A decade after forming their musical union, the members of metalcore icons Killswitch Engage and vocalist Howard Jones have officially called it quits.
While it isn’t the first time they’ve parted ways, this seems to be a permanent end to the creative relationship, unlike the trial separation during their 2010 winter tour with The Devil Wears Prada and Dark Tranquility. At that time, the band called on Philip Labonte from All That Remains to fill in for the singer, for reasons that were never made clear. Original vocalist Jesse Leach even stepped in as a replacement in March of that year, finishing that tour with the band.
In June 2010, Jones returned to the helm when Killswitch Engage replaced Wolfmother on the Download Festival. Little did anyone know it would be his last live performance with the band in the US, and his last appearance with band anywhere would be Rock Am Bach in Germany on July 10, 2010.
Jones handled vocals for Killswitch Engage from 2002 to 2012, including the albums “The End of Heartache,” “As Daylight Dies,” and “Killswitch Engage.” The single bearing the same name from “The End of Heartache,” Jones’ debut with the band, earned a Grammy nomination in 2005 for Best Metal Performance.
The official statement from the band released via their publicist is as follows:
“To our family, friends and fans: We have decided to continue on without Howard Jones as the singer of Killswitch Engage. We love Howard and are thankful for the nine years that we’ve had him in the band. Out of respect for everyone involved we will not be discussing the specific reasons behind this decision. Howard is a part of our family and always will be, and we wish him well. He has left big shoes to fill, so we certainly have our work cut out for us to find the next singer of Killswitch, something we plan on making priority #1 going forward. Most importantly, thanks to all of you for all the support throughout the years and for sticking by us for all this time. We really do appreciate it and we very much look forward to having a new record for all of you in the not too distant future that we can all be proud of. Sincerely, Adam, Joel, Mike & Justin.”
Jones has not commented on the split.
I shot the band in Michigan a few years ago, and Jones was not only energetic, but playful on stage — at one point during a song, he reached down and tried to grab my camera, which I admit, freaked me out a little. I was kinda sassy with him and was like, “No way, dude.” He went to another photographer who gave up his camera without a second thought, took a photo of the crowd and handed it back to him. Then he looked at me, shrugged, smiled and said “Your loss.”
Indeed. Here’s hoping that the band — and especially you, Howard — bounce back.