An extremely solid offering from this Massachusetts' hardcore/thrash unit. 'Alive Or Just Breathing' rocks with a raw energy and intensity that is rarely matched. The music here is a good mix of thrash metal, hardcore, and throw in a splash of Gothenburg. Though Killswitch is lumped into the metalcore genre; this is not your typical offering from than moniker. Here they seamlessly balance melody with technical, brutal riffing, and the distortion is absolutely biting. This album finds a perfect balance of clean and screaming vocals; while it is heavy and driving enough to please just about any metalhead, it has a degree of accessibility.
There are many highlights here. "Self Revolution" has some great detailed riffing in the verses and has a catchy chorus. "My Last Serenade" is a brutal, fist-pumping anthem, and has a pre-chorus/chorus that just kills. The main riff on "Life to Lifeless" is a top highlight here as metal in general doesn't get much more driving than this; I challenge you to not bang your head! "Rise Inside" has a great build-up, and is a clinic on how to successfully balance killer guitar riffs and time changes with melody.
Killswitch's second release could very well be viewed as a modern-day metal masterpiece, depending on your musical tastes. One thing for sure is that it is at the top of the heap in the metalcore genre, and proved responsible for spawning many second and third rate imitators in the 4-5 years that immediately followed.

TRACK LIST:
1. Numbered Days
2. Self Revolution
3. Fixation On The Darkness
4. My Last Serenade
5. Life To Liefeless
6. Just Barely Breathing
7. To The Sons Of Man
8. Temple From The Within
9. The Element Of One
10. Vide Infra
11. Without A Name
12. Rise Inside

Review by Paul Jackson