KILLSWITCH ENGAGE's JESSE LEACH On Seeing MOTÖRHEAD Live For First Time: LEMMY 'Was One Of The Last Real Rock Stars'

In a new interview with Setlist.fm, KILLSWITCH ENGAGE frotnman Jesse Leach reflected on seeing MOTÖRHEAD for the first time nearly a decade and a half ago. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET):  "We were on tour with TIMES OF GRACE, which is a project I have with Adam [Dutkiewicz, KILLSWITCH ENGAGE guitarist] on the side. And we were on tour for that record, and I'd never seen MOTÖRHEAD live. And I had access to side stage. So you're standing there. And one thing I always heard about was the volume; it's, like, the loudest. And I'm, like, 'All right. Cool.' So I had my earplugs in, prepared — or so I thought. And the thing about MOTÖRHEAD was [MOTÖRHEAD frontman] Lemmy. Lemmy was just — even just seeing the mic stand without him even standing there, you're just, like, 'I'm pre preparing to watch an absolute legend do what he does.' And if you're watching the band, they're not running around like crazy. He's just iconic. He's got that power stance up to the microphone. And I just sat there in absolute awe, having to plug my ears and then for three days after still having tinnitus — it was that loud. And bands don't do that anymore."

Jesse continued: "Most bands, including KILLSWITCH, we're on in-ears. It's a reasonable volume on stage. You get the volume outside, but not on stage. But MOTÖRHEAD was full tilt. And to me, Lemmy was one of the last real rock stars, 'cause he didn't have to do much. You just sat there and it was like watching this rock god hanging out, just hanging out, singing these songs that everybody knew, and watching the audience bouncing up and down and being probably 25, 30 feet from him. And I never even bothered him. I didn't go up to him after; I just didn't bother him. I didn't wanna cross that boundary line of fan. And I had a couple of opportunities. I saw him at the Rainbow [Bar & Grill in West Hollywood, California] as well. I didn't bother him. And I kind of like that I didn't, 'cause he lives in my mind a completely different iconic thing, where I didn't engage with him. I just let him be the rock god that he is. So, yeah, I'll never forget that as long as I live. And there's not many people who can just kind of just hit a power stance and be incredible."

Leach added: "There was a vibe coming off that man. And the way he carried himself in interviews. Just like, whatever. I love that line from 'The Decline Of Western Civilization Part II' [movie], where [the interviewer was], like, 'Well, what do you think about the pretty rock and rollers?' He is, like, 'Ah, good luck to 'em. Wish I was.' That's it. And then they move on. And it's, like, he just stole the whole thing. Just cool. King of cool… And he would treat you the same way as he would treat somebody who's a rock star or royalty. That's what I loved about him. He was a man for the people."

Asked if he remembers the first MOTÖRHEAD album he got, Jesse said: "Obviously 'Ace Of The Spades' was the song that got me. So, to me, the self-titled one — 'Love Me Like a Reptile', 'Killed By Death'. I think that record, to this day, is the one that I would go to. How can you not? It's iconic."

He added: "I was kind of a late bloomer. 'Ace Of Spades', you heard it, but back then, if it wasn't on TV and you weren't going to the shows, the visual element wasn't really there for me. It's, like, I can remember [GUNS N' ROSES guitarist] Slash, for example, like the hat, and Lemmy had that same thing about him, even the warts. It was almost cartoon-like, but iconic."

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".