JESSE LEACH Says New TIMES OF GRACE Album Is Less Metalcore And More Of A 'Rock And Roll Experimental Record'

In a new interview with Revolver, KILLSWITCH ENGAGE singer Jesse Leach spoke about the progress of the recording sessions for the new LP from TIMES OF GRACE, his collaborative project with KILLSWITCH ENGAGE guitarist Adam Dutkiewicz.

"The album is done," he said (see video below). "We have two quarantine versions of a song [being released soon]. One is an old-school one reworked. The other one is a new cover that you won't see on this next record. 'Cause it's not just not one record — it's gonna be a record and another release. And we hope to have it out this year."

Regarding the musical direction of the new TIMES OF GRACE material, Jesse said: "It's definitely different from the last record. We decided to really sort of set ourselves apart from the KILLSWITCH sound. I think the last record had a lot of KILLSWITCH in it, and we made a conscious departure to write more artistically indulgent songs, a little more rock-orientated, some post-metal, I guess, if you will — effects-driven guitars, very big, atmospheric-sounding stuff and acousticy, more blues, rock-driven stuff as well. So there's less of the quote-unquote metalcorish genre and more of a genuine heavy metal, rock and roll experimental record. And I'm super stoked on it — I'm very proud of it. And I will say this too — Adam takes center stage a lot more on this record. It's very much a 50/50 album when it comes to vocals. You're gonna hear a lot more of Adam's voice, and he has come such a long way with his voice and his lyrics. I'm so proud of him. I think it's the best work that we have done as musicians in this particular genre ever, I would say."

TIMES OF GRACE originally entered Signature Sound studio in San Diego, California in late 2017 to begin recording material for its new LP. Sitting behind the drum kit during the sessions was Dan Gluszak, who previously played drums for TIMES OF GRACE on tour and has since been named an official member of the band.

Three years ago, Leach said that TIMES OF GRACE's new material was "shaping up to be a whole different world of sound and words. I will be using different melodic registers and less growl substituted by more 'melodic yelling,'" he said. "The lyrics are primarily quite melancholy so far but most of my lyrics often do begin that way and find light as the process unfolds."

TIMES OF GRACE's debut album, "The Hymn Of A Broken Man", was released in January 2011 via Roadrunner Records. The CD sold around 10,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release to land at position No. 44 on The Billboard 200 chart.

Dutkiewicz and Leach originally worked together on KILLSWITCH ENGAGE's benchmark album, 2002's "Alive Or Just Breathing". That record has become definitive for an entire generation of American metal, with Leach's voice and uplifting lyrics serving as one of the key elements that propelled the album to "modern classic" status. Leach left KILLSWITCH ENGAGE shortly after "Alive Or Just Breathing"'s release but rejoined the group in early 2012 following the departure of his replacement, Howard Jones.