After bursting onto the scene in 2002 with the genre-defining Alive or Just Breathing, Killswitch Engage have managed to notch up a Grammy nomination and adopt a versatile, non-stop touring schedule. The band's road history includes two treks on Ozzfest, stints on Warped Tour and Taste of Chaos and having the rare ability to straddle the line between the metal and alternative scenes by touring with Slayer and Mastodon as easily as My Chemical Romance and Underoath.

However, KsE elected not to coast on the wave of prior successes, which saw them become one of the premier, most successful bands to emerge from the so-called New Wave of American metal. The band opted to work with an outside producer for the first time in their career. Brendan O'Brien (AC/DC, Rage Against the Machine, Pearl Jam, Stone Temple Pilots) was dispatched with the task, which saw the band record in locales other than their native Massachusetts.

As for the impact KsE have left on the current hard rock scene, the band are modest, humble even, about their role. While the band chalks it up to luck, talent and the crafting of good music that speaks to the fans also factor into the mix with Killswitch Engage and their new self-titled release.