Killswitch Engage – Feb. 20, 2010 @ Royal Oak Theater

To say that February 2010 has been a troubling month is probably an understatement. With lead singer Howard Jones out for “personal reasons” (in which no further information still has not been given), the Massachusetts-based metal stars have vowed to forge ahead on tour in his absence.

Killswitch made their way to a quite busy, but not quite sold out show at the Royal Oak Theater and played a 70-minute set in which temporary fill in singer Phil Labonte of All That Remains gave the old school fans what they wanted with a majority of the songs from earlier days of the band.

Starting with the charging “Rose Of Sharyn”, Labonte and the rest of the band played a strong set that was definitely a crowd pleaser. Most of the material in the set was from their first three records, so songs like “Take This Oath” and “My Last Serenade” took precedent over newer songs, but most of the fans didn’t seem to care.

As a singer with All That Remains, Labonte is highly comfortable on stage, but with Killswitch, he still looks a little tentative and relied heavily on crowd participation to help him with the songs. As he plays more shows with the band, odds are that will change. It is quite ironic that Labonte is singing for the band, given that he originally tried out for the position when Jones got the nod. But his energy was enough to carry the band on this night.

Phil also fits in well with wild guitarist Adam Dukewitcz, who ripped on his friend to no end last night. Adam’s targets on most nights are most in the audience, but on this night it was geared at hazing his good friend Labonte. At one point, a chant of “Phil Is Short” erupted at Dukwitiecz’s command, which caused Labonte to mimic his friend. All in all, it was all good-natured between friends.

With Labonte leading the way, it was a solid but perhaps not stellar show. No one outside of the band knows what will come of this and what Jones’ timetable is for sure. A lot of questions will needed to be answered in the near future, but for now, Killswitch is gonna be OK, at least on stage.