Killswitch Engage Crushes Showbox Sodo

The long delayed Atonement Tour featuring Killswitch Engage finally landed at the Showbox Sodo in Seattle on Feb 27, 2022. Many a metalcore fan came out on a chilly & wet Sunday evening to be a part of what was to be an awesome evening of heavy music.

Getting the evening started were Light The Torch, who are touring in support of their latest release You Will Be The Death of Me. Light The Torch is comprised of Howard Jones (vocals), Francesco Artusato (guitar), Ryan Wombacher (bass) and Alex Rudinger (drums). The band delivered a blazing set featuring some of their heaviest cuts. Opening with “More Than Dreaming” and then tearing into “Calm Before the Storm,” they then launched straight into “Let Me Fall Apart.” Light The Torch wasted no time in getting the crowd fired up.

Jones didn’t waste time in between songs, which allowed the band to blaze through their ten track set, which included “Death of Me,” “Virus,” “The Safety and Disbelief,” and ending with “Die Alone.” As always, the band was tight and the riffs were heavy, Jones’ vocals sounded excellent, and the band left the stage with the crowd begging for more.

Without a lot of down time between acts, August Burns Red made their way to the stage to a massive pop from the crowd. The band, which is made up of Jake Luhrs (vocals), John Brubaker (lead guitar), Brent Rambler (rhythm guitar), Matt Greiner (drums), and Dustin Davidson (bass) are touring in support of their latest release, Guardians. ABR had everyone jumping, head banging, crowd surfing and moshing from the first note of “The Truth of a Liar” to the last note of “White Washed.” The band was relentless. Ripping through “Paramount,” “Invisible Enemy,” and “Blood Letter” as well as an awesome shredding rendition of “The Legend of Zelda Theme,” ABR tore through their eleven song set and left no one disappointed.

With an eager and impatient crowd loudly chanting their name, the house lights went down and Killswitch Engage made their way to the stage and opened their set with the first track “Unleashed,” which is off of their latest release Atonement. The band moved right into “Hate By Design” and “Know Your Enemy” before taking time to thank everyone for making out to the show.

The band is made up of Jesse Leach (vocals), Adam Dutkiewicz (lead guitar), Mike D’Antonio (bass), Joel Stroetzel (rhythm guitar) and Justin Foley (drums). Killswitch Engage’s set mostly consisted of material off of Atonement, but they also played material off of their other seven studio releases.

The band played flawlessly as they ran through newer material such as “The Crownless King” and “I Am Broken Too” before launching into the ever popular “My Last Serenade,” “Hate By Design” and “Reckoning.”

As KSE got towards the end of their set, they were joined on stage by Light The Torch’s Howard Jones. Jones at one time had fronted KSE when Leach took time off from the public spotlight before returning to KSE in 2012.

With Jones on vocals, KSE performed a killer encore of “Rose of Sharyn,” “The End of the Heartache” and “The Signal Fire” – the latter featuring both Jones and Leach’s shared vocal duties for on Atonement. Judging by how the audience was moshing like crazy, crowd surging, moshing, and singing at the top of their lungs, the show was awesome, and the Seattle crowd left the venue hoping that this lineup makes its way back to the Pacific Northwest.

Be sure to check out this show when it comes to a city near you!

KillSwitch Engage Setlist
Unleashed
Hate By Design
Know Your Enemy
My Last Serenade
I Am Broken Too
Reckoning
In Due Time
Beyond The Flames
This Fire
As Sure As The Sun Will Rise
The Crownless King
In the Unblind
Always
My Curse
Strength of the Mind
Rose of Sharyn (with Howard Jones)
The End of the Heartache (with Howard Jones)
The Signal Fire (with Howard Jones)