Killswitch Engage’s Jesse Leach Talks Battling Mental Illness + Legalizing Medicinal Marijuana
During Killswitch Engage vocalist Jesse Leach’s recent visit to our studio, we had a chance to speak with him about more than just the band’s new album, Incarnate. Leach talks about his lifelong struggle with battling depression and anxiety and how important it is to open up a public dialogue about the subjects.
While Leach returned to Killswitch Engage in 2012 and recorded 2013's Disarm the Descent with the band, Incarnate is the first Killswitch Engage disc since 2002’s Alive or Just Breathing where Leach was a part of the entire process from birth to completion. He was able to put a huge amount of himself into the album, addressing mental illness in standout tracks like “Strength of the Mind.”
Leach speaks about the shift of public perception when it comes to mental illness, though he still believes it to be heavily stigmatized. He brings up the death of Robin Williams, which began a worldwide conversation that still resonates today.
Jesse also shares his belief that marijuana should be legalized for medicinal purposes. “When you finally do get help, a lot of the time they just want to push pills down your throat,” Leach says. “The whole system towards mental illness is broken. Again, that’s why that dialogue needs to continue. That’s why we need to legalize medicinal marijuana or low-dose psychedelia; these things that are happening in the underground that are helping people and helping to solve some of those issues instead of poisoning yourself with medication.
We get deep with Jesse on the topic of mental illness, so be sure to check out our exclusive interview in the clip above! Incarnate is set for release tomorrow (March 11). To grab a copy of the album, click here.
Killswitch Engage's Jesse Leach on Incarnate Album + Embracing His Journey
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