Atonement (Killswitch Engage album)

Atonement is the eighth studio album by American metalcore band Killswitch Engage, released on August 16, 2019 through Metal Blade Records,^[2] making it their first album since 2000 not to be released through Roadrunner Records. The lead single "Unleashed" was released on June 25, and followed by "I Am Broken Too" in July which would later follow up with a music video in August, as well as "The Signal Fire" shortly before the album's release.^[3] The band began a co-headlining tour of North America with Clutch in promotion of the album in July.^[4]

Atonement
Studio album by Killswitch Engage
Released	August 16, 2019 (2019-08-16)
Recorded	February–April 2019
Genre	Melodic metalcore[1]
Length	39:01
Label	Metal Blade Sony
Producer	Adam Dutkiewicz
Killswitch Engage chronology
Incarnate (2016) Atonement (2019) This Consequence (2025)
Singles from Atonement
"Unleashed" Released: June 25, 2019 "I Am Broken Too" Released: July 16, 2019 "The Signal Fire" Released: August 15, 2019 "I Can't Be the Only One" Released: February 22, 2020

In November 2019, the track "Unleashed" was nominated for the Grammy Award for "Best Metal Performance", making it the third Grammy nomination for Killswitch Engage.^[5]

On May 1, 2020, the band released an EP entitled Atonement II: B-Sides for Charity on their Bandcamp, featuring six previously unreleased songs taken from the recording sessions of Atonement. 100% of the proceeds from the EP's sales were donated to the COVID-19 relief organization Center For Disaster Philanthropy, raising over $30,000.^[6]

Background and recording

The album was recorded over a period of two years, with ideas for the album beginning in 2017. Recording sessions took place on both coasts of the United States, but they were put on hold when vocalist Jesse Leach developed scar tissue on a polyp in his throat and underwent speech and vocal therapy for three months. Atonement was thus described as a "reflection of perseverance and passion through the trials and suffering of our existence" by the band,^[2] and by Leach as "musically the most diverse record we've done as a band".^[7]

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	78/100[8]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[9]
Blabbermouth.net	8/10[10]
Consequence	A−[11]
Exclaim!	8/10[12]
Kerrang!	3/5[13]
Metal.de	8/10[14]
Metal Injection	8.5/10[15]
MetalSucks	[16]
Wall of Sound	7/10[17]

The album received positive reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalised rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album has an average score of 78 out of 100 based on five reviews, indicating "generally favourable reviews".^[8]

Wall of Sound writer Ricky Aarons wrote that Atonement "does what [the band's] other releases have, and that is, craft the build-ups and hooks to what we would expect to hear as a crunchy breakdown" but then the band "steadily bring us back down to the start", which "retains old-school metal fans but also attracts the more contemporary metalcore fans". Aarons concluded that "maybe what Killswitch Engage have done here is perfect, and therefore it could be their best album".^[17]

Loudwire named it one of the 50 best metal albums of 2019.^[18]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Adam Dutkiewicz, Mike D'Antonio, Joel Stroetzel, Jesse Leach, and Justin Foley.

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Unleashed"	4:35
2.	"The Signal Fire" (featuring Howard Jones)	3:05
3.	"Us Against the World"	3:19
4.	"The Crownless King" (featuring Chuck Billy)	3:10
5.	"I Am Broken Too"	2:39
6.	"As Sure as the Sun Will Rise"	2:49
7.	"Know Your Enemy"	3:51
8.	"Take Control"	3:44
9.	"Ravenous"	2:52
10.	"I Can't Be the Only One"	4:09
11.	"Bite the Hand That Feeds"	4:48
Total length:		39:01

Atonement II: B-Sides for Charity
EP by Killswitch Engage
Released	May 1, 2020 (2020-05-01)
Recorded	February–April 2019
Length	24:36
Label	Metal Blade
Producer	Adam Dutkiewicz

Atonement II: B-Sides for Charity^[19]

No.	Title	Length
1.	"To the Great Beyond"	3:58
2.	"Hollow Convictions"	4:49
3.	"Killing of Leviathan"	2:55
4.	"No Devotion"	4:22
5.	"I Feel Alive Again"	3:39
6.	"Prophets of Treason"	4:53
Total length:		24:38

Personnel

Credits adapted from album's liner notes.^[20]

Killswitch Engage

• Jesse Leach – lead vocals
• Adam Dutkiewicz – lead guitar, backing vocals
• Joel Stroetzel – rhythm guitar, backing vocals
• Mike D'Antonio – bass
• Justin Foley – drums

Guest musicians

• Chuck Billy – additional vocals on "The Crownless King"
• Howard Jones – additional vocals on "The Signal Fire"

Production

• Adam Dutkiewicz – production, engineering
• Daniel Castleman – assistant engineering
• Andy Sneap – mixing, mastering
• Mike D'Antonio – art direction and layout
• Richey Beckett – cover illustration
• Travis Shinn – group photos

Charts

Chart (2019)	Peak position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[21]	4
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[22]	16
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[23]	23
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[24]	70
Canadian Albums (Billboard)[25]	17
Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)[26]	12
French Albums (SNEP)[27]	161
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[28]	11
Japan Hot Albums (Billboard Japan)[29]	93
Japanese Albums (Oricon)[30]	60
Scottish Albums (OCC)[31]	7
Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE)[32]	55
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[33]	9
UK Albums (OCC)[34]	13
US Billboard 200[35]	13