It's inevitable that once a particular style of music becomes popular, a wave of new artists will emerge as part of it. Killswitch Engage frontman Jesse Leach acknowledged this phenomena in metalcore, arguing that the subgenre became "oversaturated." However, he named one band in particular that stands out against the rest.
In an interview with Metal Hammer, guitarist Adam Dutkiewicz denied that Killswitch Engage directly caused an influx of new metalcore bands when they started becoming popular.
"People always say we've influenced so many bands, but each band has their own identity, I don't think think anyone ever tried to rip us off," he stated.
However, Leach had a bit of a different opinion on the matter.
"I have a different perspective. I was only half paying attention to the scene because after I left Killswitch I got more into doom and stoner rock, but these younger bands felt derivative to me," the singer recalled. "The good ones found their sound over time, but there was an oversaturation of bands who were churning out this big riff, heavy verse, melodic chorus thing. It felt tired, like labels were looking for those bands because they sounded like a band who were becoming successful."
Leach then pointed out an example of a band that formed around the time that metalcore became popular, but that really found their own identity – Architects.
"They came up around that time and they've turned into an incredible band. The ones that had nothing else have been forgotten. It's the difference between starting a band because you're passionate and starting one because you want to look cool and get chicks," he elaborated.
A recent instance where Killswitch Engage were named a big influence was when Bring Me the Horizon vocalist Oli Sykes cited their 2002 album Alive or Just Breathing as the first album he heard and truly recognized as metal.
"When I put that record on for the first time, I was like, 'Oh my God, this is too heavy.' We were going on holiday; I was going to Spain on a bus from England, and it took like 24 hours," Sykes remembered. "I bought it just before I got on the bus, and when I first listened to it, I was like, 'This is too heavy for me, I don't like it. It's too crazy.' But I had nothing else to listen to, so I just kept listening to it."
And then by the time his bus arrived in Spain, he was hooked on the record.
