For Massachusetts-based metalcore band Killswitch Engage, the Taste of Chaos Tour is a rock ‘n’ roll version of the classic fish-out-of-water story.

But guitarist Joel Stroetzel says being the only metal band on a tour dominated by emo has helped it seize the attention of concert-goers.

“If nothing else, people will notice us and say, ‘What the hell is this metal band doing here?'” Stroetzel says.

Having participated in the Jagermeister Music tour, which saw the band playing next to fellow heavy metal acts Slayer and Mastodon, Stroetzel is quick to point out the differences between the two tours.

“They’re very, very different,” Stroetzel says.

“With the Slayer thing, everything was pretty tightly scheduled. This tour is kind of a big traveling circus.”

Stroetzel jokes that even the crowds for the two tours are polar opposites of one another.

“With Slayer, you’ve got big guys with beards beating the crap out of each other,” Stroetzel says. “With this tour, it’s 14-year-old girls with braces screaming.”

Stroetzel says the well-rounded listening habits of the individual band members play a key role in Killswitch Engage’s ability to appeal to fans of diverse musical styles.

“It comes from all of us listening to different stuff,” Stroetzel says. “Me and Mike [D’Antonio, bassist] are sort of the metal guys, Adam listens to pop and Howard listens to pretty much everything. We have a lot of different elements in our music; there’s a little something for everyone.”

Killswitch Engage’s success has lead to the recent re-releases of the band’s first self-titled album, as well as its current album, “The End of Heartache.”

Stroetzel says he is taken aback by heavy metal music’s current resurgence in popularity.

“It’s definitely a surprise,” Stroetzel says.

“Some people are calling it the new wave of American heavy metal, and it’s funny because some of us have been doing it for 10 years now.”

In spite of this, the band’s career hasn’t been without its share of obstacles, as Killswitch Engage has weathered several band lineup changes, including original vocalist Jesse Leach being replaced by Howard Jones and drummer Adam Dutkiewicz moving to play second guitar.

The changes proved to be exactly what the band needed, Stroetzel says.

“I think it worked to our advantage on this last record,” he says. “It made it very easy to make a record that wasn’t the same as the last. It was good to write with another guitar player, and the vocals are completely different.”