Considering the uncertainty as to whether this tour would go ahead or not due to vocalist Howard Jones' enforced break (reasons still to be confirmed) I was pleasantly surprised by the turnout for this gig.  Actually make that astonished, the place was absolutely rammed, and all credit to Killswitch Engage for having the courage to go ahead with the tour with stand-in singer Phil Labont of All That Remains. Credit should also go to the people of Houston for turning out in force to support them.

But first up are Swedish legends Dark Tranquillity. It seems quite strange that the band that started the whole Gothenberg scene should be opening the bill, especially given their legendary status. But never mind, as they are fucking excellent, showing the kind of form and live craft which has seen them through over 20 years. Basing their 30 minute set around most recent album 'Fiction' and brand new album 'We Are The Void', frontman Mikeal Stanne gets the crowd going, whilst guitarists Niklas Sundin and Martin Henriksson rip out the top quality riffs you'd expect from Sweden's best. A great warm up for the baying hordes.

Next up are young bucks The Devil Wears Prada, who explode out of the traps with an infectious energy which gets the near sell-out crowd going absolutely nuts. Now I'll be the first to admit that Christian Metalcore does not make for an appealing prospect but after a couple of songs from this lot you can't help but be swept along by their groove and energy. Some of the songs can be a bit formulaic, but their delivery is amazing; brutally heavy in their breakdowns and with guitarist Jeremy DePoyster's clean vocals providing a great foil for frontman Mike Hranica's carthartic growls, they are a great live band. They also have an ace in the pack in keyboardist James Baney who is an absolute fucking nutter. Great live band who will raze a fair few venues in coming years.

And so to Killswitch Engage. Despite their documented problems they are not gonna let anything stop them doing what they do best, which is delivering top notch live shows and giving their fans what they crave. Phil Labont gets straight into the groove of things as opener 'Rose Of Sharyn' lights the touch paper and immediately allays any fears that this might be anything other than shit hot. Adam D. makes sure that not matter what, he is still gonna the centre of attention with his usual caped-lunatic garb and typically idiotic between song banter (e.g. "Houston, we have a problem, our singer is now short and white!!"). But nothing is gonna detract from the music and delivery, and Killswitch Engage are on amazing form peeling off hit after anthem after hit after anthem. 'My Last Serenade', 'A Bid Farewell', 'When Darkness Falls', 'My Curse' ......they're all there, and they're all shit hot. They chuck in a couple of real oldies for good measure and by the time they finish up with 'The End Of Heartache' the crowd have sung, slammed, crowd-surfed and generally gone so nuts that Killswitch Engage can be left in no doubt that going ahead with this tour was the totally right decision. They then get called back for their inevitable encore of 'Holy Diver' and the icing is well and truly on the cake. When they're on this kind of form few bands can touch Killswitch Engage, no matter what shit they've got going on, or who's standing in for who. A big shout to Phil Labont though, cos many people could and would have bottled it, but not him, as he put on a top notch performance.

A shit-hot gig all round that had me wandering into the Houston night with a very big grin on my chops.