What the hell are these curtains doing here?! When Hammer walks into Wembley Arena, vast swathes of fabric have cordoned off the back of the venue and most of the seating: a surefire sign that tickets have sold below expectations. That’s despite the fact Killswitch Engage, masters of noughties metalcore, are playing their biggest-ever UK gig, supported by one of the most stacked lineups London’s seen in years. We don’t deserve nice things.
Fortunately, Polish mavens DECAPITATED defy the odds. Overcoming the sparse turnout and a most-people-are-fresh-from-work start time of 6:45, they ignite the first pit of the evening. As good a warmup as they are, FIT FOR AN AUTOPSY amplify the energy tenfold. The front of the room is crammed for the five-piece, and the likes of Lower Purpose and Hostage demonstrate why. The way they mix the best bits of deathcore, Gojira and the New Wave Of American Heavy Metal is hugely intelligent, yet it feels primal as fuck. Every melody sounds gigantic, every breakdown gets the pit swirling and every tech-metal chug-a-thon sees bodies fly over the barrier. They don’t even play 40 minutes but are – spoiler alert – the best act of the night.
Given they’ve dealt in no-frills metallic hardcore for 30-plus years, we didn’t expect much pageantry from HATEBREED tonight. Shame on us. Jamey Jasta’s crew are the only performers with pyro, and they’re backed up by a towering, inflatable demon seemingly stolen from Kreator. Mid-set, the band throw a blow-up “ball of death” into the crowd.
But, even without those touches, this would still be about the good vibes. The positivity of Jasta’s lyrics and onstage antics is infectious: “Resurrect every dream that you’ve buried alive!” he commands during Perseverance. Plus, whenever he isn’t barking into the mic, he’s urging the crowd to wave or fist-bump. What a wholesome bunch of riff-dispensing maniacs.
KILLSWITCH ENGAGE aren’t playing to the filled-up venue they probably hoped for tonight. All the same, the Massachusetts men arrive undeterred. In front of an IMAX-bothering video backdrop, they rip through Strength Of The Mind with muscle and precision. Frontman Jesse Leach sounds just as confident growling his guts out as he does crooning the chorus, while the instrumentalists around him have a synchronicity that only 20 years on metal’s frontlines can give.
The setlist features four songs from new album This Consequence, but let’s be honest: London’s here for the hits. Rose Of Sharyn, This Fire and My Curse are songs embedded in the DNA of every millennial metalhead. If you don’t know the words, the thousands of people yelling them will teach you real quick.
The anthems are unloaded with the speed of a machine gun but the accuracy of a sniper, with no room for dicking about across these 75 minutes. Even guitarist Adam D, the notorious jokester who introduces his band as a “bunch of bitches”, is in largely focussed form. Come the end of a victorious My Last Serenade, the venue being half-empty feels insignificant. If you aren’t captivated by the musicianship, hooks and widespread euphoria, you shouldn’t have come here to begin with.
Killswitch Engage setlist: Wembley Arena, London – October 17, 2025
- Strength Of The Mind
- Rose Of Sharyn
- Reckoning
- Aftermath
- Numbered Days
- This Is Absolution
- No End In Sight
- Broken Glass
- Hate By Design
- Forever Aligned
- The Signal Fire
- I Believe
- The Arms Of Sorrow
- In Due Time
- This Fire
- My Curse
- The End Of Heartache
- My Last Serenade
