Album Review: Killswitch Engage - Live At The Palladium
Reviewed by Tim Finch
When you think of ‘Live At The Palladium” albums, the venues that sprint to mind are the London and Hollywood Palladium’s respectively. Iconic venues known across the world. Killswitch Engage’s equivalent is different, recorded during the pandemic for a live stream at The Palladium in Worcester, Massachusetts, just as iconic, if a little less well known.
This new live released sees its birth on May 27th, and whilst the track listing will be familiar to those who caught the live stream, it will be unique for everyone else. The live album is split in two; disc one see’s the band play their 2019 album ‘Atonement’ is full from start to finish. Disc two is the classic Killswitch self-titled album played in full in the live sertting.
Kicking off with the dark and bewitching ‘Unleashed’, the atmosphere from a venue lacking in fans is eerie, but that heightens the electric feeling the listener gets from the record. They soon ramp it up, tearing at breakneck speed through ‘The Signal Fire’ and ‘Us Against The World’.
The pandemic gave fans time to really appreciate the bands latest record and this live performance adds to the opus they originally created. Showing the listener just what it would sound like in full live.
As we switch to disc two the listener gets to experience the full force of the Killswitch Engage battering ram. ‘Temple From The Within’ is in your face from the start, Jesse’s guttural vocals bombarding the listener just as he delivers them in the full live arena.
For a live album the sound is huge, production values on point, front man Jeese Leech is mesmerising, the atmosphere portrayed through your earbuds is electric. It’s enough to whip you into a frenzy as the band rip through ‘Vide Infra' and ‘Irreversal’ with gusto.
The full length of disc two of this set highlights just how good that debut album was with the likes of ‘Prelude’, Soilburn’ and ‘Numb Sickened Eyes’ before closing with ‘Just Barely Breathing’. For a Killswitch fan this release is a must have collectors item. For those new to the band it’s a well rounded beast demonstrating what the band can do now, whilst also introducing you to a classic from their vast back catalogue.
