore, Indie, Rock
Killswitch Engage singer Jesse Leach and guitarist/producer Adam Dutkiewicz discussed the band’s most recent album, “This Consequence,” which was released in February 2025 on Metal Blade in a recent interview with Kati Rausch of Music Interview Corner. “This Consequence” is Killswitch Engage’s sixth album after Leach joined the group in 2012 and their ninth album overall. When asked how the core of the new record was shaped by deep, intense interior struggles and reflections, Jesse gave this response, as reported by blabbermouth.net.
I’d say just the state of the world to begin with. Coming out of the pandemic, to me, it’s just reflecting on the way we treat each other. There’s no conversations. It’s all arguing, bickering, hatred. And for me, I just see the bigger picture, that we are so much more united. We have much more in common than we do our differences. So that’s kind of the general scope of it. And then, of course, it gets personal. I’ve got personal stuff in there as well, telling other people’s stories as well, but just the desperate need for us to just find some more compassion for each other in this world.
He was questioned about his earlier statement that recording “This Consequence” was the most challenging experience of his career.
They’re always hard… I think for me, we were just pushing really hard to put something out that felt quality, that felt genuine, and it definitely was quite a journey to get there. But I look back on it and I definitely would not like to repeat it, but I wouldn’t change a thing. It changed me as a writer. It changed me and humbled me too. And I think that’s a good thing. It made me grow as a writer and as a human, really.
Well, I think it’s good to challenge yourselves as singers, songwriters, lyricists. And I think we were just at a point where we all wanted to get into a conversation together and just make sure that we were doing the best we [were] capable of. And I think Jesse’s hit a wall in the past before with finding enough inspiration, motivation to write things that feel completely energized and fresh. And I think every artist gets in sort of a slump once in a while to do that. So to challenge yourself is good. – Adam Dutkiewicz
Leach also discussed how his lyrics are “very raw and philosophical” and how they connect to his own mental health issues.
I’ve grown a lot from just having an open conversation about it, therapeutic stuff as well. I’m in a much better place than I ever have been because I’m working on it. It’s something that you can’t get rid of when you have mental illness. You just have to learn to live with it. And I’ve done that, and music is definitely part of my therapy. Every night I’m on stage, I’m in those songs. I mean, of course the mind wanders, but I’m really focused on what I’m saying and trying to be present to it. And when I do that, I come off that stage feeling like I’ve just let out a lot of stuff. And I love that about performance. It feels really good just to really be present to the lyrics and to the spirit and to the connection that we can get from the audience. That in itself is good therapy.
He was asked how it felt to hear some of his admirers say that his lyrics had saved their lives.
It’s wild to even hold on to that thought or that feeling. It’s such an honor to be able to help anyone in any way. And I think for us, it means the world to us. Our fans mean the world to us, so it’s a very special thing for sure. But it’s a lot to hold on to, man. I’m just grateful that people love what we do and we are able to make that connection.
Yeah, anytime we can do anything positive for the world, I think that’s a very good thing. Yeah, I guess when we just get on stage and we see our fans, we wanna make sure we’re connecting. And I’m only having a good show when I notice people having a good time and enjoying themselves. And even smiles — I know like a lot of metal bands probably don’t care about the smiles, but I just wanna see happy people. I feed off of that. And if I see someone being happy, it makes me happy. – Adam Dutkiewicz
