Killswitch Engage at The Academy | Review

Killswitch Engage at the Academy, Dublin, Wednesday, 29th January 2014

Kicking off the European leg of their latest world tour, Killswitch Engage blazed a trail of destruction though Dublin’s Academy on Wednesday night. Rather than hold anything back for the road ahead Killswitch dived into their first show of 2014 with everything they had, powering through a crushing set of metalcore classics.

The two support acts reflected the diverse influences of the crossover genre of metalcore. Opening act Menshevik kicked off the show with their fresh take on pure 80s hardcore punk, chugging frantically through super-fast songs with reckless abandon. Frontman Rob Dempsey seemed to be channelling the likes of Black Flag and Bad Brains as he tossed himself around the stage and into the crowd with total lack of concern for the safety of his own body. He practically a collapsed in a heap on the boards of the stage after yelling each song, only to burst into fresh life as Menshevik flowed breathlessly into their next number. His finale involved a perilous climb up the side band’s amps to the balcony above and a wild dive back to the stage below.

Opening acts don’t come a whole lot better than that, and even if the sold out Academy crowd was more aligned to metal than punk, Menshevik did more than enough to get the blood pumping. Battlecross, meanwhile, provided this more traditional metal act, channelling NWOBHM and Bay Area Thrash in a brutal onslaught of squealing riffs and gruff vocals. What Battlecore lacked in Menshevik’s frenzied stage presence they made up for in good old fashioned heavy metal intensity, their chest-pounding sound prompting a flurry of rhythmic headbanging.

Despite their hard-edged, hardcore punk fuelled metal sound, Killswitch manage to keep their shows nicely peppered with a light-hearted playful humour. The band emerged onstage in a flurry of strobe lighting to the gloriously 80’s tune of Wang Chung’s Everybody Have Fun Tonight. Guitarist Adam Dutkiewicz practically danced onstage in shorts and a tank top that seemed more suited to a Baywatch style beach montage than a heavy metal gig. The silly grin on his face didn’t fade at all when he led the band into the pummelling sonic assault of A Bid Farewell.

Following the departure of long term vocalist Howard Jones in 2012, Killswitch reunited with Jesse Leach, the band’s original singer. Leach has settled back into his former band with total ease, flowing from material he recorded with the band to songs recorded by Jones with seamless ease. His voice soared from deep growling roars to clean choruses and bridges and back again with a relentless energy that seemed to have no end, even more so since he tossed himself around the stage as he bellowed out lyrics, diving down into the crowd and earning himself a bloody lip in the process.

But Leach remained undaunted, and in the brief interval between tracks he took the time to express his joy at making his first visit to Ireland. It was clearly a special moment for him. He gave the usual “My ancestors left Ireland in the 1800’s, my favourite bands include Stiff Little Fingers, Thin Lizzy and The Pogues, my favourite beer is Guinness” shtick, but somehow it was just about genuine enough to work, even if the audience had all heard that one before.

Always, a more restrained ballad form new album ‘Disarm the descent’, provided a slight breather in an otherwise thunderous and relentless set, followed up with the thunderous My Last Serenade and the furious Turning Point. The middle of the Academy’s floor whirlpooled into a chaotic circle pit of moshing and headbanging, and shirtless crowd surfers rose up and sea of raised hands or invaded the stage and dived off once more.

Leach ended up with a busted lip from diving down into the crowd, as well as a broken belt. Fortunately someone tossed up their own belt as a replacement. “Nah man,” he said, “that’s not how you do it. You’re supposed to throw bras.” And sure enough, somebody did, resulting in Dutkiewicz playing The End of Heartache and the cracking finale of My Curse with a pink bra strapped around his broad chest. Killswitch Engage did more than enough to prove that their current lineup is about as tight as the band has ever been, feeding of each other’s energy and delivering a blistering set of heavier than heavy metalcore.