banner ad
banner ad
banner ad

LIVE: KILLSWITCH ENGAGE – May 15, 2019

Venue: The Fillmore

City: Detroit, MI

Date: May 15, 2019

Review and Photographs by: Todd “Toddstar” Jolicoeur (www.toddstarphotography.com)

Having arrived at the venue into the first song, I decided against fighting my way through the packed venue to the photo pit and opted for a spot at the soundboard to enjoy the visuals and the entire performance from Killswitch Engage without nay disruption or messing around with camera gear after the first couple tracks.  The band was on fire from the moment they hit the stage.  The band kicked their portion of the co-headline show off with “This Fire” and they set the bar for the remainder of the set.  From Jesse Leach’s vocals to the guitar licks, riffs, and solos from Adam Dutkiewicz, the songs seemed to weave together a killer rock and roll sound and metal show that kept the crowd engaged from the first note of the show to the last note of their set.  Next up was the one-two punch of “Rose of Sharyn” and “The End of Heartache” which saw the crowd’s energy level start to increase as the crowdsurfers settled in for a busy night (as well as security that was up front to keep everyone safe).  As other fan favorites dotted the musical landscape, the crowd sang song after song, with heads banging and a combination of raised fists and horns all over the place.  “Beyond the Flames” sounded as good tonight as the first time I heard it and crushed from the FOH vantage point I had.  The rhythm section of bassist Mike D’Antonio and drummer Justin Foley kept the rest of the band locked in and kept the tempo and cadence of the show marching forward through songs like “Fixation on the Darkness” and one of my favorites of the evening, “Hate by Design.”  While Adam leads the charge on guitars, we cannot discount the riffs and playing from Joel Stroetzel on guitar to help fill out the sound of the band and provide some cool moments on stage-  like lending a hand to bassist D’Antonio… literally.  Other killer and powerful tracks such as “Vide Infra,” Alone I Stand,” and “My Curse” made it into the set keeping the energy up, the crowd engaged, and the overall rock quotient dialed up.  Jesse’s banter back and forth with the audience reminded us all that there are bands out there that appreciate every member of the audience and are grateful for them.  One sign even prompted Leach to ask if the fan wanted a guitar pick or a drum stick… you don’t see that every day.  As has been the course the last few times I have seen the band, they closed with an amazing rendition of the classic Dio track “Holy Diver” – this brings the house down EVERYTIME I have seen it performed and never ceases to amaze me how well they pay homage to the song while adding their own little bit to it.  If you haven’t seen them on the current co-headline swing with Parkway Drive, make sure to get out there when they tour with Clutch this summer.

Setlist: This Fire – Rose of Sharyn – The End of Heartache – When Darkness Falls – Beyond the Flames – This Is Absolution – Fixation on the Darkness – Hate by Design – Vide Infra – Always – My Last Serenade – Alone I Stand – In Due Time – My Curse – Strength of the Mind – Holy Diver

Complete set of KILLSWITCH ENGAGE show photos HERE

KILLSWITCH ENGAGE LINKS:

OFFICIAL SITE

FACEBOOK

TWITTER

Category: Live Reviews, Photo Galleries

About the Author ()

ToddStar - that's me... just a rocking accountant who had dreams of being a rock star. I get to do the next best thing to rocking the globe - I get to take pictures of the lucky ones that do. I love to shoot all genres of music and different types of performers. If it is related to music, I love to photograph it. I get to shoot and hang with not only some of my friends and idols, but some of the coolest people around today.

Leave a Reply

Please verify you\'re a real person: * Time limit is exhausted. Please reload CAPTCHA.


banner ad
banner ad