Critical Reception
| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| 411mania.com | 7.0/10 |
| Allmusic | |
| Blabbermouth | 10/10 |
| CMJ | positive |
| Kerrang! | |
| Lambgoat | 8/10 |
| Metal Review | 9.2/10 |
Critical reception of Alive or Just Breathing was generally positive. Erik Thomas from Metalreview.com said "while this album certainly is responsible for the vast amount of saturation, it stands as a pretty trendsetting, stellar must-own example of metalcore." Jason D. Taylor of Allmusic stated "This is a pure metal album that seemingly has ignored any fashionable trend and instead relies solely on skill and expertise to sculpt some of meatiest heavy metal since the glory days of Metallica and Slayer." Taylor also expressed the impressiveness of the band's "do-it-yourself" work ethic as Dutkiewicz handled all production and D'Antonio "took the time to give much thought on the album's packaging and art direction." Dom Lawson of Kerrang! magazine gave the album five "Ks" (or five out of five stars). He praised the album's unique new sound, music, and vocal performances from Leach. Amy Sciarretto of CMJ said "This album is more addictive than crack cocaine that's been smothered in caffeine and nicotine and drenched with chocolate. Starting with the track "Numbered Days", this 12-track platter never takes its foot off of the throttle." Sciarretto also stated her favorite song from the album was "My Last Serenade", and applauded "Just Barely Breathing", comparing parts of it to Metallica's Ride the Lightning.
Reviewing the 2005 re-release of the album, Scott Alisoglu of Blabbermouth.net said that Alive or Just Breathing is "one special album" and that its release "marked a defining moment in metal." Alisoglu also viewed the album as one of the greatest albums of 2002 and of "the new century." Alive or Just Breathing is one of only 21 albums to have a perfect site rating on Blabbermouth.net. In 2009, MetalSucks compiled a list of the "21 Best Metal Albums of the 21st Century So Far" based on the opinions of various musicians, managers, publicists, label representatives and writers, where Alive or Just Breathing was placed at number four on the list. Noisecreep posted a list of the top 10 best metal albums of the past decade in 2010, where the album was listed at number six.
In a review for 411mania.com, Evocator Manes stated his dislike for the melodic "smooth parts" that he felt were too repetitious throughout Alive or Just Breathing, however he praised the album's production and positive lyrics. Jesse Leach stated there was a small portion of Killswitch Engage fans who disliked his use of clean singing on the album.
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