KILLSWITCH ENGAGE
THE PALLADIUM, WORCESTER, MASSACHUSETTS
Massachusetts metalcore heroes revisit their highs and plateaus
THE WORCESTER PALLADIUM is a venue woven into Killswitch Engage’s DNA. Back when the metalcore heroes were upstart East Coast punks, they performed their first ever show there, supporting Shadows Fall and In Flames. They played its annual New England Metal and Hardcore Festival seven times. Plus, it’s where frontman Jesse Leach returned to the band onstage, ending a decade-long absence.
Tonight, the two-stage home turf hosts yet another career milestone.
Not only is this Killswitch’s debut livestream, but old collides with new as both their first album and latest, 2019’s
Atonement, are barrelled through in full.
The one-two punch of Unleashed into
The Signal Fire threatens to steal the show at its outset. The opener is the ideal warm-up, trading the band’s archetypical rampages for a prowler of a track, imbued with a creeping main riff. Following guitarist Adam D’s jovial grunt of “Gimme a beat!”, its high-octane follow-up is sadly Howard Jones-less, dismantling the tandem that made the single a headline-stealer. However, Jesse is in such savage form that he easily compensates; his declarations of
‘The signal fire’s alight!’ are more triumphant here than on record.
Following the thrash masterclass of The Crownless King, the set unfortunately suffers from the same affliction as Atonement itself; it’s front-loaded as fuck. The live arena aggravates Know Your Enemy into anti-political ferocity, but I Can’t Be The Only One, Take Control and As Sure As The Sun Will Rise are all meat ’n’ potatoes Killswitch Engage. Later, Bite The Hand That Feeds isn’t the sweltering conclusion it should be; it’s not a grand finale as much as an unceremonious stop.
Greater personality shines as the quintet retreat upstairs, re-exploring their debut in an appropriately grungy attic. Suddenly donning camo shorts, blond wigs and dreadlocks in a 2000 throwback that’s so accurate it’s jarring, they explode into anthems more historically fascinating than they are exciting. The comparatively juvenile compositions unpick the Killswitch soundscape; while Vide Infra
is transparent At The Gates worship, Temple From Within, with its breathy vocals and speeding chords, indulges their hardcore leanings.
If this stream was meant to juxtapose today’s Killswitch with the imperfect aggressors of yore, then Just Barely Breathing is the perfect encore. Youthfully energetic yet brimming with earworm melodies, it’s the ideal convergence between tonight’s two extremes. Also, the fact that it blasts away memories of some earlier monotony only makes this ending all the sweeter.
MATT MILLS