Killswitch Engage will return to Australia and New Zealand in late 2026 for their first headline tour of the region since releasing their 2025 album This Consequence, with British metal band Sylosis joining as special guests.
by Paul Cashmere
American metalcore pioneers Killswitch Engage have announced an eight-date Australian and New Zealand tour for October and November 2026, marking the band’s biggest headline run in the region to date. The tour follows the release of the band’s ninth studio album This Consequence and arrives as the Massachusetts group celebrates more than 25 years since forming in 1999.
Killswitch Engage will open the tour at Auckland’s Powerstation on October 31 before dates in Wellington, Brisbane, Sydney, Wollongong, Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth. UK heavy act Sylosis has been confirmed as support across the run.
The announcement continues a sustained touring cycle for Killswitch Engage, who have remained one of the defining names in modern metal since emerging from the New England hardcore scene at the turn of the century. The band’s catalogue, particularly albums such as Alive Or Just Breathing, The End Of Heartache and As Daylight Dies, helped establish the template for melodic metalcore during the genre’s commercial rise in the 2000s.
The group’s influence extended beyond underground heavy music circles. Tracks such as ‘My Curse’, ‘The End Of Heartache’ and ‘In Due Time’ crossed into mainstream rock audiences through video games, film soundtracks and commercial rock radio, while the band collected Grammy nominations for Best Metal Performance in 2005, 2014 and 2020.
Killswitch Engage formed in Westfield, Massachusetts in 1999 from members of local hardcore and metal bands Overcast and Aftershock. Bassist Mike D’Antonio, guitarist Adam Dutkiewicz, guitarist Joel Stroetzel and vocalist Jesse Leach established the original lineup, blending melodic death metal influences from Sweden with East Coast hardcore aggression and melodic choruses.
The band’s breakthrough came after vocalist Howard Jones replaced Leach in 2002. Under Jones, Killswitch Engage released The End Of Heartache in 2004, an album that pushed the band into international recognition and later earned gold certification in the United States. Follow-up album As Daylight Dies expanded that success with singles including ‘My Curse’ and ‘Holy Diver’, the latter a cover of the Dio classic.
Leach returned to the group in 2012 following Jones’ departure, beginning a second era that produced albums including Disarm The Descent, Incarnate, Atonement and most recently This Consequence, released in February 2025. The current lineup features Leach alongside D’Antonio, Dutkiewicz, Stroetzel and drummer Justin Foley.
The latest album cycle produced one of the band’s strongest commercial radio performances in years. The single ‘I Believe’ became the highest-charting song of the group’s career on US Mainstream Rock radio, reaching the Top 5 earlier in 2025. The record also continued the band’s balance between melodic hooks and aggressive riffing, a sound that helped define an entire generation of metalcore bands.
Killswitch Engage’s legacy within heavy music remains substantial. The band is frequently cited alongside Lamb Of God, Unearth and Shadows Fall as one of the foundational acts of the New Wave Of American Heavy Metal movement. Their early records, particularly Alive Or Just Breathing, are often credited with shaping the structure of modern metalcore through the combination of screamed verses, melodic choruses and intricate dual-guitar arrangements.
The band has also maintained a consistent touring presence across Australia over the years, including appearances on festival lineups and arena tours with Iron Maiden. Their return in 2026 comes at a time when legacy metalcore acts from the early 2000s continue to draw strong multi-generational audiences, particularly in Australia where the genre maintains a significant live following.
Sylosis, who join the tour as special guests, bring their own established reputation within modern British metal. Led by guitarist and vocalist Josh Middleton, the band has built a following through a combination of thrash, melodic death metal and progressive influences.
Killswitch Engage are expected to perform a career-spanning setlist for the tour, drawing from across their catalogue as well as material from This Consequence.
DATES:
Saturday, October 31, Auckland, Powerstation
Sunday, November 1, Wellington, Meow Nui
Tuesday, November 3, Brisbane, Fortitude Music Hall
Friday, November 6, Sydney, Enmore Theatre
Saturday, November 7, Wollongong, Waves
Tuesday, November 10, Melbourne, Forum
Thursday, November 12, Adelaide, Hindley St
Saturday, November 14, Perth, Metro Fremantle
Ticketing details:
Promoter Presale: Wednesday, May 20, 10am AEST, Code: KSEAUS
General Onsale: Thursday, May 21, 10am AEST
Tickets via sbmpresents.com/tour/killswitch-engage-2026
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