Music as a Weapon Concert Review - Killswitch Engage

As promised, I’m back for part 2 of my Music as a Weapon concert review with Killswitch Engage.  Right after Chimaira left the stage, the stage crew got up and cleared the set pretty quickly.  But they didn’t have to set up much as far as stage props for KSE.  All they rolled out were a few sets of columns that made up a long bar of light.  I remember hearing about this light bar on the radio before the concert, but really didn’t know how cool it was.

The lights went down once the stage was set and the light bar flashed with a red KSE.

Killswitch came out on stage with built up energy and the crowd responded immediately.  KSE’s genre is listed as Metalcore which is basically a combination of heavy metal and punk.  They’re fronted by lead singer Howard Jones, who I think has a really unique voice.  Everybody thought Ronnie James Dio had a unique voice too until Jones came along to cover “Holy Diver” in his own, but similar style.  He was backed up on vocals by guitarist Adam Dutkiewicz, who put on an interesting show for the fans.  He limped around the stage with a support boot on his right foot, which I thought was hilarious because here’s this guy fighting to even walk, but he’s screaming into the mic and shredding like Zakk Wylde (Black Label Society, Ozzy Osbourne) on stage.  And I wasn’t one of the fans who had their arms crossed if you were wondering. You’d know what I’m talking about if you were at the concert.

They played all kind of fan favorites, like “Eye of the Storm” and “This is Absolution.” Also, this was my first Killswitch Engage concert, so apparently there’s a tradition I didn’t know about.  Just before they play “This is Absolution,” lead singer Howard Jones tells the main floor crowd to split down the middle.  Then when the song kicks in, the crowd makes one huge mosh-pit.  I got a picture of it just before it happened, see it here.  I also found a video of it from some other concert on YouTube if you want to see what happens…

I also got the opening of “End of Heartache” on video, but I can’t show you guys for contractual reasons. But I can tell you it turned out awesome! They played “My Curse” towards the end of their set which electrified the crowd. And finally, they said goodnight in the best way possible, “Holy Diver, you’ve been down too long in the midnight sea.” Their cover of Dio’s “Holy Diver” definitely adds more metal to the song, which turns into an all out brawl of atmosphere after the guitar solo. KSE adds their version of Metalcore vocals with Zakk Wylde like guitar playing. It’s the updated version of a legendary song, but that’s not saying that Dio’s song isn’t still the best, but it does alert the fans of this generation of music that once was great and still is to respect.

Stay tuned tomorrow for my review of the Disturbed concert!

Rock, BC \m/