Alive Or Just Breathing
Studio album by Killswitch Engage
Released	May 21 2002
Recorded	October 2001 - February 2002
Genre	Metalcore
Length	44:56
Label	Roadrunner Records
Producer(s)	Adam Dutkiewicz
Professional reviews
All Music Guide [1]
Killswitch Engage chronology
Killswitch Engage (2000)	Alive Or Just Breathing (2002)	The End of Heartache (2004)

Alive or Just Breathing was a music album released on May 21, 2002 by American metalcore band Killswitch Engage through Roadrunner Records. The album reached No. 37 on Billboard magazine's "Heatseekers" chart. Killswitch Engage - Alive or Just Breathing album cover. ... A Studio Album is an album of regular studio recordings. ... now. ... A music genre is a category (or genre) of pieces of music that share a certain style or basic musical language (van der Merwe 1989, p. ... Metalcore is a musical genre consisting of a mix between heavy metal and hardcore punk. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Roadrunner United album cover Roadrunner Records is an independent record label that concentrates heavily on metalcore and post-hardcore bands (with exceptions). ... In the music industry, a record producer (or music producer) has many roles, among them controlling the recording sessions, coaching and guiding the performers, and supervising the recording, mixing and mastering processes . ... Adam Dutkiewicz is best known as the lead guitarist from Massachusetts metalcore band Killswitch Engage. ... The All Music Guide (AMG) is a metadata database about music, owned by All Media Guide. ... Image File history File links 4_stars. ... now. ... Killswitch Engage is the debut album by the American metalcore band of the same name. ... The End of Heartache is the 2004 album by American metalcore band Killswitch Engage. ... Popular music is music belonging to any of a number of musical styles that are accessible to the general public and mostly distributed commercially. ... An album is a collection of related audio tracks distributed to the public. ... Metalcore is a musical genre consisting of a mix between heavy metal and hardcore punk. ... now. ... Roadrunner United album cover Roadrunner Records is an independent record label that concentrates heavily on metalcore and post-hardcore bands (with exceptions). ... Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry. ...

Musical style

The album's style is best characterised as metalcore, combining both clean and screaming vocals with the melodic dual guitar sounds made popular by bands in the Scandinavian metal scene, the most notable being In Flames. A number of the tracks, including "Fixation on the Darkness" and "Self Revolution", also feature the infectious rhythmic dynamic commonly associated with groove metal. In Flames are a Swedish melodic death metal band from the city of Gothenburg. ... Groove metal, also called neo-thrash, half-thrash, or post-thrash, is a subgenre of thrash metal which took its current form during the early 1990s. ...

The record is a striking blend of both brutal and melodic sounds. The additional financial resources offered by a major label enabled the band to bring a new richness to the attacking dual-guitar riffs and bottom-heavy rhythm section which characterises its music.

The album's impact was also fuelled by a frenetic and desperate energy. Vocalist Jesse Leach explained: "I want people to feel the urgency and desperation I feel. I want people to stop and think about what's going on instead of walking through life. Hence, the title: are you alive or are you just taking in the air?" [2] Jesse David Leach is best known as the former lead vocalist for Massachusetts metalcore band Killswitch Engage. ...

Production and marketing

Alive or Just Breathing was recorded over a period of 7 months. Guitarist Adam Dutkiewicz explained that production of the record was an "on and off" rather than continuous process. The extended recording sessions gave Dutkiewicz the opportunity to devote a greater attention to song-design than had been possible on the band's first record, Killswitch Engage. Dutkiewicz's intention was to take a less "technical" approach, with increased emphasis upon the design of each song as a whole rather than its individual parts. Adam Dutkiewicz is best known as the lead guitarist from Massachusetts metalcore band Killswitch Engage. ... Killswitch Engage is the debut album by the American metalcore band of the same name. ...

The band took advantage of the increased production budget to re-record "Temple From The Within" and "Vide Infra", the opening tracks from its first record. Killswitch Engage is the debut album by the American metalcore band of the same name. ...

The album was recorded and produced in Massachusetts, USA, and mixed in Britain with metal producer Andy Sneap, who had previously worked with Machine Head and Stuck Mojo. To meet Wikipedias quality standards, the remainder of this article may require cleanup. ... Andy Sneap is a British record producer, recording engineer, and mixer. ... Machine Head is a Heavy Metal band, formed in 1992 in Oakland, California. ... Stuck Mojo is a rap metal group from Atlanta, Georgia. ...

Songs

Leach has emphatically denied that the album's lyrics are religious, claiming that the subject-matter of the songs is "spiritual". Leach has explained that although he has religious beliefs, his lyrics were intended to deliver a positive vibe using a "broad brush approach" which avoids alienating listeners with different beliefs.

Despite such denials, the Biblical overtones of the album are difficult to escape. Indeed, Leach has admitted that the album's first song, "Numbered Days", is about the prophecy of the fall of Babylon in Jeremiah 51 (see Bible). Babylon was a city in Mesopotamia, the ruins of which can be found in present-day Babil Province, Iraq, about 50 miles south of Baghdad. ... This entry incorporates text from Eastons Bible Dictionary, 1897, with some modernisation. ... The word Bible refers to the canonical collections of sacred writings of Judaism and Christianity. ...

Leach wrote "Fixation on the Darkness" about the fact that the human soul contains both darkness and light and that a balance must be struck between the two. In the song, Leach focuses on the dark side of humanity and the hope that it can be overcome.

Leach explained that the track "My Last Serenade" was essentially about "burning bridges". He explained that there comes a time some people must be left behind and that there's only so much love you can give somebody until they drag you down with them.

Track listing

1. "Numbered Days" – 3:35
2. "Self Revolution" – 3:08
3. "Fixation on the Darkness" – 3:37
4. "My Last Serenade" – 4:13
5. "Life to Lifeless" – 3:17
6. "Just Barely Breathing" – 5:41
7. "To the Sons of Man" – 1:57
8. "Temple from the Within" – 4:04
9. "The Element of One" – 4:08
10. "Vide Infra"– 3:27
11. "Without a Name" – 1:44
12. "Rise Inside" – 5:54

Bonus Disc on 2005 rerelease

1. "In the Unblind" – 2:48
2. "When the Balance Is Broken" – 4:35
3. "Untitled and Unloved" – 3:20
4. "Numbered Days" (Demo Version) – 3:37
5. "Transfiguration a.k.a. Fixation on the Darkness" (Demo Version) – 3:38
6. "Just Barely Breathing" (Demo Version) – 5:13
7. "Fixation on the Darkness" (Howard Jones Version) – 3:37
8. "Studio Out Takes" – 1:17

Personnel

Band line-up

• Mike D'Antonio - Bass, Art Direction
• Adam Dutkiewicz - Guitar, Backing Vocals, Piano, Producer, Engineer
• Tom Gomes - Drums
• Joel Stroetzel - Guitar
• Jesse Leach - Vocals

Mike DAntonio is best known as the bassist from Massachusetts metalcore band Killswitch Engage. ... Adam Dutkiewicz is best known as the lead guitarist from Massachusetts metalcore band Killswitch Engage. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Killswitch Engage. ... Joel Stroetzel is best known as the rhythm guitarist from the Massachusetts metalcore band Killswitch Engage. ... Jesse David Leach is best known as the former lead vocalist for Massachusetts metalcore band Killswitch Engage. ...

Additional musicians

• Becka Dutkiewicz - Backing Vocals on "My Last Sereneade"
• Philip Labonte - Backing Vocals on "Self Revolution"

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Production

• Daniel Moss - Photography
• Mike Gitter - A&R
• Andy Sneap - Mixing and Mastering

To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article may require cleanup. ... Andy Sneap is a British record producer, recording engineer, and mixer. ...

Fixation On The Darkness

Pete Cortese (of Medium, Overcast, and Seemless) had joined Killswitch Engage and wrote the main riff to this song, but had to leave shortly thereafter as his girlfriend had become pregnant. He is credited in the album's booklet. Look up medium in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...