Stubbs Austin Gets Raved By Parkway Drive & Killswitch Engage

Saturday night, fans gathered at the legendary Stubbs BBQ Amphitheater in Austin to bear witness to one Spring’s most anticipated tours. A co-headlining tour between Boston’s Killswitch Engage and Australia’s Parkway Drive. To help support this amazing lineup is Minnesota’s metalcore act After The Burial and hardcore hybrid Vein. Given the fact that Killswitch Engage hadn’t been in Austin since Texas Independence Fest with Anthrax. In addition, I don’t ever remember seeing Parkway Drive come to Austin before. So this tour already had tons of hype circling it before the tickets had even gone on sale. Which naturally, led to a sold-out show at the rustic outdoor venue.

Up-and-coming act Vein began the show, introducing the burgeoning Austin crowd to its chaotic brand of hardcore and death metal. I had never seen them perform before and was trying to take it in, is that they are a strange combination of styles. By song three, the fans were locked into their set in tune with their style.

After The Burial took the stage next and they did not disappoint. Backed with a visceral brand of metalcore, and several new tracks from Evergreen their newest album. After The Burial sufficiently primed the crowd for the assault of metal they were about to face.

Now that the Texas sun had set, the long-awaited set from Killswitch Engage began. They wasted no time diving right into a bonus track, “This Fire”, from As Daylight Dies. A little trivia, this track was CM Punk‘s theme song in WWE. This was followed by both “Rose of Sharyn” and “The End of Heartache” from the same album. Every time Killswitch comes to Austin, the crowd always goes hard in the pit. The band’s set spanned a diverse catalog of tracks, extending all the way from their self-titled release from 2000 to their most recent work, 2016’s Incarnate. Crowd surfers plunged over the barricade while the band continually interacts with the fans. Whether it meant jumping on the barricade to giving daps to crowd surfers coming over. Killswitch is vibrant with enthusiasm. When you’re watching them power in a set, you really get the feeling that there’s no place that they’d rather be. That sentiment spreads to the crowd, and it’s contagious. You can definitely feel the electricity in the air and know that everyone there is in for a good time.

The stage was so packed to the point that I could only see the stage by standing behind a sea of people just prior to Parkway Drive‘s set. The energy was thick throughout the air as Parkway Drive brought forth an onslaught of metalcore they’ve developed over the years. A good majority of the songs came from the band’s 2018 studio album, Reverence. A number of tracks came from their previous release before that, 2015’s Ire. The band didn’t leave the diehard fans high and dry, though; Wild Eyes, Karma, and Carrion were all embraced with the unruliest of mosh pits.

A show of this caliber is worth every penny spent on the ticket. By the end of it all, you not only do you feel like you just got the workout of your life. You also, have a sense of physical and emotional release that leaves you begging for more. This is easily going to be one of the most talked about tours this Spring. There are still plenty of opportunities to catch this tour, so be sure to go check it out. You won’t be disappointed.

May 7 – Niagara Falls, NY – The Rapids Theatre**
May 9 – New York, NY – Terminal 5*
May 10 – New Haven, CT – College Street Music Hall*
May 11 – Philadelphia, PA – Franklin Music Hall (Outdoors)**
May 12 – Rockingham, NC – Epicenter^^
May 14 – Silver Spring, MD – The Fillmore Silver Spring*
May 15 – Detroit, MI – The Fillmore Detroit**
May 16 – Milwaukee, WI – Eagles Club Stage*
May 17-19 – Columbus, OH – Sonic Temple**
*Killswitch Engage closes show
**Parkway Drive closes show
***Festival
^^Festival – KsE Only
^Parkway Drive only

Killswitch Engage Setlist:
This Fire
Rose of Sharyn
The End of Heartache
This Is Absolution
Beyond the Flames
Fixation on the Darkness
Hate by Design
Always
My Last Serenade
Alone I Stand
In Due Time
My Curse
Strength of the Mind
Holy Diver

Parkway Drive Setlist:
Wishing Wells
Prey
Carrion
Vice Grip
Dedicated
Cemetery Bloom
The Void
Karma
Absolute Power
Shadow Boxing
Wild Eyes
Crushed
Bottom Feeder

Words and Images by Tracy Fuller