CONCERT REVIEW : KILLSWITCH ENGAGE, AUGUST BURNS RED, LIGHT THE TORCH
The Fillmore - Minneapolis, MN
March 6, 2022
Pictures by Brett Zisler
Review by Nick
One of the many tours we’ve been waiting for, for the past two years finally happened this past Sunday night. KILLSWITCH ENGAGE, AUGUST BURNS RED and LIGHT THE TORCH finally came to The Fillmore in Minneapolis and it was an uplifting experience for all involved.
The running theme for this tour .. every member of every band were all having fun being up there and in front of an audience again. An audience who was equally excited to see all 3 bands! This was the first time in a long time I’ve felt like we are back to a normal show where everyone was having fun and probably releasing everything from the last two years in a positive way.
LIGHT THE TORCH came out swinging and were firing on all cylinders mixing tracks from last year’s You Will Be the Death of Me and their first record as Light the Torch Revival equally in to their 40 min set. Howard looked and sounded great running all over the stage and seemed to be equally as happy bringing this new material to MN for the first time. Kicking straight in to “More Than Dreaming” and really not letting up until just before their final song of the night “Die Alone”, the band was all about making the most of their time on stage.
“Let Me Fall Apart” sounded fantastic live as well “Death of Me” being a just little heavier live than what’s on the record. “The Safety of Disbelief” and “Die Alone” both brought some big sing-a-longs from the audience that’s rare for an opening band, however Light the Torch is far from your regular tour opener.
Francesco had the guitar sounding massive in the venue. Ryan’s background vocals were on point and had probably the most interesting looking bass guitar of the night (and Dustin from August Burns Red had a really cool headless bass!)
AUGUST BURNS RED wasted no time coming out microphone swinging with riffs for days! These are 5 guys who have not aged a day since I first saw them at Station 4 in St. Paul back on the Messengers tour cycle. JB shredding The Fillmore stage just like it was another day at the office not breaking a sweat. How Jake never actually hit anyone while swinging the mic is beyond me. There was a close call with Brent but thankfully no one was harmed during this performance on Sunday night! What can I say about Matt’s drumming that hasn’t been said before? One of the best drummers in heavy music.
Newer songs like “Invisible Enemy” and “Defender” sounded massive and right at home with older songs like “The Truth of a Liar” and “Meddler”. The guitar and bass switch between Brent and Dustin respectively during “Bloodletter” led in to an absolute guitar clinic masterpiece showing of “The Legend of Zelda” cover.
The downtime from the pandemic only made this band stronger. These 5 guys excel in technical excellence with their 45 min set which ended with crowd favorites “Marianas Trench”, “Composure” and “White Washed”. While it was weird not hearing “Empire” or “Thirty and Seven”, it didn’t matter. This was a perfectly planned out set with favorites, new songs and songs that might not have been played live in a while (which I suppose could be the whole set).
KILLSWITCH ENGAGE came out and it was like seeing family that you haven’t seen for awhile. The band went from 0 to 100 faster than NASCAR coming out with “Unleashed” and “Know Your Enemy” from their latest record Atonement mixing in “Hate By Design” from Incarnate in between the two tracks. “My Last Serenade” came very early on in the set and the sing alongs began from there.
KSE also pulled out some rarities for this show with “This Fire” and “Rise Inside” but it was “Daylight Dies” that had the crowd going crazy. I’m not sure if I’ve ever seen Jesse do that song with KSE and it was electric! Closing out the main set with the crowd favorites “Always”, “My Curse” and a thunderous “Strength of the Mind”.
Adam D was the quietest I’ve ever seen him not saying a whole lot in between songs like he usually does. But in classic Adam D fashion, he did talk about using the bathroom in a new venue. A line that was quoted by any people leaving the show that night.
**SPOILER ALERT**
Howard comes out for the last 3 songs and takes a band that’s already on fire to extraordinary levels. Howard tackles “Rose of Sharyn” by himself which is something I never thought I would see again. Followed by Jesse and Howard taking “The End of Heartache” to tag-team championship match extremes for the loudest crowd sing a long of the night. Ending appropriately with “The Signal Fire” made this for a show I want to relive again!
To sum it up … this is a tour for the record books, a tour well worth the 2 year wait. Everyone in every band at the top of their game, just as excited to be there as the fans. It was simply like the last 2 years never happened and isn’t that something we all wish we could do?
SEE MORE OF BRETT'S PICTURES FROM KILLSWITCH ENGAGE, AUGUST BURNS RED and LIGHT THE TORCH HERE!
No comments:
Post a Comment