Killswitch Engage Headline Tour Hits Minneapolis
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February 22, 2010
Filed under Arts and Entertainment, News
By Christian “BRUUUTAL!” Erickson and Alec “METALLL!” Braun
“MINNEAPOLIS!” growls Adam D, guitarist of the metal band Killswitch Engage. Killswitch was the headliner in a three band lineup at First Ave & 7th street entry along with The Devil Wears Prada, a Christian metal band, and Dark Tranquility, a Swedish metal band.
Dark Tranquility opened the show on stage with subtle synthesizers, loud vocals, and every band member swinging their heads in harmony. They delivered a mix of thrash and black metal to the show to a number of fans.
The Devil Wears Prada, known for their heavy breakdowns, was the second band on the list for the show. Their performance resulted in massive circle pits and excessive (and quite violent) head-banging, satisfying their large Minnesota fan base.
Halfway through the show, one of their guitarists was experiencing technical difficulties and they had to pause the show for a few minutes while the keyboardist and drummer took turns comically fiddling around on their instruments.
Killswitch Engage’s Lead vocalist Howard Jones did not appear at the show due to illness, however, that did not halt the brutal performance that Killswitch brought to the show. Lead vocalist and front-man, Phil Labonte, from the metal band, All That Remains, did the vocals in place of Howard Jones. “WE ARE NOW KNOWN AS… PHILSWITCH ENGAGE!” Adam D comically growled into his mic.
It was announced that Howard was ill a week prior to the Minneapolis show, and the details as to Howard’s “illness” are unclear. The member of Killswitch stated “It became overwhelmingly obvious to all of us around Howard that he is in no condition to be on tour right now and that he needed to get off the road and get himself better. It’s a personal matter and while we understand everyone’s curiosity and concern for Howard and the band, we appreciate everyone respecting Howard’s privacy at this time.”
Phil Labonte, vocalist from All That Remains and good friend of Killswitch, was excited to fill in for Howard and yelled into the mic “We really do feel that our fans are the best fans in the world.” The band also thanked Labonte for pitching in, saying “We can’t thank Phil enough for helping us out when we needed it the most.”
Killswitch closed the show with an epic encore performance of Dio’s Holy Diver. Phil and Adam D thanked the crowd and the show was a success.
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