Killswitch Engage

So it was night two of Canberra’s soundwave sideshows. Tuesday night was the punk night headlined by Motion City Soundtrack, while tonight was hardcore metal night, with headliners Killswitch Engage bringing their powerful sound to the nation’s capital for the first time.

As you could imagine, the crowds for the two nights were vastly different. The small crowd of teenagers in bright coloured shorts was now replaced with a sea of black shirts, tattoos and piercings.

First band of the night was From Autumn to Ashes, who were no strangers to Canberra as the headlined, the metal festival Soundfest in late 2006 with Parkway Drive. The 5 piece act from New York had only been in the country a few days, after they had cancelled their appearances at Soundwave Brisbane and Sydney due a close friend passing away. Despite the dire circumstances, they put together a solid set as they warmed up the crowd with a short but blistering set, and got the crowd ready for a huge night.

Next on deck was Divine Heresy, a fairly new band on the scene, but has gathered an almost instant following thanks since Dino Cazares (formerly of Fear Factory) joined the band. Their set was well received by the crowd, many of which were hearing the band for the first time, but as they ripped through each song the crowd seemed to grow larger, appreciating the brutal force they brought on stage.

Another short break and then Shadows Fall hit the stage, from the start most of the crowd was amazed by vocalist Brian Fair and his hair; the guy had thick dreadlocks down to his waist! Which looked great as he jumped around on stage, but I applaud the guy for dealing with that hair on a day to day basis, it would be nothing short of a nightmare. Of all the bands on the night, Shadows Fall had the biggest range in their sound, which left the audience engaged for the entire set.

Now going on the amount of Killswitch Engage shirts on punters, it was no doubt that they were the band everyone had come to see. In the break between bands, the floor space that had been visible all night was suddenly disappearing. As the roadies did check after check of all the equipment, finally there was a flash of the torch to the mixing desk, the music faded out and lights dim....here we go.

With a bang, Killswitch took ownership of the crowd from the second they stepped on stage; they knew how to work a crowd and had perfected an amazing live sound. They ripped through several tracks before vocalist Howard Jones spoke to the packed room and demanded more energy from the crowd. It was simply too much for some though, with many people escaping the huge circle pits drenched in sweat and sporting some solid bruises.

Never really hearing much of Killswitch Engage before, I can see why they have such a big following, there music is solid and brutal, but the band just really seem to enjoy playing live and don’t seem to take things quite as serious as some other hardcore metal acts.

After a solid hour it all came to an end. A great night for metal from Canberra, which was well needed after the annual Metal for the Brain festival, performed its final show in 2006. But it was clear from the start Killswitch Engage were the band everyone had come to see, but the other bands playing tonight no doubt picked up many new Canberra fans. Let’s just hope soundwave keeps Canberra on their radar for next year for some more huge shows.

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