Band:	Killswitch Engage
Album:	Incarnate
Style:	Melodic metalcore
Release date:	March 11, 2016
Guest review by:	omne metallum

01. Alone I Stand
02. Hate By Design
03. Cut Me Loose
04. Strength Of The Mind
05. Just Let Go
06. Embrace The Journey... Upraised
07. Quiet Distress
08. Until The Day
09. It Falls On Me
10. The Great Deceit
11. We Carry On
12. Ascension
13. Reignite [bonus]
14. Triumph Through Tragedy [bonus]
15. Loyalty [bonus]

Following on from the hype of a return to form and line-up change would be a daunting task for many a band; for a band of Killswitch Engage's calibre though, Incarnate is a disappointment. While not a bad album, knowing what the band are capable of (especially after Leach had readjusted the driver's seat on Disarm The Descent), the album never really clicks in the way that you know the band can.

The quickest summary of Incarnate I can give would be to compare it to the more average moments of the band's prior work; where albums like As Daylight Dies and Disarm The Descent had moments that, although enjoyable, didn't do too much to move the dial, Incarnate is an album full of these moments. While not a bad album, it doesn't really distinguish itself in anyway.

The band does circle around quality but never fully embraces it, missing that special something that would elevate a track to the heights the band usually flies at. "Embrace The Journey... Upraised", "Hate By Design" and "The Great Deceit" come close but still fall short. On any other album, they would be the third or fourth single, after the best tracks had already been released and the band needed an extra song just to keep the album in the public mind. Still worth listening to, but if you weren't sold on the album by now then this probably won't sell you on it alone.

Through no fault of the band as musicians nor due to a poor production do these issues arise; Dutkiewicz does a fine job at each role he gives himself on Incarnate, ensuring the guitars, production and backing vocals (the full-on death growls of "Triumph Through Tragedy" are among his best) are as strong as before. Leach's voice is strong and injects each song with a level of emotion that breathes life into them and ensures they can't be labelled as filler. The missing ingredient doesn't arise from the band's playing nor the production on the album.

It is this difficulty in pinpointing what is missing that makes Incarnate a conundrum as much as it an album; it is hard to pinpoint what needs changing to make it that bit better.

I can see why Incarnate has its fans though, for even when they're offering up something middle of the road (by their standards), Killswitch Engage are still leagues above many of their peers. I would still reach for this album over many an album in the metalcore genre, it is just in the grand scheme of Killswitch Engage that I find myself reaching for one of their other albums instead.

Incarnate is worth a listen, there is a good chance it clicks for you where it doesn't for me; it has the potential, it just depends on whether you think the band realize it here or not.