History tells us that it’s difficult to predict what will happen when a band member is replaced. Sometimes, it works out great: AC/DC have been rocking steadily for decades with Brian Johnson; Faith No More jumped to another level when Mike Patton replaced Chuck Mosley. On the other hand, Blur didn’t work without Graham Coxon, and Interpol just don’t seem right without bassist Carlos Dengler. When R.E.M drummer Bill Berry left in 1992, who’d have thought he’d have taken the band’s beating heart with him? A line-up change is a strange, unpredictable thing. Sometimes it works, sometimes is just doesn’t.

‘Disarm the Descent’ is Killswitch Engage’s first album since the departure of Howard Jones. A charismatic frontman whose melodic, booming voice complemented the band’s intricate metalcore sound very well, he is to be replaced by Jesse Leach, the band’s original singer who left in 2002 only to rejoin in 2012. They survived one big line-up change before, but can lightning strike twice?

On the evidence the album displays, just about. Since Leach left, the band have really honed their chops and have become an admirably tight-knit unit, and ‘Disarm The Descent’ is the heaviest, trashiest set of songs we’ve heard from them in years. The New Awakening in particular finds them in great form, all complex time changes, dual solos and rapid blastbeats, coupled with satisfyingly heavy breakdowns. The technical prowess of guitarists of Joel Stroetzel and Adam D is impressive throughout, notably on The Call, a monster track that displays rapid tremolo picking that even Slayer would be proud of. However, the lack of any real experimentation is a disappointment. There’s nothing here that we haven’t heard before from a genre, that at this stage, has become over-saturated with soundalike bands. It’s a good thing then that Killswitch Engage are the best at what they do, and just about manage to keep a tired sound fresh.

The returning Leach, to his credit, does a good, if predictable job. Vocally, metalcore has always been about that balance between raw, guttural screams and melodic, hooky choruses, and Leach pulls of the balancing act convincingly without pushing the genre into any new sonic avenues. Lead single In Due Time and opener The Hell In Me are classic Killswitch Engage: If the former’s extremely catchy chorus shows Leach’s ability as a melodic singer, the latter’s verses prove he should still be considered a very talented screamer. Lyrically, it’s the usual thematic concerns of darkness, death and redemption. A Tribute To The Fallen is the most moving and well-written, with Jesse singing how “You cannot break/this love with hate”. Again, like the performance of his band, there isn’t really much in the way of new ideas, but Leach certainly proves himself worthy of his regained position with a really solid performance.

‘Disarm the Descent’ is a transitional album, and you get the sense that the band’s best work with Leach is ahead of them. But as transitional albums go, it’s really pretty good. It’s slightly unambitious, a bit business as usual, and can lag over the course of it’s twelve songs. However, they’ve done nothing to taint their reputation as one of the big-hitters of metalcore, and they consistently display a high level of songwriting ability and technical prowess throughout. In the end, Killswitch Engage have survived another big line-up change and are still the defining band of a genre they helped established, but if they could just expand their sound and try a few new things, they could become a defining band, full stop. They certainly have the potential.