Jesse Leach From Killswitch Engage On Backing Tracks And AI: ‘We Don’t Do That’

Jesse Leach, frontman for metalcore giants Killswitch Engage, recently shared his perspective on what gives his band its live power, emphasizing their commitment to authenticity and the human element in an era increasingly touched by technology. In a new interview with Rock Feed, Leach also offered his candid thoughts on the rise of artificial intelligence (AI) in music creation.

For Leach, the strength of a Killswitch Engage concert lies in its genuineness. “It’s real. It’s dudes playing instruments. There’s no computers,” he stated (as transcribed by Blabbermouth), clarifying that while they use a sampler for certain album-specific sounds, they strive to replicate their recorded work live without relying on backing tracks. “No offense to bands who run tracks, but for us, it’s a point of pride that we don’t do that. And that’s why you’re gonna get — if I’m a little tired, you’re gonna hear it… live, you’re gonna hear my flaws. And that’s good. I like flaws, personally.”

He acknowledged the difference between their polished studio albums and the rawer live experience. “The record’s squeaky clean. The live performance is the best that we can to get there, but it’s never gonna be perfect,” Leach admitted. This pursuit of excellence involves rigorous self-critique, including listening back to show recordings to identify areas for improvement. “Most of the time when we get off stage, it’s not immediately a good show. It’s, like, the list of grievances… We even have our sound guy record, and we have to listen to the recordings. And if I messed up, I’ve gotta listen to it… I wouldn’t have it any other way. Again, it’s just we care that much. The quality control stays high.”

When the conversation turned to artificial intelligence, Leach expressed a preference for the tangible, human aspects of music. “For me, there’s nothing better than… a person with an acoustic guitar playing a song. And you can hear the finger scratches on the strings, you can hear the voice kind of go a little bit… you’re getting the human element,” he said.

While acknowledging AI could be a tool, he confessed to a sense of unease with AI-generated content. “A.I., even the videos I see on Instagram, if I’m scrolling and I see an A.I. video, I just get slightly uncomfortable. Some of it is cool, and I get it’s a tool we can use, but I’m still uncomfortable with it.”

Referencing dystopian themes in fiction, he added, “I’m a child of the ’80s. I mentioned ‘1984’, I mentioned ‘They Live‘ and all those science-fiction movies, ‘Matrix‘, trying to warn us, ‘Terminator‘. We’re already there. We’re there already, which is wild to me.”

Leach clarified that he isn’t entirely against AI but sees its role as limited, especially concerning core artistic creation. “I’m not a curmudgeon that’s, like, ‘No A.I.’ A.I. can be used as a tool to help with little things. But as far as creativity goes, I can’t ever see myself using it,” he stated. “I just love being an artist… I don’t want that taken away for the sake of convenience.”

He voiced concerns about AI leading creativity down a “very strange path,” potentially driven by commercial incentives, and the unsettling nature of digital information’s malleability. “My thing, too, is because it’s digital and not in print — like, you can read a book — it can change. So the definition of things can change without us even realizing it. That’s, to me, where things get a little scary… How do you know what you’re getting is the truth? You don’t know… It’s a weird thing to navigate.”

Killswitch Engage released their latest album, This Consequence, on February 21, 2025, via Metal Blade. The band recently concluded a North American tour in April, which ran from March 5 to April 12 and featured support from Kublai Khan TX, Fit For A King, and Frozen Soul.