About Burn Eternal

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Few names are as revered in metalcore as that of dynamic duo Howard Jones and Adam Dutkiewicz. Establishing the blueprint in New England's burgeoning underground, Howard with Blood Has Been Shed, and Adam with Aftershock and then the legendary Killswitch Engage, the two would go on to join forces and play key roles in what would become eight seminal Killswitch years.

When the dust finally settled on the Howard-era of Killswitch, the duo had amassed an impressive resume of awards and accolades together, including the band's first of several GRAMMY nods for The End of Heartache, which also won best album at the 2004 Metal Hammer Golden God awards, as well as the 2006 platinum-selling As Daylight Dies which remains the most-selling Killswitch album to date.

Howard's departure from Killswitch in 2010 eventually kicked off a prolific journey of musical output from his bands Devil You Know, who won best new band at the 2012 Golden God Awards, Light The Torch, who put forth two critically acclaimed albums with 2018's Revival and 2021's You Will Be the Death of Me and SION with YouTube star Jared Dines. His revered vocals have made guest appearances on a wide array of music by Body Count, Crobot, and Dee Snider to name a few.

Meanwhile Adam has remained a Killswitch stalwart for 25+ years as a founding member, producer, prolific writer and of course accomplished guitarist. He has lent his production chops to an impressive list of bands that includes Underoath, Parkway Drive, Shadows Fall, as well as to his own projects Times of Grace and Serpentine Dominion. Now, nearly 14 years later, the dynamic duo returned to the studio and emerged with Burn Eternal's debut self-titled record, out via Metal Blade records on February 26, 2027.

As all good things do, the project naturally blossomed amongst dinner with friends. While Killswitch was in the UK supporting Iron Maiden, Howard happened to be in the UK performing and so he and Dutkiewicz decided to sit down and break bread. As the night went on, and the familiar warmth of longtime friendship took hold, Howard asked Adam a simple question, "hey, do you have any riffs for me to sing over?" Without any promise of label backing, and fueled by a genuine love of each other's company, the duo embarked on a grand journey of co-writing and demoing, leading them to numerous recording studios and ultimately tracking what would eventually become Burn Eternal's debut LP.

Each time they came together the feeling was familiar yet exciting, Howard describing it as "a longstanding itch, you finally got to scratch," and adding "it was a fun situation because there weren't any expectations." The lack of deadline was freeing, allowing them to explore how their creative dynamic has evolved after so much time apart. "Howard has changed a lot as a person since we last worked together," starts Adam D, "while writing Burn Eternal he was just like an open book, like, let's try all these different ideas, it was really refreshing."

Both were constantly writing, with the bulk of Adam's initial riffs conceived during pandemic lockdown, and Howard arriving with a well of lyrics and ideas. Dancing around Adam's rigorous touring schedule, the duo found the time to record in segments at Dutkiewicz's San Diego studio, in the Cayman Islands, and ultimately concluding where the duo first came together, in Westfield, MA at Mainline Recording, formerly known as Zing Studios where Killswitch recorded much of their formative material.

Serene choruses, pummeling breakdowns, and Adam D's unmistakably lush guitar leads, Burn Eternal is a glorious return to form for the duo. Opening things with the cataclysmically pummeling "Wounds I've Made", Howard greets listeners with his trademark banshee cry, invoking pit warriors to draw their swords. Once the blood settles, the band offers us a moment of peace at the top of "No Escape", as Howard's soft croon acts as the calm before Adam's thunderous, storming chugs bring us back onto the battlefield. Wearing its east coast hardcore roots on its sleeves, "Blackheart" opens with a crunchy bass groove reminiscent of Sick of It All or Earth Crisis before bringing in slamming, brutal, riff excellence. Mesmerizingly syncopated guitar runs and violent pinch dives adorn "Scared of Shadows" which includes one of the meanest riffs in the duo's catalog, wielding primal, diminished guitar attacks. "Bitter Pill" opens as another pit anthem, goading dancers to start throwing their arms with its methodically crushing pulse. "Born Again" sees the balance of their two styles in perfect harmony, Adam's punishing chugs elevating Howard's angelic serenading to divine heights, and includes a truly transcendent signature Adam guitar solo. Closing out the record is "Fell Silent", perhaps the most epic number of the record reaching film score levels of gravitas with its lush production framing the slamming verses and sublime choruses.

Whether you've been a fan of Howard and Adam's work for years, or this is the first you've heard from them, Burn Eternal emerges naturally triumphant, self-evidently powerful, and above all, clearly full of love from two friends just happy to be working together again.