Killswitch Engage's 2002 Sophomore Studio Album Alive or Just Breathing on LP.

The arrival of the band's Roadrunner-released second album, the Decibel Magazine "Hall of Fame" classic Alive or Just Breathing (2002), heralded the dawn of the New Wave of American Heavy Metal and introduced the world to the soulful declarations-against-the-darkness of pensive, uplifting singer Jesse Leach. The singer's thoughtful lyrics were paired with the dynamic, fluid and unstoppable riffing of drummer-turned-guitarist/producer and on-stage madman Adam Dutkiewicz. Joel Stroetzel's guitar sound, tone and technique remain driving, persistent and immediate, laying the foundation for the band's dueling guitar style. Last but not least bassist Mike D'Antonio has long served as an anchor personally, professionally and rhythmically.

Alive or Just Breathing standouts "My Last Serenade" and "Fixation on the Darkness," are just the beginning of a mammoth list of anthems imprinted upon the collective psyche of an underground generation. D'Antonio says it best, "If you took a molten metal, 80-foot-tall King Cobra and made it fight against Godzilla in a 'Battle Royale'-style death cage match from hell, the outcome would be pretty much how we sound. It's scary at times, and crushing at others."