Killswitch EngageAside from featuring crowd favourite, former Pantera/Down bassist Rex Brown, Kill Devil Hill's swashbuckling metal possessed other positive attributes. Although repeated requests to “make some fucking noise” wore thin, frontman Dewey Bragg's croon infused a pseudo-grunge vibe, while Mark Zavon's guitar tone afforded a Sabbath-esque edge. Despite initially seeming akin to being the evening's proverbial square peg in a round hole, a sizeable band of loyalists roared approval. Progressively winning over sections of the remaining audience, a closing rendition of Pantera's Mouth For War suggested they'll be looting and pillaging Sydney again soon enough.
It had been a sizeable wait between headlining shows for Killswitch Engage, last year's Soundwave-only appearance a tantalising teaser for an eventual fully-fledged jaunt. What swiftly became apparent is that in some respects little about the Mass-holes' efficient delivery had altered, but when armed with a multitude of metal/hardcore anthems and a unique on-stage personality, such concerns were rendered obsolete. Guitarist Adam Dutkiewicz still amusingly wisecracked about topics like man breasts and masturbation, accentuated by intentionally cheesy (or just outright bizarre) rock moves. Bassist Mike D'Antonio threw his instrument about with such reckless abandon as to endanger his bandmates' well-being. Rose Of Sharyn, My Last Serenade, metalcore power ballad The End Of Heartache and closer, My Curse continued to garner roof-raising singalongs, while numerous others remained bruising pit fodder.
One obvious point of difference was reinvigorated vocalist Jesse Leach's high-energy, yet grounded ethos. Visibly more confident in the role than during the aforementioned festival run, from opener A Bid Farewell onwards, the screamer/singer more ably tackled tracks originally performed by successor/predecessor Howard Jones, while attacking material from homecoming disc Disarm The Descent with even greater vigour. Welcomingly forgoing the clichéd encore, the masses had waited eons for this return visit. Ultimately, it was a triumphant one.
