As we first discussed more than a month ago, there’s been a rumor floating around that original Killswitch Engage vocalist Jesse Leach was going to perform with the band for the NY shows of their current tour; and, lo and behold, last night Leach did indeed show up to do five Alive or Just Breathing-era tracks (“My Last Serenade,” “Numbered Days,” “Self Revolution,” “Vida Infra,” “Temple from the Within) with the group. And, as if that wasn’t enough, three more (“Prelude,” “Life to Lifeless” and “Fixation on the Darkness”) for the encore – this time while the band reverted to its original line-up, with Adam D. playing drums and everything. Oh boy oh boy. Will Hawkins Photography has photos from the show; meanwhile, The PRP posted the de rigeur cell cam footage, which you can check out below:

SMN has now wondered aloud, “Does this mean that the former frontman will be staking his claim for a return to the fold?” And while I continue to hear people bandy that rumor about, especially in light of the mysterious and potentially scandalous circumstances under which Howard Jones seems to sitting out this tour. I don’t think it’s time to get too excited about that possibility just yet (if the idea of Leach re-joining the band even excites you in the first place), but I guess we’ll see what happens.

KSE play another show here in NY tonight, which I’m supposed to attend. So I may or may not have a first-hand report for you on Monday. If anyone went to last night’s gig, please let me know what time KSE took the stage. I need to sit through a set by The Devil Wears Prada like I need my left nut to fall off.

-AR

A couple of weeks ago I got an e-mail from an anonymous reader claiming that the reason Howard Jones is missing the current Killswitch Engage tour is because he knocked up a porn star. Given that a) I had no idea who this e-mailer was, b) he or she offered no evidence whatsoever, and c) Jones is a married man, we didn’t run the story; it just seemed so ludicrous.

Well, we still have no idea if it’s true or not, but on Saturday night (I guess technically Sunday morning, depending on the time zone in which you live), a porn star I’ve never heard of (and I’ve heard of quite a few), Allie Foster, started tweeting that she was, in fact, Jones’ baby momma. Check out this screenshot, courtesy our friends at Metal Injection:

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Jesse Leach and Howard Jones doing KSE’s “My Last Serenade” as part of the Roadrunner United event in December 2005

So last night Killswitch Engage sent out a press release announcing they’re going to finish their current tour with All That Remains’ Phil LaBonte handling vocal duties for Howard Jones, who had to break out early, apparently due to illness.

But that’s not really interesting news. What I actually found most intriguing about the press release was that it made no mention of the rumors that original KSE front dude Jesse Leach would be returning to the fold for the two NYC stops on the tour. It’s worth noting that Leach himself helped fan the flames of those rumors with an interaction on Facebook with MS Suckalo Chris Steeves. And just as intriguing as the absence of any mention of Leach in the press release is that he has removed the exchange with Steeves from his Facebook page (although you can still see it here).

So what does this mean? There are a few possibilities:

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Earlier this week Howard Jones had to drop off of Killswitch Engage’s current headlining tour, apparently due to illness. All That Remains’ Phil LaBonte has been filling in for Jones – The PRP has been referring to this incarnation of the band as “Philswitch Engage” (cute) – but now MS Suckalo has done some investigative reporting and it seems that original KSE front man Jesse Leach may be returning to the band for their NYC shows next month. Have a look at this recent Facebook exchange (Yes, Facebook. I know, we’re not exactly Woodward and Bernstein.):

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UPDATE! From Phil LaBonte’s Twitter account:

So it sounds like Howard is just sick. Thanks to Matthew Fieger for letting us know!

Original story after the jump:

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When we interviewed Howard Jones about the new Killswitch Engage album earlier this year, we couldn’t help but ask about the rumored new offering from Blood Has Been Shed, too. Here’s what Howard told us:

There was some news a little while ago that there might be another Blood Has Been Shed album.  Are you involved in that still in any capacity?

Howard Jones:    Well… yeah [laughs].

They made it sound like you might not be coming back…

HJ:   We’re just trying to figure out what exactly it is that we’re going to do.  Blood Has Been Shed is just one of those things where none of us do it full time, barely part time.  We’ll get something out.

Of course, for any BHBS fan, this was fantastic news. A new album was really in the works! Howard was still on-board! What could possibly go wrong?

Well, for starters, it could turn out that Howard isn’t really involved.

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In case you’re blind or something, Howard Jones is a big dude. I mean, a big dude. He’s not, like, the tallest motherfucker you’ve ever met, but he’s definitely ripped, and he has a kung-fu grip handshake. And even though he’s an incredibly nice guy, I just would not ever dick around with him. There is no doubt in my mind that he could break me like Drago broke Apollo.

But the, I’m not the guy in this video, who is obviously way braver dumber than I am:

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Killswitch Engage’s newest self-titled album sounds familiar, but that’s not the band’s fault. Well, actually, yes it is, in that the bludgeoned-to-dog-food horse known as metalcore owes a debt to the gentlemen in Killswitch. But even as a dude with what some could argue a pretentious taste in metal (the new Sunn 0))) album is definitely a grower, but it’s worth the wait!), I’ve always had a soft spot for the band: despite the throngs of guys with product-hardened hair and shitty sleeves acting like they’re the only ones to discover the first few In Flames records, Killswitch always knew what they did and knew they were good at it. You know exactly what you’re getting with one of their records – nimble-fingered Swede-tastic guitars occasionally cribbing from the Big Book of Metalcore Breakdowns, vocalist Howard Jones’ good cop/bad cop histrionics, a power ballad practically tailor made for Guitar Hero – but it’s always nice to hear it. It instantly brings one back to the halcyon days of the early ‘00s, when metalcore wasn’t so immediately associated with what was wrong with metal and deathcore wasn’t quickly becoming its fraternal twin.

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When Axl posted our Blood Has Been Shed exclusive news bit yesterday, he hinted at a full interview with Killswitch Engage’s Howard Jones and Mike D’Antonio; and here she is. Chatting with Howard and Mike was more like shooting the shit with some old friends than it was a formal interview, even though we’d never met the dudes before. Howard and Mike told as all about the new album, working with producer Brendan O’Brien, the decision to self-title the new record, their work in Blood Has Been Shed and Overcast respectively, the band’s writing process, what it’s like to play arenas, and more.

Howard was sporting a sick beard so naturally we had to comment on it, and that’s where things started:
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A few weeks back Vince and I got to interview Howard Jones and Mike D’Antonio about the new Killswitch Engage album. We’ll be running that interview soon enough, but for now there’s some news we just have to share.

You may recall that, back in January, BHBS guitarist Corey Unger confirmed that he was, at long last, writing a new album, but hinted that Jones and drummer Justin Foley (who is – duh – also in KsE now) might be involved in only limited capacity, if at all. Unger stated that “There is a vast mix of people who will be involved in this project including the original members. The line-up of musicians is very artistically driven based on the album’s style.”

Well, I wasn’t gonna get in a room with Howard Jones and not ask him about his involvement (or lack thereof) in a new BHBS record. Here’s what Jones had to say:

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Now it seems to me that Believer have done it all wrong. We’ll get to the actual content of the album later, but for now let’s just talk about band reunions for a minute. What we’ve seen over that last couple of years especially is that metal bands usually reunite for the purpose of touring only; the bands do a couple of tours state-side, play top slots at European festivals where they get to rock the biggest crowds of their careers, prove that they’re not too old and that their music is still relevant even to a new generation, and then they slip off the face of the earth again after being handsomely rewarded in cold hard cash. Touring is hard work for old farts, you didn’t think they’d do it without some financial compensation, did you?

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Believer have made a downright biblical return from the dead this year with the release of Gabriel, their first album since 1993’s Dimensions. If you were still stomping and screaming at your parents for attention in the line for the Peter Pan ride at Disneyworld (and I know I was) you might not have been listening to Believer back in the day. However, you may have heard of one of their better known cohorts such as Atheist and Pestilence and much like those bands, Believer were experimenting with a lot of technical brilliance and progressive depth to make some very impressive metal. The day after Gabriel’s March 17th release, vocalist/guitarist Kurt Bachman was kind enough to talk to me about the making of the new record, kids these days, reunion mania and how they never really wanted to be known as a Christian band.

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As many of you have already noticed, The Gauntlet is now reporting that Killswitch Engage have been added to the main stage of this summer’s Rockstar Energy Mayhem Festival, which is good news for metal fans but bad news for the organizers of Ozzfest.

Just as importantly, though, Lambgoat has revealed that Blood Has Been Shed – a.k.a. the band Howard Jones and Justin Foley were in prior to joining KsE – are on the verge of making their (hopefully) glorious comeback.

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Metal Blade has signed infamous Massholes, Overcast. Overcast are of some interest because their singer, Brian Fair, went on to front a little band you may have heard of called Shadows Fall, while their bassist, Mike D’Antonio, eventually joined some group called Killswitch Engage (the band’s other members, presumably, went on to get day jobs). That makes Overcast one of those bands that is kind of a retroactive supergroup, like the line-up of Megadeth that had Kerry King for all of ten seconds, or one of those glam bands like London or Hollywood Rose, whose various members went on to form Motley Crue, GN’R, and L.A. Guns.

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