If all metalcore was performed, produced and presented like Killswitch Engage does it, this genre will never have a problem growing into the heart of true metal fans, the voice in this cd is great, nice vocal cords that reminded me of Marco Aro (ex- The Haunted).

The riffs are very heavy metal and they manage to get stuck in your memory, the bass and the drums are not incredible but they do their part in a very satisfactory way.

The lyrics on this record may surprise some extreme music fans, because they don’t speak about murder or nun decapitation, they are more oriented on positive thinking, like respect, the triumph of love and the downfall of the U.S.A empire (there is a song “Numbered Days” that speaks about the fall of Babylon, and its clearly criticizing the U.S.A government), the clear vocals sections are very appropriate to the messages and the timings of it inside the songs are very well placed.

Alive or Just Breathing is not like any other metalcore album, this one is different in every song, something that keeps you listening track after track, with different rhythms, different riffs that attract you. There are times when the hardcore influences do take the most out of a song but you had to see that coming, after all they are a metalcore band.