A legacy forged in sound: Killswitch Engage at College Street Music Hall
College Street Music Hall in New Haven, Connecticut, has hosted its fair share of loud nights—but nothing quite like this. On April 8, the New Haven venue was pushed to its absolute limit by a four-band bill that wasn’t just stacked, it was seismic. With Frozen Soul, Fit for a King, Kublai Khan TX, and Killswitch Engage on deck, there was no easing in. This was a night built on gut-punch riffs, sweat-soaked catharsis, and the kind of generational weight only music can carry.
FROZEN SOUL: LOUDER THAN LOSS
Frozen Soul opened the night with a heaviness that went beyond the low end. At one point, the frontman, Chad Green, paused to remind the crowd, “You are f*cking good enough. You are f*cking strong enough.” The sentiment landed hard—especially after he shared he’d lost his brother. For a band built on punishing riffs and icy aggression, that moment was pure warmth. A reminder that even in the darkest corners of metal, there’s community.
FIT FOR A KING: CROWNED IN CHAOS
Then came Fit for a King, who took crowd work to a whole other level of wild. The band’s bassist, Ryan “Tuck” O’Leary, never stood still—every chord came with a split jump, martial arts spin or orbiting his guitar around his body like a satellite. Mid-set, he locked eyes with someone in the front row wearing a Burger King paper crown. He motion for the crown the toss from the crowd missed the stage. I scooped it off the floor and placed it on a stage monitor. A minute later, he threw on the crown, ripped into a full-spin guitar move, and launched off the riser in one acrobatic motion—crown still on.
The band’s frontman, Ryan Kirby, matched that energy with raw, relentless vocals. It wasn’t just sound—it was a force. From the first song, it felt like being dragged into a riptide. You fought to breathe, only to get swept under again by another wave of power chords and scream-alongs. “When Everything Means Nothing” hit especially hard—melodic, brutal, honest.
KUBLAI KHAN TX: UNAPOLOGETIC GRIT
Kublai Khan TX kept the intensity going and did not let up. A punishing set even for the heaviest of metal fans. During soundcheck, the low-end pressure of the bass guitar was a sign of things to come. The pit ignited immediately as the first note of their set dropped. Crowd surfers poured over the GA barriers, one after another, while security scrambled to keep up.
My 16-year-old stood right at the edge of the mosh pit, sizing up whether he should join in. It reminded me of myself at his age—my first metal show was Metallica my senior year of high school. Full circle. And like that night two and half decades ago, what stuck with me was how the crowd looked out for each other, even the youngest metalheads.
Kublai Khan’s set brought weight, grit, and presence. Every downbeat was a warning shot. The band moved like a unit—tight, locked in, deadly serious. There was no banter, no break in intensity—just one crushing riff after another. It was less a performance and more a ritual—one the crowd gladly gave themselves to.
KILLSWITCH ENGAGE: MASTERS OF THE MOMENT
But the night belonged to Killswitch Engage. I found them years ago—a young dad, finishing a degree at a Mormon university, trying to navigate a life I didn’t quite fit into. Their music got me through the late nights, the doubts, and eventually, the unraveling decades late of a marriage and a belief system. Watching them live now, years later, with two of my four kids in the crowd? That’s a kind of full circle you don’t plan for.
My son couldn’t hold back any longer and threw himself into the mosh pit—leaving behind every frustration and stress he carried with him to the venue that night. My oldest child was a distance behind the most pit, watching with the same awe I used to feel when I first hit play on KSE as a young adult. At one point, frontman Jesse Leach, climbed the barricade to sing directly into the crowd. It wasn’t until I went through my images later that I realized I had captured both of my kids—arms in the air, metal horns raised—in the same frame, just over Jesse’s shoulder. A single image that somehow held twenty-plus years of memories.
And then came the highlight of the evening— a true “holy shit” moment. Jesse Leach brought out Howard Jones to join him for “The Signal Fire,” and the entire place lost it.
Killswitch didn’t just step onstage—they took it. Their precision was ruthless. Every transition was tight, every drop hit like a charge detonated underfoot. Jesse’s vocals were sharper than ever—raw and unfiltered one moment, soaring the next. Adam brought his usual manic energy, tearing across the stage with a mix of chaos and surgical control. They made it look effortless, but the impact was massive. The crowd moved as one, held in the palm of a band that’s spent over two decades perfecting the art of commanding a room.
As the final notes rang out, Jesse offered one last message: “Stay fucking metal!” Amen, brother.
SET LIST
KILLSWITCH ENGAGE
Strength of Mind
Rose of Sharyn
Reckoning
Aftermath
Numbered Days
This is Absolution
No End in Sight
Collusion
Hate by Design
Forever Aligned
Signal Fire
I Believe
Arms of Sorrow
In Due Time
This Fire
My Curse
End of Heartache
My Last Serenade
