Killswitch Engage - self-titled album

Rating: * * *


Verdict: More melodic meat and potatoes metal from US quintet.

The metal band who channel Pantera just as potently as they do 80s arena rockers Boston are back to mix up the crunch with some serenades. And on stand-out second track, Starting Over, they trot out an Iron Maiden guitar flourish and gallop to get the album really going.

Along with bands like Slipknot, As I Lay Dying, and Lamb Of God (although L.O.G. has taken on a more extreme edge on their last album), Killswitch Engage are a metal band with the potential to cross over into the mainstream and this album charted well in New Zealand this month.

While Killswitch can mangle riffs and pummel your heart to bits with fearsome beats, their broader appeal comes down to the accessibility of singer Howard Jones' combination of singing versus roared vocals. He has a savage guttural growl but as he shows on the Metallica-style The Forgotten he can soar.

But Jones sounds too earnest at times - like his self-piteous pleading on The Return and his high-falutin' warble on Save Me - and often that intent also takes over the music.

You can't argue with the polished power and deft execution of the songs but sometimes you just want deranged grunt and unhinged brutality to take over like it does on The Reckoning.

Then again, it depends on whether you're after extreme or heavy metal. Killswitch tends more towards the latter.

Scott Kara