KILLSWITCH ENGAGE's JESSE LEACH: 'All Of The Science-Fiction Movies I Loved As A Kid,' Like '1984' And 'Idiocracy', 'We're Living Them Right Now'

In a new interview with Jorge Botas of Portugal's Metal Global, KILLSWITCH ENGAGE frontman Jesse Leach was asked for his opinion of the negative effects of political polarization and the state of our world in the post-pandemic era. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "I feel like all of the [dystopian] science-fiction movies I loved as a kid, we're living them right now. We're living through this Orwellian '1984', 'Idiocracy'… All those movies were maybe meant to be funny or, whatever, science fiction, but we're seeing it happen in real time. And I think the problem is two-sided. One, you don't care at all, or two, you care too much and you take everything seriously.

"I think there's a lot of misinformation," he continued. "I think there's a lot of things that are going on that mislead people to sort of continue the divide. I think it's all rigged. I could get really deep into this, but my opinion, my honest, humble opinion is, don't believe everything you've see and hear. Some of it's meant to trigger your emotions, to make you angry and to hate somebody who doesn't agree with you.

"I think what we need to do as people is look at the much bigger picture, and the bigger picture to me is poor people, the working class, we're being stomped on by these very wealthy oligarchs, these people who have all the power, the one-percenters," he added. "That is the divide. It's actually a war of classism. It has nothing to do with left and right. Left and right is a distraction to what is actually happening. And we need to focus on that, to take care of each other as a community, to unite against the real enemy. And the real enemy are these multi-billionaires that are pulling the strings. It's puppetry. It's bred and circus. It's what's been going on since the dawn of kingdoms and empires, the Roman Empire. The Roman Empire didn't die and go away; it just transformed into a different style of world government, and we're living through that right now. So, to me, I pay attention to it, but I don't get super hyped up and emotional and lash out against people who don't agree with me. I'm trying to find a bigger solution. And to me, that's class war. We're witnessing class war, but it's written so well, the propaganda is so good that we think each other is the problem. That's the big picture to me."

Leach went on to blast the plutocrats wielding their wealth and power at the expense of the rest of us. He said: "Things are getting more and more expensive, from food to gas to whatever. So they're crushing the working class. The poor are gonna stay poor and get more poor while the rich reap all these benefits. It's so obvious to me what the reality is. The same thing with celebrity worship. Pay attention to this celebrity and this scandal. Who cares? I could care what my president is doing right now as far as you his opinions or his mouthing off. I'm looking at policies, I'm looking at laws being passed, I'm looking behind the scenes. I'm not watching the puppet dangling in front of me. I'm trying to figure out what's going on behind the puppet. Who's pulling those strings and why? That's what we need to be focusing on. But again, the propaganda is so incredible that we're gonna just bicker over the fact that, 'Oh, I like this guy.' 'I don't like this guy.' Or, 'This guy's political opinion, he deserved to die.' 'Oh, no. He didn't deserve to die.' That's not the main issue. The main issue is behind all of that. Read between the lines. And I've been urging people to do that through my lyrics for years — for years — pre-pandemic, everything. So for me, I get frustrated, but I kind of have to take a sort of Buddhist, zen-like approach to it. Be calm, don't get over-emotional, and just continue to drive the message home and direct people — not force them. There's the term 'leading a horse to water, but you can't force it to drink.' Constantly trying to lead people to the waters of life to see that there's wisdom, there's knowledge, there's a higher frequency you can operate on where you can protect your heart and yourself and not be stressed and not spew hate, but still find a way to create change and be a positive force in the world. There's a way to do it. You just have to back away from the bickering and the arguing because, at the end of the day, how much is your bickering and arguing on the Internet making real change? Because you're reposting something, because you're screaming at your screen — is that really creating change or should you be careful of where you're spending your money?'

Leach added: "Money is everything, from the groceries you buy to the farmers that you support. I could go off on this too. If you're talking about politicians, go local. Look at what's happening in your neighborhood, your governor. Go to the state level, go to the small-town level. That's where the real change is happening, on a small level, the way you interact with your neighbors. Start looking at things differently, and I urge people to do it all the time."

KILLSWITCH ENGAGE released its latest album, "This Consequence", in February via Metal Blade. The LP arrived alongside a hugely successful winter/spring 2025 tour, yielded a Top 10 single with "I Believe" and landed the band on the covers of Revolver and Outburn.

This past summer, KILLSWITCH ENGAGE completed the massive "Summer Of Loud" tour, co-headlining alongside BEARTOOTH, I PREVAIL and PARKWAY DRIVE.

Fans got their first taste of "This Consequence" with pulverizing track "Forever Aligned", swiftly followed by "I Believe". More recently, the group shared videos for "Collusion" and "Aftermath".