LIVE: KILLSWITCH ENGAGE – December 1, 2018

Venue: The Signal

City: Chattanooga, TN

Date: December 1, 2018

Review and Photographs by: Rachel Craig

Killswitch Engage’s short November/December tour made a stop at The Signal in Chattanooga, with fans nearly selling out the room. The band brought along support from several unique bands that represent different subgenres of metal. The show kicked off with Death Ray Vision, a hardcore punk/thrash supergroup that includes Killswitch Engage’s bassist, Mike D’Antonio. Riding on the release of their latest album Negative Mental Attitude, Death Ray Vision was a great headbanger band to get the crowd in the mood for a night of metal. Crowbar was next, bringing sludgy doom metal and plenty of experience to the stage. Their setlist spanned their 25+ year career, including songs like “All I Had (I Gave),” “The Cemetery Angels,” “Planets Collide” and “Broken Glass.” Born Of Osiris switched the show into more modern-day metalcore, with two vocalists and even a keyboardist. Both Death Ray Vision and Crowbar had more minimal stage presences to focus on the music, but Born Of Osiris was fun to watch and hear live. Their setlist included songs like “Bown Down,” “The Other Half Of Me,” and their most-played track, “Machine.”

Killswitch Engage took over the show with one of the band’s biggest hits, “The End of Heartache” (which I shamelessly sang along to while taking photos because we all know it’s the anthem of our teenage years). I’ve had the chance to see them one other time in the past few years and so far I’ve been very impressed with Jesse Leach’s vocals and stage presence. I’d even argue that he’s equally as loved by fans as Howard Jones. Leach is the perfect frontman, interacting with the crowd while delivering songs that many have listened to for more than a decade. Killswitch Engage’s setlist covered many of their biggest hits and plenty of new favorites from their latest album, Incarnate. Songs included “This Fire,” “Strength of the Mind,” “My Curse,” “Hate By Design,” “Rose of Sharyn,” and “In Due Time.” At several points during the show, the band stopped to talk about how lucky they are to be able to be on tour and Leach even spoke about their shows being an accepting environment to everyone. The show concluded without an encore, instead the band played their cover of Dio’s “Holy Diver” while the crowd sang along in a resounding chorus.

Overall, I think this tour could have gone on much longer than just 10 dates since the lineup included some serious metal talent than spans across generations. It’s obvious that Killswitch Engage is becoming a legendary metal band and their fans have stuck with them since the beginning. Having the opportunity to photograph this band and see them live once again is a big check off the bucket list.

Setlist: The End of Heartache – Strength of the Mind – Beyond the Flames – My Curse – This Fire – Alone I Stand – When Darkness Falls – Hate by Design – You Don’t Bleed for Me – Always – In the Unblind – My Last Serenade – Rose of Sharyn – The New Awakening – In Due Time – Holy Diver

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Category: Live Reviews, Photo Galleries