A damp night in the city didn’t stop fans from arriving early for a night of heavyweights at the O2 Academy. Headliners Killswitch Engage were all but guaranteed to shake the foundations of the venue.
With four bands on the bill, the night was always going to be stacked, but it was still a surprise to see the formidable Decapitated tasked with opening duties—you’d expect them higher up the order. If anything, the early slot only sharpened their edge: they came out swinging and delivered what was arguably the heaviest, most relentless set of the evening.
The performance hit like a shockwave. Riffs carved through the room with surgical precision, the guitars tight and razor‑edged, while the rhythm section fired on all cylinders—double‑kick bursts like artillery, bass rumbling beneath it all. For all the brute force, there’s an undeniable intricacy to their sound: syncopated grooves, whip‑fast stops and starts, and arrangements that shift gears without ever losing momentum. The mix was punchy and clear, letting every staccato chug and cymbal accent land with maximum impact, and the vocalist’s roar cut cleanly through the wall of noise.
The set leaned heavily on 2022’s Cancer Culture, whose newer cuts held their ground alongside the band’s established staples. “Earth Scar,” followed by the classic “Spheres of Madness,” sent the crowd into overdrive—heads down, bodies moving, and pits opening as the chorus hooks wormed their way through the chaos. They sealed the deal with a crushing rendition of “Iconoclast,” a finale that felt like a controlled detonation: tight, brutal, and utterly commanding.
Short set or not, Decapitated made every minute count. They lit the fuse for the rest of the lineup and left the room buzzing proof that even in the opening slot, they can steal the show.
Up next were New Jersey deathcore heavyweights Fit for An Autopsy, a band long perched at the genre’s forefront. They arrived like a detonation, pushing boundaries with an energy‑drenched set that had the floor moving from the first downbeat. Opening with “Lower Purpose,” they lit the fuse for a relentless run of songs that never let the momentum dip. The sound was thick and punishing yet surprisingly clear, every riff slicing through as the drums thundered beneath.
Early in the set they unveiled a blistering new track, “It Comes for You,” delivered at neck‑breaking speed and with a ferocity that sent the room into overdrive. You could feel the energy spike—almost on cue, the barricade became a conveyor belt of bodies, wave after wave of crowd surfers keeping security on red alert while the pit spun harder. It was the kind of collective chaos only a band completely in command can summon.
Lead Singer Joe “Bad” Badolato was the anchor amid the maelstrom, pacing the stage with purpose, stoking call‑and‑response roars, and flipping seamlessly from cavernous lows to scalding highs. There’s a real unity to this lineup; they move like a single organism, each member feeding the next. Guitarists Pat Sheridan and Tim Howley were standouts, their interplay razor‑tight and dynamic crushing one moment, eerie and melodic the next. “Saviour of None” and “Hostage” both hit with massive weight, each drop punctuated by precision chugs and lurching grooves that set off fresh bursts of motion up front.
The set’s closing stretch displayed their sense of drama. A tasteful, almost cinematic guitar intro ushered in the finale, “Far from Heaven,” before the full band crashed in—sombre melody giving way to tectonic heft. Beneath it all, the band’s heartbeat pounded in the form of Josean Orta’s drumming. He drove the show with a mix of machine‑tight blasts, swinging grooves, and emphatic fills that had heads snapping in unison from barrier to back wall.
For me, this was a first time seeing Fit for An Autopsy live, and they absolutely delivered. Boundary‑pushing, impeccably tight, and ferociously engaging—if this set is any sign, they’re not just carrying deathcore forward; they’re reshaping it in real time.
Next up was Hatebreed. Judging by the number of their shirts in the crowd, they were always going to rock this place. From the first downstroke they cranked the energy. They tore into the opener, the fan favourite “I Will Be Heard,” and instantly set the tone for the night. Jamey Jasta, bandana on and voice like a war drum, prowled the stage, barking rallying cries and pulling the crowd in with relentless call‑and‑response. Fists shot skyward, voices roared back, and a sea of bodies moved as one.
They kept the momentum surging with the lightning‑fast new release “Make the Demons Obey.” The guitars snarled, the bass rumbled like heavy machinery, and the drums pounded with surgical precision. Hatebreed’s raw, no‑frills approach has a way of stripping everything down to pure intent; you could feel the room feed on it. Breakdowns hit like sledgehammers, and pockets of the floor exploded into circle pits, the kind that make you grin even as you duck a stray elbow.
The energy peaked with the aptly titled “Destroy Everything,” which detonated the venue in the best way imaginable. Between songs, Jasta balanced ferocity with heart, offering grit‑and‑gratitude banter before pausing to pay tribute to guitarist Wayne Lozinak, who has recently undergone brain surgery for a brain tumour. The ovation was immediate and deafening—a powerful reminder of the community that threads through heavy music.
They closed with a crushing rendition of “Looking Down the Barrel of Today,” a final surge of precision and power that left the stage—and the crowd—spent and electrified. No lulls, no filler, just a tight, punishing set delivered with conviction.
At last, the lights dropped for tonight’s headliners: Killswitch Engage. Formed in 1999 in Westfield, Massachusetts, the band helped define and propel modern metalcore through the 2000s, and earlier this year they returned with their ninth studio album, “This Consequence,” to widespread praise. They wasted no time, detonating into “Strength of the Mind” from 2016’s Incarnate. The room snapped to attention—fists up, bodies moving, voices primed. Jesse Leach owned the stage from the first scream, pacing the boards with purpose and a grin, dropping to the pit and climbing the barrier to press right up against the front rows. That connection is Killswitch 101: eye contact, call‑and‑response shouts, constant gratitude. It builds trust, and you feel it radiate from the barricade all the way to the back.
Visually, they’re a blast to watch. Mike D’Antonio stalks the stage with his bass slung low, hair flying as he locks into those ironclad grooves. Adam Dutkiewicz—sweatband firmly in place—plays the class clown and the assassin at once, mugging for the crowd one second and unleashing laser‑precise riffs the next. Joel Stroetzel provides that unshakeable foil on guitar, cool and composed while weaving harmonies and crunch, and Justin Foley’s drumming is all muscle and finesse, every double‑kick and cymbal accent nailed to the grid without losing feel.
Showmanship aside, the musicianship is the point. The band sounded massive and dialled‑in, guitars thick but articulate, vocals cutting cleanly across the mix. Riff‑laden burners like “This Signal Fire” and “In Due Time” reminded you just how tight this unit is—synchronized stops, towering hooks, and that whiplash swing from pummelling verses to soaring, melodic choruses that only Killswitch can pull off.
New cuts from “This Consequence” slotted in like instant staples. “Forever Aligned” hit with a chest‑rattling low end and a chorus built for big rooms, while “Broken Glass” landed with real emotional weight, its message for abuse survivors met with raised hands and a hush that made the room feel smaller, more intimate. The balance of heaviness and heart is their signature, and the crowd felt every beat of it.
Jesse was on blistering form throughout, displaying the full range: a harsh, serrated roar one moment, then flipping into pristine, rangy clean vocals the next, with seamless transitions that never dulled the momentum. Between songs, his encouragement and positivity kept the energy high and the room unified—more movement, louder voices, more joy.
They closed the night with a one‑two‑three victory lap: “My Curse”, “The End of Heartache”, and finally “My Last Serenade”. It was a cathartic sing‑along trifecta that blew the roof off—crowd surfers pouring over the barrier, heads banging in unison, and choruses so loud it felt like the band had a thousand backup singers.
With “This Consequence,” Killswitch Engage prove they’re as vital now as they’ve ever been, sharpening their classic formula without losing the spirit that made them leaders of the genre. Onstage, they’re still a benchmark: tight, human, and relentlessly engaging. And what a stacked bill, too—every support act played like a headliner, turning a great night into a full‑on celebration.
Photographs and Review by James Edmond Photography
