Strength of the Mind

Album: Incarnate (2015)
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Songfacts®:

  • This was the first track to be released from Killswitch Engage's seventh album, Incarnate. Drummer Justin Foley told Louder Noise TV why they chose to lead the band's new record with this track. "I think that one is a good representation of stuff that we do. But I also think it's a song that would sound good live," he explained. "It's a song that wasn't crazy, crazy fast, it wasn't crazy different from any of our stuff, so I think it was a good song to kind of ease into new material."

    "I think live, it was the kind of thing that we could get it to sound tight fairly quickly, which is helpful, 'cause we didn't have a whole lot of time to get it ready for [the last] tour," Foley added. "So that kind of helped us influence picking that song."
  • The jarring performance video mirrors the chaotic feel of the track. It was directed by Ian McFarland and Mike Pecci who also shot Killswitch Engage's clips for "Always" and "In Due Time."

    Frontman Jesse Leach explained to Nerdist: "The video visually captures a bit of the anxiety and chaos that the song touches on lyrically. It is almost a bit surreal and dream-like with the camera effects, called 'whacking.' It is always a pleasure to work with McFarland and Pecci, as they are both artists who give it their all with no shortcuts. Watching Mike work the camera live, while Ian paces around and directs, is a very involving and creatively satisfying experience."
  • Jesse Leach explained the song's meaning to TeamRock: "The line, 'I've seen rock bottom and I've smashed my fist against it' references the dark times, but in a positive way. People have different definitions of what rock bottom is, but this song is about being that desperate that you're punching inanimate objects because you're so angry. But it's totally a motivational song, and again it has two meanings – it's not just a self-help song."

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