Killswitch Engage shredder Adam Dutkiewicz takes on the challenge of our mighty 13 Questions
Back in August, Massachusetts metalcore heavyweights Killswitch Engage dropped their eighth album, Atonement, a record which saw the band reunite with former vocalist Howard Jones for triumphant single The Signal Fire. The quintet followed that up with a UK headline tour and have recently been announced for next year's Download festival, as well as being nominated for a sodding GRAMMY! With all this excitement going on, we sat down with guitarist and all round good bloke Adam Dutkiewicz to answer 13 of the toughest questions that’ve ever been posed to him. Let’s hope his mum’s not reading this…
Where’s the best place you’ve ever been?
“I love Hawaii – it’s beautiful there. I’m an outdoors enthusiast and I love hiking, and some of the best hiking I’ve ever done has been in Hawaii. It’s got the best ocean I’ve ever swam in, too.”
What is your biggest fear?
“I always have this recurring dream that I’m in school and I have a really big test coming up that I’m unprepared for, so I guess my biggest fear is unpreparedness. I have that dream at least once a week, which is fucking ridiculous, and every time I wake up so upset about it. You’re dipping into my psyche with these questions.”
If you were in Slipknot, what would your mask be?
“Oh man, I’d be Pizzahead, just a big slice of pizza. And I’d wear a real pizza every night to keep things interesting.”
Why should people listen to your new album, Atonement?
“Because [Testament vocalist] Chuck Billy is on it! Don’t you wanna hear what he sounds like with our silly band? He’s such an amazing singer – we’re stoked that he worked with us. We tried to make this album more aggressive and metal-leaning, so if you miss the early days of our band you should like it.”
When you were a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up?
“It’s funny. When I was really young I scared the shit out of my mum by telling her that I wanted to be a fire fighter so I could die in a fire! That really upset her – I don’t know why I did it. It made an impact on my mum, for sure. I guess it’s quite metal, in a way."
What would you like it to say on your gravestone?
“Shit… these are coming out of left-field! I’ll go with: ‘Drink beer until you die.’”
What is the funniest rumour you’ve heard about yourself?
“That I’m a multimillionaire, because the internet loves talking about that shit. As soon as I won The Price Is Right in the States stuff started popping up online about my net worth, and I was like, ‘Holy shit, this couldn’t be any further from the truth.’”
What is your worst habit?
“Probably that when I have diarrhoea I don’t clean up the toilet – it gets pretty messy in there and sometimes I get it on the wall. The dressing room on tour is always a nightmare – it looks like a murder scene, but with faeces.”
What is the worst injury you’ve ever suffered?
“All the problems I have with my back and the disc herniation. When it goes awry it really goes awry – you either just have to wait it out or head to the emergency room.”
What is the worst job you’ve ever had?
“Oh fuck! Being a telemarketer – it was soulless. Being in a cubicle all day trying to sell things that people don’t need to them is soul-destroying.”
Have you ever been kicked out of a bar?
“Only at closing time. I’ve been told to be quiet many times, though – I’ll just get rowdy and start screaming, and the bartenders are like, ‘If you keep yelling I won’t serve you and you’ll have to leave.’ That happens often.”
Have you ever been in a fight?
“Never. What’s the reason to fight? Words hurt way more.”
If you had the power to turn the internet off, would you do it?
“Abso-fucking-lutely! Obviously, there are tremendous benefits to the internet – connectivity, learning, music – but everybody has forgotten how to live like a human being. People stare at their phones for hours every day, so I think getting rid of the internet would be a great thing. If there was a big building that said ‘Internet’ on it, I’d build a large bomb and drive straight into it.”
Killswitch Engage's latest album Atonement is out now. They will play Download festival in the UK on June 12-14, 2020. Get your tickets now.
