Killswitch Engage are one of those bands who have always stood out from the crowd, delivering anthem after anthem, and having a good time whilst doing so. There’s no pretentious nonsense from them, just straight ahead metal.

So, it was with great pleasure that this reviewer went down to the 02 Academy in Birmingham on Saturday evening to witness the mighty Killswitch Engage perform with support from Tenside and Revocation.

Starting things off were Tenside. They started off with a blistering rendition of ‘This Is What We Die For,’ a song that is sure to get the adrenaline pumping on most occasions as it did this time, despite the slight issues with the sound. As the night progressed, Tenside continued to deliver a smashing delivery of metal. Particular highlights included: “Unbreakable,” and “As Above, So Below,” both of which got some pretty big moshpits going. As they finished with “Faith over Fears,” one got the sense that there were big things coming for them in the years ahead.

Next up was Revocation, a band who came out of the gate with some fascinating surprises. “The Outer Ones,” and “That Which Consumes All Things,” were particularly memorable as they demonstrated just how technically proficient the band are, and how they managed to combine their clear skill with a method of delivery that allowed for the listener to really get an immersive experience. As their set progressed, the audience gradually got more and more into the swing of things. There was a mad moshpit that dragged several people in and expanded as the songs progressed. Things really got interesting when “Luciferous,” started as that blistering song encouraged some serious moshing. The band ended their set with a lot of new fans, and more fans wishing to see them return to these shores before too long

Then as the clock hit near enough quarter to 10, the lights went dark, ‘The Final Countdown,’ started to play, and on came Killswitch Engage. “Unleashed,” and “Hate By Design,” got the crowd surging to the front and screaming their heads off. “Crownless King,” and “My Last Serenade,” hit the audience hard and got a real good sing along going, I won’t forget the looks on some people’s faces when the chorus for Serenade hit.

Jesse Leach got personal on “I am Broken Too,” and the pure emotion on his face had a few teary faces in the crowd, as they sung along with him, Leach becoming the leader in a 2000 strong choir. “Rose of Sharyn,” got the moshpits going, and the band were enjoying this, you could see it from their faces.

“In Due Time,” and “The Signal Fire,” kept the momentum going. Killswitch are a band on top form, driving things home and bringing everyone together for an hour and a half of great times and merriment. As they finished with “The End of Heartache,” and “Holy Diver,” they confirmed that they were back, and back for good.

As an added bonus, here’s a video I managed to film before getting sucked into the crowd surges: