Live Review: Killswitch Engage - The Halls, Wolverhampton
Support: Hatebreed, Fit For An Autopsy, Decapitated
8th October 2025
Words: Matt Noble
Photos: Tim Finch
One of the best live metal showcases of the year, Killswitch Engage took to The Halls in Wolverhampton with Hatebreed, Fit For An Autopsy and Decapitated for a night of anthems, breakdowns, and razor sharp riffs. Four of the biggest names in 21st century metal, this mouthwatering tour package absolutely makes sense on paper - and on stage, they delivered something unforgettable.
Despite the early start, Decapitated got the ball rolling to a busy room. Commanding on stage, and arguably with the heaviest set of the night, the Polish techdeath/groove giants drew heavily from 2022's excellent 'Cancer Culture'. The heavy grooves from these newer tracks feel tailor made for a stage of this size, although the iconic all-time classic 'Spheres of Madness' earned a huge, raucous reaction from the audience. Ending on a particularly vicious runthrough of 'Iconoclast', the band were on top, top form this evening. It's been about a year since Eemeli Bodde took over vocal duties, but Decapitated feel very settled with his towering, dominant energy leading the pack. His performance is on point, while Vogg remains a modern metal guitar god, impossibly tight despite his intricate parts.
Fit For An Autopsy were up next. One of the leading forces in deathcore over the last decade and a half, the New Jersey outfit kept energy levels high and opened up the crowd even more, particularly as new single 'It Comes For You' arrived at breakneck speed, sparking a small circle pit in the middle of the floor. 'The Nothing That Is' is due out on Nuclear Blast before the end of the month, and on the strength of this lead single, we've got a lot to be excited about.
Fit For An Autopsy are an instrumentally versatile band, particularly on the strengths of drummer Josean Orta and lead guitarist Pat Sheridan, though each member plays their part faithfully to let the whole performance shine. 'Hostage' and 'Savior of None' are particularly well received tonight, before the guitar-led intro of closer 'Far From Heaven' earns a loud cheer. The whole band has clear camaraderie and relish the big stage, with frontman Joe Badolato joking that it must have been the band's first time in Wolverhampton as he'd never said the word out loud before. Tonight certainly set a high standard in a new city.
Without wanting to downplay the previous two bands, Hatebreed instantly raised the bar as they took to the stage. The vintage rager 'I Will Be Heard' set the place alight almost without warning as Jasta chanted its opening hook out, with the vast majority of The Halls joining in. It's a classic Hatebreed number, and a hell of an opening statement. Pits broke out immediately, the audience surged forward, and the chaos didn't stop until their final bow. Hatebreed are direct, catchy and to the point with their songs, and it translates perfectly in front of such a large crowd. Matched with an authoritative stage presence from all five members, slick stage production, and frankly a special performance, Hatebreed remain one of the best to do it.
Fresh and fired up on the first night of their UK run, the bounce of 'Destroy Everything' got a rabid response, and the lightning-fast speed of new track 'Make The Demons Obey' sent the pits feral. With the entire front and centre moving, Jasta demanded the crowd wakes up the following day without a voice. Bringing out their iconic Ball of Death for 'This Is Now', there's a lot to be learned from Hatebreed about how to engage a crowd, headlocking thousands in the palms of their hands for a full set. It's not all primal hardcore punk energy, though, as Jasta paused to appreciate bandmate Wayne Lozinak, who'd recently undergone surgery for a brain tumour, only returning to the stage days before tonight's show. It's emblematic of Hatebreed's lyrical themes of showing defiance in the face of adversity, making tonight feel triumphant on an even deeper level.
Killswitch Engage, tonight's headliners, came up through the 00s New Wave of American Heavy Metal movement, with a run of metalcore anthems that heavy music lovers of a certain generation know like the backs of their hands. Amazingly, they're now on their ninth studio album as of early 2025 - seemingly with no indication of slowing down. Opening with 'Strength of the Mind' from their slightly later era, its nasty grooves got the crowd going nicely, but it was the stone cold classic 'Rose of Sharyn' that really blew the room open. Jesse Leach got close and personal with the barrier, conducting and interacting with those at the front, while Adam D drew laughs with his goofy, entertaining stage banter.
The new material landed well tonight. 'Forever Aligned' hit hard, igniting plenty of energy from the crowd, while 'Broken Glass' was introduced with a powerful message for survivors of abuse - before Justin Foley's drum breaks and the heavy palm muted guitar parts makes for one of the strongest songs from the new record. The message behind it, though, sums up Killswitch's enduring message of positivity in a dark world, with Jesse even starting an impromptu sing along of 'Three Little Birds' between songs.
Jesse leapt all across the stage, making full use of the huge space. His versatile vocals impressed without frills, switching between cleans and screams on a whim, even belting out some incredible notes at the higher end of his register. It's not all him, though - Adam effortlessly shredded solos such as 'This Signal Fire' and 'In Due Time', while the rhythm section were incredibly well locked in, watertight and barely putting a note wrong across eighteen songs.
It's true that the classic numbers lifted the room highest. Joking that Killswitch Engage must now be a classic rock band now that father-and-son combos can be seen in the crowd, Jesse earned an ironic boo as he failed to chug a beer in front of everyone. Regardless, the closing trifecta of 'My Curse', 'The End of Heartache' and 'My Last Serenade' ramp the crowd yet another notch, leading to even more crowd surfing and serious chaos in the pits. They get the biggest, loudest and most cathartic singalongs of the whole evening. They might be the brightest gems in a stacked and ever-growing catalogue, but the night as a whole proved that Killswitch continue to fly the flag for metalcore, show no signs of taking their feet off the gas, and will deliver killer live shows as long as they're still standing.
Photo Credits: Tim Finch Photography
