Killswitch Engage live at the House of Blues in Orlando, FL

Saturday night, in Orlando, FL, I had the amazing opportunity to see my favorite band of all-time, Killswitch Engage. They hail from Massachusetts and have been killing it in the rock scene since 1999.

What made this night so special, other than getting to see them, was it was the first time I had ever seen the band play with their original frontman, Jesse Leach. I had seen the band play twice before, but with their second singer, Howard Jones.

And the greatness of seeing them doesn't end there! Not only was I able to see Jesse front the band, but Howard was there as well! He was there with his new band, Light the Torch. He even came out and sang three songs with Killswitch and Jesse! What a night to remember. Joining Killswitch Engage and the aforementioned Light the Torch was the band August Burns Red.

They, too, hail from the northeast (Lancaster, PA). They made a name for themselves doing well-known metal covers of famous songs, such as the Legend of Zelda and even put out their own Christmas Album. Recently they released a new album called Guardians in 2020, much of which was played Saturday evening. Though they were not the headliners, they rocked as if they are.

Nevertheless, it was such an amazing night. The setlist for Killswitch went as follows:

Here are also four videos from Killswitch's set. The first is "In Due Time" which is my favorite song by them, off the album "Disarm the Descent". The second song is titled "Rose of Sharyn" from the album "End of Heartache". That song was originally performed by Howard Jones and is about his mother who passed away. The third song is titled "End of Heartache" from the album of the same name. The final song is titled "Signal Fire" with both Jesse and Howard singing. It is from the newest album titled "Atonement" which shares the name with the current tour.

Overall, this was one of the best nights of my life. I purchased these tickets in 2019 for 2020, but Covid got in the way. Though we all have experienced some heartache and pain with this pandemic, thankfully I was able to experience a night of a lifetime with 2,500 other fans. Rock on!

@jgullinese