These pioneers of metalcore are back with a new album and their first headlining tour since 2022
Back in 2002, I got into some fresh sounding metal from a little known band from Massachusetts called Killswitch Engage. They released this album called Alive or Just Breathing that just sounded so fresh at the time with some really catchy guitar riffs and great vocals. Not long after in 2002, lead vocalist Jesse Leach left the band with some mental health issues and they ended up getting a much different singer named Howard Jones. They then released another amazing album in 2004 with Howard called The End of the Heartache and that also got some serious rotation on my cassette deck. That year, they actually made a date in Winnipeg where I lived at the time at a small venue (West End Cultural Centre) and I was excited to see them crush that place to just a couple hundred people. I remember going to the merch table and guitarist Adam Dutkiewicz was making jam sandwiches for anyone, and of course I had one. It was one of those shows I would not forget as they were as good as what was produced on those last couple fantastic albums. From there, in 2013 they brought back Jesse on vocals as losing Howard left the band really brought mixed emotions from me, but both are really killer (but very different) singers.
Fast forward to 2025, and tonight we get to see them headline a massive bill at the sold-out 1100 seat Vogue Theatre in Vancouver with Frozen Soul, Fit For a King and Kublai Khan TX. They just released a real slapper of an album called This Consequence, which is a little heavier metalcore sound that they are known for these past 20 years. We haven’t heard anything new from them in the last 6 years so you can bet I am excited to see how these new songs (and which do they play?) come off live!
The band has not had any personnel changes for the past 20+ years, with Jesse on vocals, Adam (guitar), Joel Stroetzel (guitar), Mike D’Antonio (bass), and Justin Foley (drums).
The boys start off with a really heavy one with “Strength of the Mind” from 2016’s Incarnate album. I think this was a wise start as they had 3 hard hitting bands prior to them and wanted to keep the thunder roaring on the fans. That being said “Rose of Sharyn” from the Howard Jones era was next, and Jesse can definitely do that one justice, is it Howard? No, that’s a pretty tall order as I mentioned both have pretty unique singing voices. But this is something the Howard fans have to get over and frankly, having Jesse was the next best choice and thankfully he is back.
At song 4 we finally get a new one and its my favorite from the new album called “Aftermath”. It’s definitely a song with plenty of emotion and Jesse conveys it really well live, even with Adam’s backing vocals, as he sounds pretty decent on it as well.
Song 5, “Fixation on the Darkness”, which has one of the most recognizable riffs in metal on the start of this one. What is a Killswitch show without Adam and Joel going back and forth trying to out duel each other with pinch harmonics on the guitar? Adam seems to have toned down a smidge on his antics on stage, but he certainly gets a workout with his headband and constant jumping. Maybe he has grown up a little now and I can take him a little more seriously, but you can’t deny the band cheerleader.
There was quite a battalion of lights on this show as well as great visuals on the multi screen setup, and above the band. They didn’t cheap out with that at all, great value and I really noticed them more as I went to the top of the theatre, especially when “In Due Time” (song 14) was played. The sound was great too, not a complaint there.
“Collusion” is one of the heavier songs off This Consequence with some death metal like growls on that one. One of the other hooky songs off that album was at song 10 with “Forever Aligned”, definitely one that is a brain worm with that chorus. “I believe” at song 12, made me a believer in the new album, definitely cut well with me this night too. I usually will judge an album if it has 4 solid songs on it, and this one definitely passed that test.
One thing that I found was that I will be re-visiting the 2006 As the Daylight Dies album. I think they really sounded quite good with Jesse on the mic with these and they have aged well. They hit “My Curse”, “The Arms of Sorrow” and “This Fire” on that one.
The last 2 songs of the night could not be missed and are staples of the band with “The End of the Heartache” and lastly, “My Serenade”. All in all, we got a solid 18 songs from these metal titans and I was really happy with this show. It’s been awhile since I last saw them as a headliner but, with this new material this go around, there is little doubt that they should be headlining shows from here on in. They have alot of balls taking these 3 other support bands along with them (Frozen Soul, Fit for a King, Kublai Khan TX) as they each tow fan support behind them. This tour package is NOT to be missed as it had something for everyone, go check it out!
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