KILLWSWITCH ENGAGE: SOLD OUT show in Vegas for 300 at The Space with Thrown Into Exile and A Perfect

Aug 31, 2019

3 min read

There wasn’t much open space at The Space in Vegas as one of metalcore’s best, KillSwitch Engage, gave a sweet performance to few hundred metal fans from Vegas and beyond in a small venue for a sold out performance, highlighting some new cuts from their eighth album Atonement, to be released on August 16 on Metal Blade Records. Killswitch Engage was

working on Atonement last year when vocalist Jesse Leach discovered he needed surgery on his vocal chords, which led to the album being put on hold, and KE cancelling some tour dates. But Leach bounced back quickly, the band finished the album in late 2018, and according to interviews Leach feels he is singing and screaming better than ever. The band announced a summer tour with Clutch which finished in recently, then scheduled a few stops in small venues and debut new singles from Atonement on a willing crowd before the road again this fall.

The Space in Vegas was lucky enough to be one of the chosen venues, and the fans came out en masse. A Perfect Being opened the show, a local Vegas matalcore band featuring Danny Ace on vocals, Chris Roupp and Garrett Lowery on guitar, Lenny JG on bass, and Nick Rayon drums. Danny Ace was a ball of wound up energy on the stage, jumping and weaving as the band hit hard a short set with songs from their debut EP Alchemy (check it out HERE). The band was also joined by another Vegas hotshot vocalist Juan Gutierrez from A Friend A Foe for a finale with Ace.

Thrown Into Exile from LA brought an even more frantic pace, a thrash metal fusion with vocalist Joey Dalo all over the stage, giving a brutal blast of vocals over unrelenting guitars and powerful back beat. Dalo was recruited in 2017 after some major turnover in the prior couple years, leaving original member Mario Rubio to regroup (with Ray Sanchez on guitar, Dave Corsileo bass and adding Scott Shelko on drums). Dalo made his debut on the band’s most recent single “The Wronged”, and has been a crushing addition to their live lineup. You can check out Thrown Into Exile’s debut album Safe Inside HERE, and we look forward to more new material coming - you can catch them at Psycho Las Vegas this week too!

After two fiery openers, Killswitch Engage took the stage and delivered a full 16 song set for the crowd, Jesse Leach in perfect form, along with guitarist Adam Dutkiewicz and Joel Stroetzel, bassist Mike D'Antonio and Justin Foley on drums, as the band blasted into “Unleashed”. The small stage was a stripped down setting for the band, with the fans right up to the edge and in their face for the show, head banging and screaming along. Along with a mix of KE faves, the band debuted “The Crownless King” and “The Signal Fire” from upcoming Atonement, as well as the darker single “I Am Broken”, and you could see Leach sporting a very visible forearm tattoo of the same name. After a sweaty, pummeling hour and a half Killswitch closed out the night with “Strength of the Mind” and a final “Holy Diver” that put Leach out in the fray, riding above the crowd in front before jumping back on stage for the final chorus. An explosive show and a real treat for Vegas, and for fans that traveled from all over the country to see the show at The Space.