“The longer you wait for something, the more you appreciate it when you get it. Because anything worth having is always worth the wait.” – Anonymous
That quote would fit the majority of live music fans when the pandemic caused concerts to stop. And about a year and a half later shows started to return. But, it would take two years before metal fans would see the return of Killswitch Engage for The Atonement Tour. The band was scheduled to run during 2020 and canceled the tour due to the pandemic. But, now, the band was ready to return to the road in support of their latest album Atonement. Joining them on the tour was August Burns Red and Light The Torch. These three metalcore bands could only bring awesomeness to the stage and on February 12, 2022, at House of Blues Orlando, it was absolutely an event to remember.
Arriving at the venue, there was a massive crowd all starting to make their way inside. It appeared to be a sold-out show that night and it was filled with fans who patiently waited two years for the show to return and a large group of media waiting to capture the event. Inside, the atmosphere was energetic. You could see the happiness on people’s faces being at the show. You could literally feel the anticipation from the fans waiting inside. As we got closer to show time, the House of Blues Orlando was jammed packed with people shoulder to shoulder, sitting at tables, sitting in the balcony, and filling in spots wherever they could for good viewing of the stage. The moment show time occurred, the lights dimmed and the House of Blues Orlando exploded into an uproar.
First on the stage was the metalcore band Light The Torch. The band originally went under the name of Devil You Know and formed back in 2012. They changed the name in 2017 to Light The Torch due to legal reasons with the departure of one of the band members. In that same year, they released their first album Revival in March 2018 to rave reviews and loved by the fans. The band followed up with their sophomore album You Will Be the Death of Me in June 2021. Once again, the album was well-received by reviewers and fans. They planned to tour on the album by decided to hold off due to the pandemic. And now fans would finally get to see them again. Light The Torch is Howard Jones (vocalist), Francesco Artusato (guitars), Ryan Wombacher (bass), and their newly added member Alex Rudinger (drums).
The band came out on-stage all smiles to be in front of fans again and when Howard stepped out the venue erupted into screams and cheers. He smiled and the band started off performing “More Than Dreaming” from You Will Be the Death of Me. Fast-paced and hard-hitting, Light The Torch came out guns blazing to get the crowd moving. And so they did. The crowd in the pit was already bouncing and a mosh pit formed nearly immediately. The energy was intense and everyone was loving it. They followed up with “Calm Before the Storm” from Revival. It’s a fantastic song with great energy and pace. And it didn’t rain on us while they performed it. The last time I saw Light The Torch at Welcome To Rockville in 2019, when they performed the song it downpoured over the entire festival. From there it was onto “Let Me Fall Apart” from You Will Be the Death of Me.
Light The Torch is such an awesome live performer. Howard’s vocals pour through your body elevating you to release all that energy to their music. Francesco plays the guitar with such eloquence, grace, and intensity all at once. Ryan intensely thrums away at his bass and providing clean backing vocals with great power. Alex is an excellent drummer providing those hard beats you’d expect from a metal band. Together the band provides such a wonderful live performance and it’s exactly what the Orlando fans needed that night. Howard was so gracious on stage telling the fans how much he appreciated them and their support. You could see on his face how genuine he was when he said it and how much he missed the stage.
The band finished up with “Die Alone” from Revival. It was a fantastic performance that night, with such a great selection of songs from both albums. And we were only getting started. You can check out Light The Torch’s music and merchandise on their website HERE. Their setlist from that night was:
- More Than Dreaming
- Calm Before The Storm
- Let Me Fall Apart
- The Bitter End
- Death of Me
- Living With a Ghost
- Become the Martyr
- The Safety of Disbelief
- Wilting in the Light
- Die Alone
Next up was the metalcore band from Lancaster, PA, August Burns Red. The band formed in 2003 and released their first album Thrill Seeker in 2005. They would follow up with their sophomore album Messengers in 2007. The band would release 7 more albums and win two Grammy Awards for Best Metal Performance for their singles “Identity” from their 2015 Found in Far Away Places and “Invisible Enemy” from their 2017 Phantom Anthem. Their latest release is Guardians from 2020. August Burns Red is Jake Luhrs (vocals), John Benjamin “JB” Brubaker (lead guitars), Brent Rambler (rhythm guitar), Dustin Davidson (bass), and Matt Greiner (bass).
I was super excited to see them perform. While I knew of their music for a while, I never had the opportunity to see them live. And when they came out on stage, the crowd erupted into cheers and screams, and they wasted no time getting heavy with this Orlando crowd. They opened with “The Truth of a Liar” from their 2007 Messengers. Hard, heavy, guttural screaming and so much energy between all the members on-stage ran chills on my arm. Already from the opening song, I felt such raw energy from them August Burns Red. They performed “Meddler” from their 2009 album Constellations. When I thought they couldn’t go heavier, they did. The vocals are so hard and the bass line just rips at your chest with every note. From there they moved on to “Paramount” from their recent album Guardians.
I was amazed by the energy and intensity August Burns Red brings to their live performances. John, Brent, and Dustin all perform with such alacrity it boggles my mind. Matt is a master drummer switching from drum to cymbal so quickly, firing off those beats with not only speed but precision. And Jake seals the deal for the August Burn Red sound. His vocals for metalcore are excellent, but it’s his intensity on the stage that makes his stage presence so illuminating. And if you’re in the pit or front row for an August Burns Red show, watch Jake’s mic swinging skills and he masters that mic up and around, straight out and back to his hand again. It’s extremely impressive.
Jake was extremely gracious as well to the fans thanking them for their support in coming out to see their show. He sounded very excited for a song they were going to play, which I was wondering if they would do. It was a cover to the main theme of the video game The Legend of Zelda. The song itself is a beautiful composition, but to hear August Burn Red’s version of it was super cool for the gamer in me. It was beautifully performed, edgy, and retained both that original sound with a blend of metalcore. In a word; awesome. They finished up a phenomenal set with “White Washed” from their 2009 album Constellations. I’m so glad I finally had the chance to see them live. You can find their music and merch HERE. Their setlist from that night was:
- The Truth of a Liar
- Meddler
- Paramount
- Provision
- Invisible Enemy
- Defender
- Bloodletter
- The Legend of Zelda Theme
- Marianas Trench
- Composure
- White Washed
Last and certainly never least, the metalcore band from Westfield, MA, Killswitch Engage, was ready to close out the night. The band formed in 1999 with their self-titled debut album coming out in 2000 to critical acclaim. But, it was their third album, The End of Heartache from 2004 that got their mass attention with metal fans. The band currently has 8 studio albums released with their recent album Atonement released in 2019. Killswitch Engage is Jesse Leach (vocals), Adam Dutkiewicz (lead guitar), Joel Stroetzel (rhythm guitar), Mike D’Antonio (bass), and Justin Foley (drums).
If you ever wanted to see what it looked like to see a full House of Blues Orlando go truly nuts, get Killswitch Engage on the stage. The moment they stepped out, the crowd went ballistic. It was loud, crazy, and just impressive to see a band have such an influence on a crowd. And then they unleashed their music upon the crowd, literally. The band opened with “Unleashed” from Atonement. Though the cadence of the song is slower than some of their other songs, it hits you in the face hard and heavy with every note. Such a fantastic song and it had the crowd moving hard. They followed with “Hate By Design” from the 2016 album Incarnate. This song is more the Killswitch Engage style with that blow your mind style of heavy metal. And the crowd was eating it up with mosh pits, crowd surfers, and singing back to the crowd. They continued with “The Crownless King” also from Atonement.
If you’ve never been to a live Killswitch Engage show you are missing out. The band brings such life through their music, such energy to a crowd, and performs metalcore music like no one else does. Some people say Killswitch Engage was the pioneer of metalcore. Either way, this is a band that leaves it on the stage each time they perform and if you love metal, you will never be disappointed by them. Adam is a fantastic guitarist, but also loves to engage with the crowd during shows. He jokingly told the crowd they should thank them for giving them Tom Brady to Tampa. He’s always joking around with the band on stage too. Joel is precision extraordinaire on stage and does a great job on the backing vocals. Mike is a wild man on the stage whipping his hair around and pivoting his guitar towards the sky. Justin is a beast on the drums thundering out beats as fast as he can making those sounds reverberate through your body. But, Jesse, is an amazing frontman with his screams, his clean singing, and just the presence he puts in front of you. Killswitch Engage is simply phenomenal.
And the fans that night had some special treats. Killswitch Engage performed “Reject Yourself” from their 2006 album As Daylight Dies. It was the first time they ever performed it live and Adam joked to the fans they might mess it up so be forgiving. They didn’t and it was an excellent performance. They had some great selections that night including “I Am Broken Too” from Atonement and “My Curse” also from As Daylight Dies. But, it was right towards the end of their set that some truly memorable moments occurred. Jesse asked Howard Jones to come to the stage. In case you didn’t know, when Jesse left Killswitch Engage in 2002, Howard became their lead singer. Howard then left in 2012 and Jesse rejoined the band. Jesse and Howard hugged and Jesse said he was going to take a break and walked off stage, leaving Howard to lead Killswitch Engage performing “Rose of Sharyn” from their 2004 album The End of Heartache. It was one of those moments Killswitch Engage fans could only dream to see Howard performing with the band once again and it was glorious. But, it was even more glorious when Jesse returned and both of them performed “The End of Heartache” the title track from the 2004 album. And that was an amazing moment. To see Jesse and Howard on stage performing together was just breathtaking. And to cap off the night, Killswitch Engage closed out with “The Signal Fire” from Atonement where Howard was the featured vocalist. It is one of my favorite songs off the album and they delivered it even better than I could have expected.
Killswitch Engage delivered the performance of a lifetime that night with such energy, excitement, and happiness. You simply could see the joy in their faces and hear it in the way they played. If you want to check out their music and merch you can find it HERE. Their setlist that night was:
- Unleashed
- Hate By Design
- The Crownless King
- My Last Serenade
- I Am Broken Too
- Reckoning
- In Due Time
- Reject Yourself
- This Fire
- As Sure as the Sun Will Rise
- Us Against the World
- Irreversal
- Always
- My Curse
- Strength of the Mind
- Rose of Sharyn
- The End of Heartache
- The Signal Fire
Overall, The Atonement Tour should be listed as the Best Tour of 2022. You will not find a better lineup of metal with Light The Torch, August Burns Red, and Killswitch Engage. If you can catch this tour, absolutely do not miss it. It was amazing!
Be the first to comment