Alone I Stand

Album: Incarnate (2016)
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Songfacts®:

  • This track opens Killswitch Engage's seventh album, Incarnate. Lead singer Jesse Leach explained to TeamRock; "We thought it would be the perfect song to open up the album because it's technical and fast, and the chorus is huge. For me, it was a nice way to start the record lyrically as well. It starts off on a note of defiance saying, 'No matter what you have to say about who you think we should be, this is who we are.' It's kind of political and it's also kind of about us."
  • The song actually dates back to around 2010. "Musically, this is a Disarm the Descent song that didn't make it onto that album," Leach said. "It was actually written a couple of years prior to that, so the song is actually about six or seven years old. It was one of the ones where I didn't really know what to do with the verses. I was kind of stumped, and we had to finish Disarm so it just got pushed to the side."
  • Jesse Leach rejoined Killswitch Engage in February 2012 after a decade away from the band. The album title reflects his re-establishing with the group that he co-founded back in 1999. He told Revolver: "The definition of incarnate is 'in the flesh.' And this record is who we are right now. Whereas [2013's] Disarm The Descent was sort of my 'comeback' album, and was about us feeling out the new vibe. But now, after spending a few years traveling the world together, I think we're all in a really comfortable place. We definitely have a strong sense of self as to who we are as a band."

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