4 September 2016

Metalcore: Killswitch Engage


Sometimes I'm in the mood to relax, but sometimes I need the complete opposite: loud energetic music with shredding guitars and fast double-bass drum rhythms. One of the go-to genres at times like those is metalcore. The first metalcore band I discovered was Killswitch Engage when I encountered their song My Curse in a videogame.
The thing that I love most about this music is the contrast between the loud parts (screaming/grunting, rhythmic guitar) and the more melodic parts (both singing- and guitar-wise). I find contrast in a song the best way to keep me engaged (pun not intended). When no or hardly any contrast exists within a song, for instance between the verse and chorus, I start to get bored after 1.5-2 minutes. With metalcore however your ears get bombarded with the loud parts, after which they have time to recuperate during the 'quieter' parts before the next loud part hits. It's similar to the quiet parts in horror movies when everything seems peaceful just before the evil strikes. This contrast I think makes both parts more enjoyable. But let me stop here before I start to get too philosophical. Try to listen to their songs, keeping what I wrote in mind, and maybe you'll start appreciating their music as well.


Other favourites: Starting Over, Holy Diver and In Due Time

Check out more songs on their Official YouTube Channel

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