Mar
05
6.06pm

KILLSWITCH ENGAGE // with Fallujah & Chronolyth


Saturday March 4, 2017.
Eaton’s Hill, Brisbane AUS
Killswitch Engage with Fallujah & Chronolyth

When I first pulled into the carpark at Eaton’s Hill the first thing that struck me was the sheer volume of people already parked and lined up for this show. I knew that Killswitch Engage are a long serving band having served up their first album, the self-titled album “Killswitch Engage” back during the Nu-Metal era, but I was still struck by how many people were already here and hyped for a big night of headbanging to the metalcore legends. Seeing a venue packed out just after doors is a rarity so I knew this show was going to be special.

As I joined the long and winding line to enter the venue I was also noticed the diversity of people in the crowd. There were the usual die-hard, Tom Araya lookalikes adorned in their patch covered battle jackets and plenty of mid/late 20’s punters who had headbanged their way through school listening to Alive or Just Breathing. There were teenagers and even some parents with kids. As the show progressed I was interested to watch how one 14 year old boy reacted to seeing a band play an album that was definitely released before he was born.

About half an hour after doors opened local boys Chronolyth took to the stage and kicked off the show. Chronolyth set a very heavy tone for the rest of the acts to follow and started laying down some very dark, heavy and brutal melodic death metal. All of the band members were very energetic and active on stage, particularly Hamish McSorley on vocals as he jumped around the stage, windmilling his hair as he growled out the words to such fare as The Heresy (Crucify Your God) and The Revenant. I was struck by how well supported the band were by the crowd as in the past I have seen local support bands play to about 12 guys, while everyone else smoked outside, so I was really happy to see the crowd open up a massive circle pit and throw themselves at each other in support of this local act.

This set absolutely flew by and judging by the crowd’s reaction there were plenty of people just as excited to see the San Francisco natives bring down the house as the headliner act.

Around fifteen minutes after Chronolyth bid a very thankful farewell the second support act Fallujah took to the stage. By this time the entire Eaton’s Hill venue is packed to the brim and I wonder where the usual late comers will fit by the time Killswitch start! Fallujah start their 40 minute set and hit the ground running setting a break neck pace of dark, gritty and very melodic death metal that does not let up for their entire set. They unleash wave after wave of extremely heavy songs filled with deafening blast beats and vocalist Alex Hofmann’s demonic but crisp growls. This set absolutely flew by and judging by the crowd’s reaction there were plenty of people just as excited to see the San Francisco natives bring down the house as the headliner act.

Both of the openers managed to really work up the crowd and the anticipation for Killswitch Engage to take the stage continued to build up to fever pitch during the 35 minute interval between them and Fallujah. During this time the crowd did not disperse to buy drinks or smoke instead there was a steady mantra of “Killswitch Engage” build as the crowd’s excitement for the headliner started to reach it’s peak.

When the tension almost reaches boiling point, the lights go down and the band hit the stage running with Numbered Days from their ’02 Alive or Just Breathing album. It’s been a recent developing trend among some of these longer serving bands to play through an entire classic album at shows as Underoath did this just recently and Funeral for a Friend did this at their goodbye shows last year. This tactic is definitely embraced and the right chords of nostalgia are tweaked for the fans as they headbang, dance and mosh their way through the opening song with reckless abandon.

Killswitch have been an active band for 18 years and most of the members are in their late 30’s but they play with a level of energy that is electric and vibrant as they lay down their unique brand of Metalcore. Jesse’s growls are deep and guttural, reverberating through the Eaton’s Hill function centre and the band’s clean vocals are clear and crisp.

They smash their way through the entirety of Alive or Just Breathing with almost no breaks, producing an almost solid wall of heavy, heartfelt sound. They take a short break after finishing the album before playing a seven track selection from the rest of their extensive back catalogue. By this time the heat inside the function centre is a living, breathing entity close to achieving sentience and the band are definitely feeling it. Throughout the set Jesse cracks jokes about almost passing out and he needed to remove the button up underneath his denim cut off around the halfway mark and Adam makes continual reference to the sweatiness of his balls and his desire to rub them on our faces, a sentiment that seems to be much appreciated by the crowd.

As they kick off the second stage of the show with Hate by Design the crowd start to work themselves into a frenzy of jumping, pushing, shoving and headbanging. I look around the crowd and up at the observation deck above and I spot the teenage kid with his father I noticed back when I entered the venue. This kid is beaming and headbanging away while Dad watches with a proud smirk on his face. The sweaty, long haired metal head beside me is passionately playing the air guitar along to My Curse and Alone I Stand and the 20-something girls on my right are bopping along like teenage girls at an ‘08 Cute is What we aim for show.

As the band reaches a crescendo with The End of Heartache Jesse thanks us for our support, a cheer goes up and the lights go down. The band exits stage right and the crowd immediately take up their pre-set mantra of “Killswitch Engage”. The band only wait a few minutes before coming back on stage and Adam asks us whether we have places to go or parents that love us. The answer to these questions was a resounding no (what did he expect of a bunch of crusty metalheads?) and they closed the curtain with a deafening and resounding rendition of Rose of Sharyn.

As the lights came on for the final time, and the crowd started the slow march out to the parking lot there was an air of disappointment that the show was done, but the crowd’s appreciation of the show was obvious. As I looked around me one last time before joining the cue of cars to leave the venue, I spotted that kid once again and the smile had yet to leave his face. If as a band you can still bring a smile to the face of a 14 year old kid, 15 years after the release of the album most featured in your show, then I’d call the show a success, wouldn’t you?

Catch Killswitch Engage with Fallujah at the remaining Australian Dates.
Tickets are available here.




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