Jesse Leach Gets Deep on New Killswitch Engage Album

On Feb. 21, Killswitch Engage will celebrate the release of their ninth studio album, This Consequence, featuring the recently released track, “I Believe.”

Founding member and frontman Jesse Leach joined Loudwire Nights on Thursday (Jan. 23) to dive deep into what fans can expect from the new collection of Killswitch songs. Listen to the full conversation in the player near the end of this article.

“We worked really hard on this record and I’m proud of it,” Leach told host Chuck Armstrong.

“I feel like it does represent where I’m at as a writer, it does represent where the band’s at. It went through a lot of quality control to get here, so it feels celebratory for sure, but also in the same breath, the message that it carries is really heavy in the times we’re moving through currently.”

Leach admitted that he feels a sense of hope that This Consequence might help fans fight the darkness they see in the world.

“Everything from wars to hatred to division and all the things that we see on a regular basis, my heart feels heavy,” he admitted.

“But at least I feel I have contributed in some way, shape or form with the lyrics on this album.”

When Chuck asked him if he’s always felt that way about his music, he said the Killswitch fanbase has helped in a big way.

“I think I became aware of it only because I have been told from fans how they feel about it,” he said.

“It’s not from a place of ego, per se, it’s from a place of being aware of the platform that I’m on and that there are people who are listening and there are people who react to what I have to say and I have seen that it has impacted people in positive ways. So, I’ve taken that very seriously.”

Jesse Leach Opens Up About Feeling Angry

As Leach wrote songs for This Consequence, he began to understand a change in his view about the world around him — and even a change in his own anger.

“It’s about being angry,” he admitted, “but not just an aimless, chaotic anger. It’s pointed at something. I’m tired of the way we’ve been treated in society. I’m tired of this frustration, this anger. But it’s for a greater good. There’s a righteousness to it. Wake up, we’ve got to do something about this.”

Once Leach began tapping into that, he revealed that positivity started to come out.

READ MORE: Killswitch Engage Scream Through the Haunted ‘Blood Prison’

“I’ve worked through the darkness,” Leach said.

“It’s really, on record, me sort of coming to terms with my own anger and fear and disappointment and betrayal and then sort of looking at the world and going, ‘Well, we’ve all tasted this, haven’t we? We all know what this is about.’ The album turned inward and then came outward and became very much about, well, the title, This Consequence.”

What Else Did Killswitch Engage’s Jesse Leach Discuss on Loudwire Nights?

• How he finds hope when he confronts hopelessness in his music: “I find it in love. Love, to me, is a godly thing. Love, to me, is far beyond human comprehension. That’s the thing I cling to.”
• Whether or not the band had conversations about the lyrics on This Consequence: “I’ll let the band know what the songs are about, but we don’t have these deep talks about it. It’s mostly just people are like, ‘Cool,’ or, ‘I don’t know if I feel that so much.'”
• What he meant when he said This Consequence went through a lot of quality control: “When we officially started, there was definitely a false start on my part. I think that I. Came into this album with the wrong headspace.”

Listen to the Full Interview in the Podcast Player Below

Jesse Leach joined Loudwire Nights on Thursday, Jan. 23; the show replays online here, and you can tune in live every weeknight at 7PM ET or on the Loudwire app; you can also see if the show is available on your local radio station and listen to interviews on-demand.