Among American metal music's most respected and enduring names, the Hollywood Palladium played host to a powerhouse pairing with Killswitch Engage and Machine Head sharing the stage for the Los Angeles stop of their mammoth North American tour.
While both collectives have long established their lofty position in the hierarchy of heavy music, legacy paired well with relevance as a theme on the night as both bands unloaded a set of essential favorites and new classics from their 2025 releases in This Consequence and Unatøned respectively.
At the helm of Killswitch, Jesse Leach continues his command as one of metal's most convincing frontman. His empowering call on newer entries like "I Believe" and "Forever Aligned" mark an important segue into the modern era of the band, while reasserting the kind of call-to-arms that has long been at the core of Killswitch.
Among the band's anthems including "The End of Heartache" and "Rose of Sharyn," the shelf life of the tracks was evident as the pop from the crowd emphasized just how beloved the songs remain after all these years. Completing their stage time with two of their most effective cuts, "My Curse" leveled the room and could have easily been a walk off success. Proving relentless, Killswitch went over the top with a final rendition of "My Last Serenade" that could be felt outside on Sunset Blvd.
Underscoring the running theme of powerful frontmen, Robb Flynn proved timeless as Machine Head dominated their stage time. While the classics were bound to set the place ablaze, Machine Head's more contemporary cuts landed with the same devastation. "CHØKE ØN THE ASHES ØF YOUR HATE" worked the floor into a tailspin while "UNBØUND" and "BØNESCRAPER" from the latest full length reemphasized the kind of forever strength that propels the collective.
Closing their time with the iconic "Davidian," Flynn and Machine Head flexed a kind of metal music supremacy that few bands ever achieve, let alone maintain for more than three decades.
Check the gallery of images captured by photographer Maurice Nunez below.
KILLSWITCH ENGAGE
MACHINE HEAD
IRON REAGAN
HAVOK
