6/4/02
In a time where everything starts sounding the same, a new band emerges ready for the
upcoming task ahead to lead the masses in a new direction. That band is Killswitch Engage.
Don't let the intensity of the music fool you, and before you start making assumptions based
on the aggressiveness of the music, behind all of it is a clear and positive message.
Killswitch Engage, based out of Massachusetts, were immediately signed to Roadrunner Records
and have been touring nonstop with a stint with Candiria and Hypocrisy to promote their new
record "Alive or Just Breathing" which hit stores May 21st. This is by far one of the best
albums of this year as the reviews for this band keep getting better and better, slaying charts
everywhere.
We got the chance to hang with Adam Dutkiewicz (guitar) before their first ever Hollywood show.
It turns out they became the headliner of the show after touring mates Hypocrisy and Soilwork
were stuck in Arizona with van troubles. We chatted about their new video, the success of their album, the
upcoming Kittie tour and sniff, sniff, what the hell is that smell?
Noize Pollution: How is the music scene in Massachusetts?
Adam Dutkiewicz: Excellent. Terrific scene. Lots of kids come out and support the bands and there
are a lot of bands because of that fact. It really thrives and you can see it while
you are touring�
NP: I'm sorry but what the hell is that smell? (Laughing)
AD: That wasn't me! (laughs)
NP: Oh my god, my eyes are watering! (laughs)
AD: What is that? (laughing we realize we are standing on top
of an RV waste dump and quickly evacuate)
NP: I'm sorry, now where were we?
AD: Forgot where I left of, Ah, we were touring the US and when
it comes to places where kids are psyched and they come out in droves,
definitely Massachusetts is a hot spot. Or the east coast for that matter.
NP: Since you only have a handful of dates left on this trek,
how do you think it's gone so far?
AD: It's been great, the Swedes are terrific guys. Everyone's been
a blast to hang out with. The actual shows, they vary a lot. You have
the shows full of people where everyone is psyched to see everyone and
then you have the shows where, the hard core metal crowds are there
to Hypocrisy, the headliners, so what it boils down to is different
each night. A lot of the shows the kids have been great!
NP: Any part of the US where it wasn't?
AD: Strangely enough, Texas was a rough state for us and a rough state
for all the bands. For a couple of those shows, we only got about a 100
people or less. It was really weird because everyone was talking up Texas,
"dude this is a rock and roll state" and that's what everyone does and
it's the thing to do in Texas. There were some pretty stale turnouts.
Oh, Birmingham, Alabama was rough too.
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NP: How were those dates with Mushroomhead and label mates Five Pointe O?
AD: Those were terrific. Those were unbelievable. We got to play for a crowd
who didn't know who we were. Mushroomhead had the exposure and it was a new
audience and probably some of the best shows we've played to be honest with
you. The kids were so psyched to see us.
NP: What did you think of Five Pointe O?
AD: Great! They sound great live and put on a killer show.
NP: Upcoming, you landed a spot on the Kittie and Poison the
Well tour. We just wanted to ask how excited you guys are.
AD: Oh, we are so excited because we get to play again with a band with
that exposure and power and draw that can fill up venues. I think its going
to present us to a new type of crowd since we've been the underground band
for so long. So it's going to give us a lot of chances. Plus Poison the Well
and Shadows Fall are both legends of the underground. We're all buddies with
Shadows Fall anyway so we're going to have a great time.
NP: When does that kick off?
AD: Kicking off the first week of July. I don't know where it starts off,
but it should last over a month. We're going to be all over the place. We can't wait.
NP: We read somewhere that you guys debuted at #9 on billboard hard music chart?
AD: Really! I didn't know!
NP: And #1 on all the metal radio stations!
AD: Yeah, I knew about that part. Wow!
NP: Is WAAF playing you guys?
AD: Yeah I think so, someone said they heard us on it and the station
where I'm from is also playing us which is 99.3.
NP: Do you think it's a combination of radio play, touring that helped?
AD: Absolutely. Radio play helps out a lot and the video play will help
out a lot too. It's all that combined. The more exposure you get, the more
people will know of you. I think that's the problem with metal music is
getting that exposure to the kids.
NP: Yeah, there are so many bands�
AD: That get overlooked because they are metal. Some people don't want
to put heavy music and the screaming on the radio.
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NP: So speaking of the video, you guys are on MTV2 and Much Music, can
you tell us a little bit about the video shoot for "My Last Serenade?"
AD: It was so much fun. So much fun! We had a blast! Mike was drinking
beer at five in the morning. It was brutal because we got in at midnight
and had to wake up at four in the morning and we were so tired, but that
could have been why we had so much fun. Everyone on the set was so nice
and everyone was professional, it was a blast.
NP: Was it a one-day shoot?
AD: One-day shoot we were in there at five in the morning and out of there by
five in the evening.
NP: That's not that bad, do you know what concept the video was going for?
AD: It's a spinning shape that we're supposed to be playing inside of. It had
lots of cool shots and cool lighting. It came out pretty cool.
NP: You're album "Alive or Just Breathing" came out on May 21st and we describe it as "make your ears bleed"
& "take no prisoners" with the aggressiveness and mentality behind it. Was that
the mission statement of the band from the get go?
AD: Well, we kind of developed a mission statement. When we first started
out with the band, to be honest with you, we didn't know what we were all
about. I think it was this record that made us find ourselves. I know as
the producer that I wanted to take it in a certain direction and everyone
kind of followed my lead. Everyone else felt the same way going into it.
On the first record we did, we tried to get the music out quickly and we
started understanding each other and we wanted to make a more of a pop
statement. Actually, I'm into pop and I don't listen to any metal what so ever.
NP: What do you listen to?
AD: A lot of Brit-pop and rock and roll. One of my favorite bands
is Travis. Jesse and I wanted to build more choruses and develop song
structures more and bring a lot more to the vocals. Have a lot of
different things happening in the songs to keep people's attentions.
NP: Oh, then you'd like Starsailor. Check them out! Is that the
key difference between the two albums?
AD: I think so, it's just better songwriting and we had more time and more
money going into it. That helps too and lets you experiment.
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NP: How long did you guys have to record?
AD: We were on and off for about six months. It was a pretty long making
of a record. It was an on and off thing. We'd do three days and have a
week off. I was so over analytical and I made myself mental. Drink some
more beer and make my sorrow's go away. No, but I wanted to change things
here and there and we settled on what we thought was what the record needed.
NP: Did you guys write the music going into it knowing you were going
to let up a little bit on certain parts of the songs so Jesse could
show off his singing abilities as well?
AD: The whole songwriting structure? Well we usually write all the music
first and let Jesse come in and put lyrics over it. He usually takes the
song home and shows his ideas to us afterwards. It's a natural process
and that's how we usually do it.
NP: I have to say my favorite song so far is "Life to Lifeless."
AD: Thank you�WHY? I'm giving the interview now!
NP: It's so damn catchy and the guitar parts remind me of the old school metal.
AD: Which parts?
NP: The opening riff(Attempt to hum the riff to him but to no avail and
I make an ass out of myself)
AD: Oh yeah, we'll have to play that one tonight.
NP: Was that song written about the events that went down on September the 11th.
AD: I think it was yeah, actually yeah. It's about the life cycles
repeating and I remember he wrote that song right after it happened.
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NP: What's your favorite song off the album?
AD: Probably "My Last Serenade", I'm actually getting sick of playing it every
night (laughs) but it was that song and "Self Revolution."
NP: If you could pick a song right off the album that sums up the entire band
so that when kids hear the song, they instantly know it's you guys?
AD: Either one of those two are my favorites. They all have parts in each
song that represents our style with the melody with the metal guitar and
the rock parts too. That's what we are all about.
NP: So when you did the album, you played the drums on the entire
album and you also produced the entire thing. Wow!
AD: Yeah, it was a rough six months.
NP: So the drummer now, is he just a hired hand for the tour or is he actually
part of the band now?
AD: He's in the band now. He's definitely playing drums for us.
NP: He was in one of your old bands right?
AD: Yeah, he was in Aftershock, my band before this. Yeah, he's a great
guy and a good friend and we thought he'd work out and he did. I'm much
happier playing the guitar anyway being in front of the kids and getting
their reactions and feeding off of it. When you play drums on stage you
feel so far away.
NP: How did you get into the producing and engineering?
AD: When I was in high school, I loved music and I love recording. I had
a 4 track and sit in my room and record songs all day. This might be cool
to get paid to do this, so I went to school for it at Berklee.
NP: When did you graduate?
AD: '99? I think. Yeah, '99. It's all a blur!
NP: How did you come to do production work for "From Autumn to Ashes"
and "Unearth?"
AD: Unearth found me because of the Aftershock album I recorded and then
it started a chain of events. Everyone heard the Unearth album and wanted
me to their record and then I did the Killswitch Engage album.
NP: Did you play this year's South by Southwest? What night did you play?
AD: We did, I don't know, its all a blur once again. We flew in and played and
flew out. I want to say it was the same night it was the Mushroomhead and Five
Pointe O show. Yeah, it was because our drummer went over there real quick. It
was hectic. All the Roadrunner people were running all over the place running
around. It was really rowdy. Texas is rowdy, that's a rowdy state man. People
throwing things, broken glass and fights, it was a good time. The Roadrunner
party was so much fun too. They threw one during the day with Jerry Cantrell.
I was drunk by two and everyone was buying me drinks. I was piss drunk at 2pm
and had to play that night with a hangover. It was classic.
NP: Do you know what the next single is going to be?
AD: I think Roadrunner wants to do "Life to Lifeless" next. I believe in those
two songs too. I'd like to see "Self Revolution" up there. I believe in that song a lot.
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NP: A few days ago, I e-mailed all our street teamers that listed Killswitch Engage
in their top ten and I had them send me a question they would like to ask you. I have
a few fan questions for you. This question is from
Drew in Hartford, CT: asks: Trying to label you guys, I'd put you right up there with the ranks of
Hatebreed, Superjoint Ritual and Death but with melody. How would you
describe your sound and who are your influences?
AD: People make a big stink trying to describe their band but when it all
comes down to it, we are a metal-core band with a pop element to it. Almost
like Swedish hard-core with Pop. We got song melody and song structure to it.
Swede-Metal-Hard-core-Pop. There ya go. That's pretty vague isn't it? For influences,
definitely, In Flames, Carcass, Soilwork, and a lot of old school stuff. We all love Bad Brains.
NP: Well, thanks so much for chatting with us! Is there anything you
would like to add?
AD: I just want to say thanks for all the kids who've came out to
the shows on this tour and every show we've had a group of people
that came out to the show just to see us. It's great that we've
never played these cities before and they're coming out to see us.
I want to tell everyone thanks!
Interview by: T-Bone & Suzy
To view past Interviews click
HERE.
Official website:
www.killswitchengage.com
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