I waited 18 years to see Killswitch Engage live. Tonight was definitely a show for the books.
Massachusetts metalcore leaders Killswitch Engage decided that Hampton Beach needed some love and did a one-off show last week at the Hampton Beach Casino Ballroom alongside deathcore titans Fit For An Autopsy, Death Ray Vision, and Paradise Slaves.
With it being the middle of June and the show was on the beach, traffic hindered me from being able to photograph the opening band, Paradise Slaves. But I was able to catch the last three songs of their set, overall a very solid-sounding band. Driving rhythm sections, vocals that soar above the roof, and guitar tone that’ll make your teeth crunch. Next to take the stage were local giants, Death Ray Vision, who are on a little bit of a mini summer tour for their upcoming third full-album release, “No Mercy From Electric Eyes” (Metal Blade Records). With a new vocalist, Keith Bennett leading the charge, they ran through a quick and visceral set of old and new songs.
Next to the stage are deathcore legends, Fit For An Autopsy. A bit of an outlier on this one-off show, but a very, very welcome edition. Running through an absolutely crushing nine-song set including “A Higher Level of Hate” and “Helions”, vocalist Joe Badalato shows why he is an absolute force to be reckoned with in the deathcore scene that is in the midst of a huge revival at the moment. With tone that would make a wooly mammoth tremble and swagger and charisma that just make you wanna hang out with them after the show, Fit For An Autopsy laid waste to the Ballroom. And I sincerely hope that they make a trip back to the beach soon.
Now for the main reason we’re all here and the reason I personally got teary-eyed twice during this show. Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, from Westfield, MA… KILLSWITCH ENGAGE!
*cue me losing my shit*
With a monstrous 19-song set spanning their entire career thus far, they pulled absolutely no punches… more on that in a minute. Opening up with “My Curse” is a hell of a way to open the show. A little something from every album in their discography made an appearance tonight. Hearing “The Arms of Sorrow” live put me right back in high school and was an emotional nostalgia trip. The sheer chemistry between Jesse Leach and the crowd is something that I never thought I’d get a chance to see in person and I couldn’t take the smile off my face the entire time witnessing it in real-time. Jesse being well, Jesse decided it was his turn to have some unbridled fun about halfway through the set. This man decides to jump into the circle pit during “Reject Yourself” and make friends with everyone in the pit, truly a man of the people! Adam D ran through the crowd during “The End of Heartache” as is tradition. While the set was damn near perfect and I loved everything that had happened up until this point, nothing could’ve prepared me for the encore.
As I’m sure you’ve seen online by now, Jesse brought Joey Belladonna of Anthrax (who was at Hampton Beach all weekend doing his own run of shows) out on stage to do KSE’s cover of “Holy Diver”. Killswitch and Anthrax haven’t been on the same stage since 2017 on the Killthrax Tour. But, as we all know, when Killswitch plays a hometown show… they pull out all the stops. Howard Jones rushes the stage to close out the night with performing “The Signal Fire” alongside Jesse and I wept, openly. And I loved every goddamn minute of it. I couldn’t have asked for a better first-time experience seeing Killswitch Engage live, and you can bet your entire ass that I will be seeing them again next time they tour.
Setlist via setlist.fm
My Curse
Rise Inside
This Fire
Reckoning
The Arms of Sorrow
In Due Time
Beyond the Flames
Unleashed
Hate by Design
The Crownless King
Rose of Sharyn
Reject Yourself
Strength of the Mind
My Last Serenade
The Element of One
This Is Absolution
The End of Heartache
Holy Diver (Dio cover) (with Joey Belladonna)
The Signal Fire (with Howard Jones)
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Until next time folks,
Smallz, signing off…
WORDS AND PHOTOS BY CHRIS SMALL