Following the demise of his band Overcast in 1998, bassist Mike D'Antonio trawled the underground Massachusetts hardcore punk and heavy metal scene in search of a line-up for a new band. In 1999, D'Antonio met Adam Dutkiewicz and Joel Stroetzel, AFTERSHOCK's guitarists. Dutkiewicz became the drummer, while Stroetzel remained on guitar. The trio searched for a vocalist and eventually hired Jesse Leach, formerly of Corrin and Nothing Stays Gold. The now four member band took the name of "Killswitch Engage", a name proposed by D'Antonio after watching an episode of the FOX television program The X-Files entitled "Kill Switch" (named after the episodes writer William Gibson had a chance meeting with industrial band Kill Switch...Klick).

While on tour with In Flames and Shadows Fall, Ferret Records took notice of Killswitch Engage's aggressive live show. The band then signed with the record label and began recording their debut album.

This and their debut self-titled album was sufficient to earn the band a record deal with Roadrunner Records. Soon after their signing to Roadrunner records, the band decided to become a five piece by bringing in former AFTERSHOCK drummer, Tom Gomes. In 2002 they released Alive or Just Breathing, a successful record which greatly increased the band's **exposure and placed them on the Billboard Magazine Top Heatseekers chart. The CMJ New Music Report described the record as "more addictive than crack cocaine that's been smothered in nicotine AND drenched with chocolate."

Leach left the band shortly after the release of its second record, Alive or Just Breathing. Leach had married his wife while touring, and he was always separated from her. This brought Leach into a deep depression. During shows, he began screaming with more emotion than technique, and blew out his voice. After the last show of their tour in Seatle, he sent the band an email, because he was too emotionally distraught to confront them personally, in which he explained his situation. (As explained on "World Ablaze" DVD) This, coupled with the band's touring commitments, prompted Leach's departure in June 2002. Leach was replaced by the band's current vocalist, Howard Jones, of Blood Has Been Shed.

The new lineup played on the Road Rage tour in the UK and Netherlands in 2002 with 36 Crazyfists, and continued touring throughout the rest of the year. In 2003 the band released the song When Darkness Falls which appeared on the soundtrack to the 2003 horror film Freddy vs. Jason. The same year they also played the Ozzfest, after which drummer Tom Gomes left the band, to live in Los Angeles with his wife, and pursue their current band, Something Of A Silhouette. He was replaced by Jones' fellow Blood Has Been Shed band member, Justin Foley, who also played in the jazzmetal band Red Tide. Justin' first tour with the band was the MTV2 Headbangers Ball tours.
Jesse Leach (Left) And Howard Jones (Right)
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Jesse Leach (Left) And Howard Jones (Right)

The band's third album, and the first to feature Jones on vocals, was The End of Heartache which was released on May 11, 2004. The album ultimately went on to sell more than a quarter of a million copies in the U.S. It also debuted on the top 40 of the Australian album charts on May 17, 2004 following a successful tour of that country with Anthrax.

In the later half of 2004, the band supported Slayer on their US Jagermusic dates, and headlined shows with From Autumn to Ashes, Eighteen Visions and 36 Crazyfists. In addition, the track The End Of Heartache became the main single for the movie Resident Evil: Apocalypse, and in December 2004 the song was nominated in the Best Metal Performance category for the 47th annual Grammy Awards.

In late 2004, The End of Heartache was re-released as a special edition album, with a second disc featuring live performances of Fixation on the Darkness, Life To Lifeless and My Last Serenade accompanied with two bonus tracks, the rerecorded Ir