‘Forever Aligned’ shot by Travis Shinn, Jeremy Danger, and Tom Bejgrowicz, edited by Jeremy Danger.

This time around, the group emphasized working together face-to-face in a Massachusetts rehearsal spot. The process enabled them to apply the pressure on every element. At the collective urging of his bandmates, Jesse poured over his words like never before. The first single finds the band firing on all cylinders. Jesse’s growl weighs heavy on a galloping beat and dual-guitar battering ram. The barrage breaks like a wave on a chantable chorus, “It’s you, I find, forever in my mind, we are aligned,” giving way to a melodic bridge laced with a hummable lead line. “‘Forever Aligned’ is about connection and that spiritual energy that bonds us as humans. It is equally about human love inspired by my relationship with my wife as well as my connection to what I feel is God. To me God is love, love is much greater than anything we can achieve as humans. It is a power that transcends life and death.” – Jesse Leach

‘Forever Aligned’ lyrics:

Wander through this desolation
the emptiness inside
The venom of this isolation begins to claim it’s prize
A part of me only you could see
to save this wretched wounded man from all consuming grief

Breathing a new vitality
Give me a place to rest
Connecting the deepest depths of me
Now my tongue must confess

It’s you I find forever in my mind
We are aligned inside forever in my mind
We are aligned

When my breath begins to tremble
swallowed by this dread
I feed me to the wolves that linger in the shadows of my head
Find a pain in me
it will bleed eventually
Face to face with what must change
killing this deceit

Pull me from the depths
Save me from defeat

Deliver me a revelation to find a new belief

It’s you I find forever in my mind
We are aligned inside forever in my mind

All you can see eternally
connection of spirit and what’s in between this life
I find forever in my mind

Calculating divinity to understand the spirit unseen
Now we are aligned
We are aligned

And it’s you I find forever in my mind
We are aligned inside
Forever
We are aligned

“Making this record lit a fire under my ass and made me rethink everything,” admits Jesse. “It had to be next level. It had to be different enough for people to really recognize we’re putting forth an effort—or what’s the point of doing this? There was no repeating ourselves. It was very carefully planned out and passionately written. It sounds like Killswitch, yet there’s also a fresh spirit to it.”

“We pushed him to do more vocal demos and were super tough on him,” recalls Adam. “He was so open to feedback though, and he definitely got the lyrics right. I love it when he and I are face-to-face, and ideas are flying around. We work especially well together when we’re in the heat of the moment. All of the demoing made for a better record, and there was so much communication between all of the band members.”

“It felt like everyone put a ton of effort into this,” Mike adds. “It’s the first time since Alive Or Just Breathing that we really hashed everything out together in the same room. It was a combined effort, and there are even some things you’ve never heard from Killswitch.”

Jesse culled inspiration from “hours on Thesaurus.com,” reading as many books as possible, and interacting with fans on the road in between. He confesses, “I found my voice again.”

“I never considered myself to be a part of mainstream society,” he goes on. “I’ve always been in the middle. To me, this record is about the consequences of our actions as humans as we engage in war, hatred, division, and falling in line with control. History repeats itself. We’re going to have to answer for our actions—whether it’s how we treat the earth or each other. There will be an uprising and a backlash from nature. Cause-and-effect is a driving theme. We will face a consequence.”

“When you find someone who won’t give up on you, forge a friendship, or have a family member who makes you a better person, you realize what love actually is,” notes the frontman. “I think true love is far beyond human comprehension. We have glimpses of it, but we’ll never grasp it. When you’re striving to be filled with love, it’s a selfless path. It’s a spiritual connection; it transcends life and death. The energy of love moves on eternally, so you’re forever aligned with who you love.”

“Even with all of the brutality, the hook is right up there with some of our best,” smiles Mike. “We felt like it was the perfect song to introduce this chapter and show we’re ready to go.”