Reviews list for Killswitch Engage - Alive or Just Breathing (2002)

No disrespect to Howard Jones, he's still awesome, but if there's one member I think is the heart and soul of Killswitch Engage, it's Jesse Leach. Some of my favorite KSE albums are the ones with Leach as vocalist, especially his initial era of the band's first two albums. Too bad he had to leave the band for 10 years after this release due to health issues. Alive or Just Breathing shows his vocals at his best.

In the era where nu metal was on the rise, one band was determined to have their genre take the throne with its crushing yet melodic metalcore sound. Heavy riffing and screams battle against clean singing and melodies, a fascinating metalcore depiction of Heaven vs. Hell!

The album comes to an amazing start with "Numbered Days" with its ravaging riffs and lovely leads. "Self Revolution" is practically a Revolution anthem, and I like how after the first 30 seconds, we have a quick percussive break before more of those catchy vocal melodies. "Fixation of the Darkness" is also interesting in the chorus. The only thing that throws me off is how abruptly ends. Then it leads to one of my favorite tracks, "My Last Serenade". I think during the pandemic and its tail-end, I became more in the mood to find some bands to cure my part of that global depression. Thanks to that great boost, I'm able to appreciate masterpiece highlights like this one much more! Things continue to flow well in "Life to Lifeless". The slow acoustic intro of "Just Barely Breathing" is a bit out of line, but the rest of the song is still crushing.

"To the Sons of Man" is a shorter 2-minute hardcore track. Everything everywhere all at once kicks through in "Temple from the Within". Without an intro, the instrumentation hits you non-stop. An experience as perfect as its original version from the debut! "The Element of One" has their metalcore sound done well from the start, but I'm not sure if putting it between two re-recordings from the debut was the right move. Still I won't object. A good thrashy track, "Vide Infra" has more spoken/shouted cleans to fit with the screams. "Without a Name" is an interlude that's not too necessary but doesn't detract the album's perfect score. It segues to the beautiful closing epic "Rise Inside".

The 2005 re-release comes with many different bonus tracks, the first being another 2000 debut re-recording track "In the Unblind", with more effective mixing. The powerful screaming, guitar soloing, and drumming is a great reminder of that album's strength. "When the Balance is Broken" is a bit repetitive, and if this ended up in the standard edition, the perfect 5-star rating would end up losing a half-star. Same with the acoustic instrumental "Untitled and Unloved".

And the rest of the re-release is just demos, a re-recording with Howard Jones on vocals, and some studio outtakes. The 5-star rating goes to the standard edition that is a masterpiece so beautiful and brutal at the same time. Recommended to all Revolution members!

Favorites: "Numbered Days", "Self Revolution", "My Last Serenade", "Just Barely Breathing", "Temple from the Within", "Rise Inside", "In the Unblind"