So Jeremy and I went to see Killswitch Engage at Roseland last night, and they were amazing.  If it’s all right with you, I’ll just skip over He Is Legend and Chimaira, except perhaps to note the following common mindset between the two bands: “This is called 4/4.  Here is the downbeat.  This is where we change the chord, if we decide to change it at all.  Now everybody join the pit and see who gets injured.”  Both bands were mind-numbingly boring, but maybe that’s because I was too lame to participate in either (a) the moshpit or (b) the smoking of copius amounts of weed.  Those engaging in either of the aforementioned activities seemed to have an OK time.

Luckily, Dragonforce was all kinds of awesome.  Sure, they’re silly and over the top, but that’s the point, because they have so much fun doing their thing.  Their singer struggled to hit a good 30% of the notes, but I forgave him because of his enthusiasm and leather pants.  Both guitarists were absolutely sick, and their keyboardist, who had the best stage presence of all of them, even rocked a pink keytar for a couple songs.  I don’t know that their music is anything I would listen to on a regular basis, but their songs have so much wacky energy, making them a great band to see live.

Now on to Killswitch.  Unfortunately lead guitarist Adam Dutkiewicz is sitting out this tour due to back problems, and Jeremy and I were both excited to see him play.  Luckily the very skilled Pat Lachman (of Damageplan) was sitting in for him, and the band didn’t miss a beat.  The huge, chunky riffs in songs like “My Curse” and “The End of Heartache” sound amazing in a live setting, as do the faster songs like “Unbroken” and “Breathe Life.”   Vocalist Howard Jones was spot on all night, whether unleashing his trademark blood-curdling scream or singing the anthemic choruses (with the help of the sold out Roseland crowd).

There were of course a few songs I wish they had played but didn’t really expect them to, like “For You,” but there were also a couple surprising omissions, like “The Arms of Sorrow.”  All in all, it was a strong setlist, except perhaps for the ill-advised cover of Dio’s “Holy Diver.”  No matter how flawlessly the song is performed, it will always conjure images of South Park for me.  But overall it was a great show.  In a world full of so many “studio bands,” the live precision of Killswitch Engage is definitely an inspiring thing to see.  If you get a chance to check them out on the No Fear tour, do yourself the favor and go.  You just might want to show up an hour or two late to miss the weak openers.