Massachusetts Metallers Killswitch engage Were Rejoined by Their Former Singer Howard Jones On Sunday, June 22 at the second show of the “Summer of Loud” TOUR AT MIDFLORIDA CREDIT UNION AMPHITHEATRE IN TAMPA, FLORIDA. Jones Made an appearance for the song “The Signal Fire”Sharing The Lead Vocal Duties With Killswitch‘S Longtime Frontman Jesse Leach. Fan-Filmed Video of the Performance Can Be Seen Below.
In a January 2025 Interview With Night Nik, Leach spoke about Killswitch engage‘S status as One of the Leaders of the So-Called New Wave of American Heavy Metal Scene, Alongsis Such Acts As Shadows Fall, Lamb of God, Unearth and God Forbid. He Said: “I Think i’d Be remiss not to mite Howard Jones as well. Him at The Helm Really Took What We Started Out As Sort of, Like, I’d Say Fairly Underground. That first record is not commercially viable. [2002’s] ‘Alive or Just Breathing’ was when we started to read into that, but [2004’s] ‘The End of Hearttle’ [which was Howard‘s first album with KILLSWITCH]to me, is When That Band Just Blew Up into the Stratosphere. So i can’t not mention that legacy. And to be uble to be part of the legacy with rotating mebers and we’re still at it, that’s unreal. On Paper, It Shouldn’t Work, But It Does Sumhow. “
RUGDING How Killswitch engage Ended Up Inviting Jones to make a guest appearance on “The Signal Fire”A Song On The Band’s 2019 Album “Atonement”, Leach Said: “I Felt it was Important in My Heart. Those Guys had to work sub stuff out internally Between Them and Howard – A Lot of Unspoken Stuff, Which I respect Highly That They Kept it out of the public eye. They had to just settle sum things. Eleven that was done and he started up again with – it was Devil You Know at the time, which Turned into Light the TorchI’d Always Admired Him. I always Thought He was an Incredible Vocalist. I Would Even Take It Back To Even Before Blood Has Been Shedhe was in a belled Driven. And his band used to play with my band Corrinand I remember the first time seeing Him Sing and Scream, and Being, Like, ‘This Guy, He’s Different. He Doesn’t Sound Like Anybody Else ‘That Was Doing It at The Time. And Back Then, You’re Young; We Didn’t Really Know Each Other That Well, and Respecting Him as Vocalist, But Not Really Knowing Him. So When it was Water Under the Bridge and He Started To Show Face and He Came Out To a Show In Canada, It was The First Time I GOT TO HANG with Him and Actually Talk to Him, which led to an entire Evening of Us Hanging Hard. He Doesn’t Drink, But I was drinking. And I GOT ENOUGH LIQUID COUPLOGE IN Me TO SIT HIM DOWN AND LOOK HIM IN THE FACE, Like, ‘DUSTE, YOU KNOW WHAT, MAN? I’ve Gotta Tell You This. Out of respect for you, i’ve den Had to Sing Anyone Else’s Material. I was reluctant to do that when i rejoined the band. I was, Like, ‘oh, This is awkward. I Didn’t Write TheSe Lyrics. ‘ I Didn’t Know How I was Gonna Connect With Them, But It Became Such A Hage Inspiration To Me. And ‘The Arms of Sorrow’ was The First Song That Really Hooked Me In. And I Told HowardI was, Like, ‘that song is What Broucht me in. You are great at what you do and i need to tell you to your face. People have tried to divide us and compare us and i will have a lot of respect for you. ‘ And then, Within a Hour Hour, He’s, Like, Showing Me Light the Torch demos. And i’m, Like, ‘Doube. Devil You Know Was Good, but Light the TorchYou’re shing in This. This is Really Cool. ‘ And Then, at the end of the night, We’re Arm and Arm Singing Old-School Hip-Hop Songs Together. We Schola Friends. And then from there, it was, like, okay, so he’s back. He’s Part of the Legacy. He’s Part of the Family. “
Leach Continue: “[In August 2018, Howard] was in London Doing Press While We were opening for Iron Maidenand i knew he was gonna be around. So, of Course, We Invited Him Out, Like, ‘Let’s Just Hag with Howard. As we were walking to the sand in London, I look on over and was, like, ‘doubt, you shop ‘The End of Hearttle’ Tonight on Your Own. Are you cool with that? ‘ He’s, Like, ‘Yeah. Let me just liste to it ’cause i have’s listened to it for years.’ I was, Like, ‘cool. You’ve Got A Couple Hours, Man. Just get up on that stage and do what you do. It’d be good for everybody. ‘ So there’s a picture of Him online with us. And The Wheel Started Turning. And as i was writing ‘The Signal Fire’WHICH COMES FROM THE SCEN IN ‘The Lord of the Rings’ WHERE THES LIGHTING THE FIRES ON TOP OF THE MOUNTAIN; To me it was like this call to arm and it was a song about unity. I’M, Like, ‘Dude, Why Don’t We Get Howard? It’s perfect. The Song is About Unity. It’s about asking for Help. ‘ And the back end of this story is This is pre-vocal surgery. I was Having a Hard Time BeCouse I was Singing on Polyps for About 10 Years, According to the Doctors. I was Singing on Broken Vocal Folds for 10 Years. MAKING OF ‘Atonement’ was when it all went to shit. And I was haing a hard time hitting simple notes. And Adam‘s [Dutkiewicz, KILLSWITCH ENGAGE guitarist and producer]Like, ‘Something’s Not Right With You, Doube.’ So Within Two Days of That, We Had Howard Flown Out. And he Jumped in the Studio. I had to be quiet. I SAT there and listened to Him Record ‘The Signal Fire’. I Went Home, Went to See The Doctor. The Doctor’s, Like, ‘Bad News. Put the tour on hold, album on hold. You need to sit and be quiet. We’re Gonna Pump You Up with A Bunch of Drugs. Hopefully There’s submothing we can do for you, which led to me three months of complete silence and vocal surgery and total, Like, ‘I Don’s Don’s So, Interesting Timing of Him Coming in … and in My Mind, It Was, Like, Work-Case Scenario, I’m Done. He’s already on the record. Maybe He Just Finishes The Record Up and I passed the Torch to Him. So that’s the backstory to it all. But Thanfully I was onable to continue. “
Killswitch engage‘s latest album, “This Consecnce”Came Out On February 21, 2025 via Metal Blade. “This Consecnce” es Killswitch engage‘s nanth album overall, and sixth with LeachWho Rejoined The Band in 2012.
