It would be an understatement to suggest former Killswitch Engage vocalist, Howard Jones, left behind enormous shoes to fill when it was announced they had parted ways in 2012.
It came as a shock to fans considering Howard had fronted the pioneering metalcore act for almost ten years. His versatility as a screamer, who could also belt out opera-like sing-alongs had also become a defining attribute of the band.
But the split welcomed back a familiar face. It was announced later that founding vocalist, Jesse Leach, had reunited with Killswitch Engage and they would be recording their first album together since 2001's 'Alive Or Just Breathing'. “I know that 'Alive Or Just Breathing' is definitely a very popular record, but 'The End Of Heartache' and 'As Daylight Dies' are also popular records,” drummer Justin Foley says. “If you wanted to just go by sales and the size of the tours we did, then those are clearly bigger records.
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“We weren't really sure how people were going to respond with us having a different guy because Howard was definitely incredibly popular with our fans.”
Perhaps no one more so than Justin would've needed time to adjust to the change. He and Howard had shared jam rooms and tour buses during their time with Blood Has Been Shed. But it appears Justin relished the opportunity to revisit a genre-defining opus the way it was always intended. “It was a really cool experience because I wasn't in the band when they did 'Alive Or Just Breathing' and I'd always been a fan of it … I felt the original fan coming through, getting to play those songs from that record with him singing.”
Killswitch Engage then released 'Disarm The Descent' in 2013, an album which fans embraced for its return to the band's faster and more aggressive sound. But it seems it won't be until the group begins crafting their next record that Jesse's full creative input will be unleashed. “We're all talking about how excited about writing again, because a lot of the last album was musically done before we even knew who was really going to sing on it.”
Killswitch Engage play:
Fri Apr 11 - Eatons Hill Hotel (Brisbane)Sat Apr 12 - UNSW Roundhouse (Sydney)
Sun Apr 13 - Palace Theatre (Melbourne)
Tue Apr 15 - HQ Complex (Adelaide)
Wed Apr 16 - Metro City (Perth)
