There is nothing better than a metal tour that is all killer and no filler, where all the bands are more than worthy—and that is exactly what hit the Hollywood Palladium on Thursday night, June 25 as Killswitch Engage, Machine Head, Iron Reagan, and Havok played the second to last night of their three-week US trek that rocked every venue from coast to coast.
Southern California traffic had a different take on allowing for an on-time arrival to witness Havok. Still, based on the band’s history and their ultra-active live show, it was surely a killer way to begin this night of metal madness. Iron Reagan has been around since 2012, but has not played SoCal in several years, so this was a highly anticipated performance. Led by Municipal Waste members Tony Foresta on vocals and Phil Hall on guitar, the band’s sound and delivery does not vary too much from Municipal Waste, although maybe a bit more hardcore and less thrash, but totally killer, nonetheless.
The band played 16 songs, with an average song length of about 2 minutes. Highlights consisted of “Eat Shit and Live,” “Your Kid’s an Asshole,” “Fuck the Neighbors,” and three new songs off their June 9 released EP “Demonetization,” and the set ended with “Miserable Failure.”
Now Machine Head is out supporting their 2025 release UNATØNED and is a true headliner in their own right, having carved their own path in the groove metal/thrash scene since 1991. Robb Flynn’s pedigree also includes a former membership in Vio-lence. This tour may have been better billed as a co-headline tour, but anytime you can see Machine Head and Killswitch Engage on the same stage, back-to-back, is a good night indeed.
Taking the stage and kicking into “Imperium,” the Palladium immediately became one huge circle pit as Flynn, along with Jared MacEachern on bass, Matt Alston on drums, and Ben Eller on guitar (sitting in for live duties while Reece Skruggs is taking care of family matters) played a high-energy and heavy as hell 50-minute set. Flynn is one of the most engaging and enthusiastic frontmen in metal, full of piss and vinegar every night as his delivery radiates metal with every lyric and riff.
One great aspect of Machine Head is that for every tour, they really change up their setlist, and on this tour, they are playing “Game Over” from 2014’s Bloodstone and Diamonds—Machine Head has so many hidden gems on each of their albums. “Outsider” and “Bonescraper” were played off UNATØNED, the arena anthem “Locust” was a highlight, and of course the set ended with “Davidian” and its epic chorus: “Let Freedom Ring with a Shotgun Blast.” The crowd was exhausted; the band was a sweaty mess—Machine Head once again conquered Hollywood.
Killswitch Engage is also out supporting a new record—This Consequence was released in early 2025, and the band is continuing to promote it with their killer live shows. These metalcore veterans are at the top of their game, and the capacity crowd in Hollywood quickly got their second wind after Machine Head and were ready to rock. Opening the night with “Fixation on the Darkness” then into “This is Absolution,” the crowd was immediately raging as Jesse Leach prowled the stage and made his way down into the audience as they passed him around before he jumped back up onstage.
As soon as the first note of “The End of Heartache” was heard, the crowd took it to the next level, singing every word at the top of their lungs. Guitarist Adam Dutkiewicz, with his “I’m with Stupid” shirt and Beer headband, remains the lead clown in the band, but man, can he shred, and those guttural backup vocals complement everything Leach is belting out. The entire band is nothing but high-energy; bassist Mike D’Antonio is a fireball of movement, guitarist Joel Stroetzel is razor-sharp, while drummer Justin Foley keeps the thunder rolling throughout.
Like Machine Head, Killswitch Engage is a band with no shortage of hits, bangers, and deep cuts. Leach totally rocks all the songs originally sung by Howard Jones, and songs like “Hate by Design” and “The Signal Fire” brought out the heaviness, and the crowd loved it. During “Forever Aligned,” Leach stopped the show as there was an injury and/or a fight in the crowd, and he made sure all was taken care of before relaunching the madness.
“My Curse” followed by “My Last Serenade” ended the show. Hollywood was gut-punched for 75 minutes as Killswitch Engage reminded all who is the king of East Coast metalcore. Killswitch Engage brings the madness to Canada in August. Prepare now, friends to the North.
MACHINE HEAD
IRON REAGAN
