Entertainment Earth

3/08/2016

Killswitch Engage Live at Bowery Ballroom NYC 3/7/16

Starting this past Sunday, metalcore founding fathers and gods Killswitch Engage did a sold-out NYC residency tour. I got to go as press and catch the second date of it, as they played in the Bowery Ballroom. This show took place last night (March 7, 2016). And, it was killer! From all I hear it was even better than the show they played the night before at the Gramercy. In fact, it might just be impossible for any other venue they will be hitting to top in it's epic awesomeness.

The opening act was Brooklyn natives, Candiria. I think it's very cool that KsE picked them to open for them at this venue. They've been around since 1992 and are still kicking ass. This is my first time seeing them live,  but I definitely would see them again. Their music is very unique. It mixes metalcore, jazz, and rap in quite an exciting and original manner. The resulting sound is a mix of crunching breakdowns and changing tempos accompanied by vocals that range from screaming to signing to rapping. They played a fun set and got the audience moving. Candiria have an album coming out this year from Metal Blade Records, so be sure to keep your eyes peeled for it.
Killswitch Engage came on after. And, holy shit did they own that stage! From the get go it was clear the band was ready to tear shit up. Everything was full throttle from them, and they sounded perfect.
They opened this amazing set with "A Bid Farewell" and played many classics and fan favorites from their discography including, "Rose of Sharyn", "Self Revolution", "The End of Heartache", "Always", and more. When they played "Life to Lifeless" lead signer Jesse Leach got into the crowd and sang with them!! It was such a fucking awesome moment! They also played new songs from the upcoming album Incarnate (which comes out this Fri, by the way), including the killer track "Alone I Stand" which they live debuted for us.

Playing in a smaller venue like this allowed them to be close to the audience and interact with them; the way that they did. It also allowed the audience to get on stage and sign with the band, stage dive, and even take selfies (the later of which was eventually nipped in the butt)! But, it really made for a fun and crazy experience. I don't remember seeing any band letting people on stage during the whole entire concert! I honestly didn't think that that even happened anymore. But, it's thing like this that made this show so fucking awesome and unforgettable.
And, yet despite the continuous stage diving and large mosh pit, no one got injured. To be honest if I wasn't photographing for this site I would've stage dived, myself. I did do a little bit of jumping and moving around though. It was impossible not to, what with the killer music that was playing! The last song they played was the classic and amazing "My Curse". This was a concert for the ages, make no bones about it. And, Killswitch Engage once again reminded why not only are one of my personal favorite bands in the world, but one of the best metal bands anywhere on this planet.


 
 
 

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