Gallery: Killswitch Engage at The Space In Las Vegas, NV 08/13/19

Monty Jay August 16, 2019 Headline News, Photography Leave a comment

Let’s get one thing straight from the start: The good people at The Space in Las Vegas are lucky that their building still stands after the amazing performance Killswitch Engage delivered Tuesday night. What do you get when you mix one of metal’s most popular bands and an intimate venue? A couple hundred metal fans from all walks of life packed from the back wall to the front of the stage for a sold out performance highlighting the band’s new release, Atonement, which was released today, Friday 8/16/19 via Metal Blade Records.

The Space is a small intimate venue located just minutes from the world famous Las Vegas strip. The venue prides itself on holding an extremely wide variety of acts and events. One night might be some of the best local Vegas musicians or comedians, but tonight, make no doubt about it, metal was in the house. Actually, metal was surrounding the venue before the show even began. When I arrived, I took a few minutes to soak in the atmosphere before entering and to take a few photos. This always catches the attention of curious on lookers and I was met with several questions about whether or not I had any extra tickets. “Not tonight, sorry,” I said with an understanding smile. Pretty much everyone else smiled back and said “that’s ok.” One individual further commented to me and his friend that “It’s all part of the fun. The chase.”

Kicking off the night saw Vegas locals, A Perfect Being, start things off with a bang. These guys have some crazy energy and took it up a notch when they brought out fellow Vegas musician, Juan Gutierrez, from A Friend A Foe.

Next up was Thrown Into Exile. I never had the chance to see these guys until this point and the only thing crazier than the ass kicking they gave The Space is me kicking my own ass for not seeing them sooner!

THROWN INTO EXILE

Finally, it was time. The almighty Killswitch Engage took the stage and delivered an absolutely crushing 16 song set consisting of fan favorites and brand new material. I have been fortunate enough to see Killswitch many times before…but not in such an intimate setting like this. Their stage setup may have been slimmed down for this small venue, but the explosive energy that Killswitch Engage brings to the stage certainly was not.

In addition to playing fan favorites, the band also debuted two songs into their live set: The Crownless King and The Signal Fire. Vocalist Jesse Leach introduced The Signal Fire by saying how he invited a beautiful black man to sing the song with him, which resulted in a huge roar from the crowd, believing perhaps former Killswitch vocalist, Howard Jones, was in the house. “Unfortunately, that beautiful black man is not here,” which was then met with equally energetic sighs and “awws” from the crowd. “I KNOW, it’s just me, I’m so sorry. If you’ve got the record you know who I’m talking about,” said Leach. Guitarist Adam Dutkiewicz quipped, “He’s talking about Bill Cosby!” Thankfully, the Cos was not in the house either and the band launched into the new song.

Closing out the night saw the band rip through brutal performances of The End of Heartache, Strength of the Mind, and Holy Diver.

Setlist: