Dear Killswitch Engage,

I was very happy to hear that Jesse Leach has re-joined the band. I don’t mean to be disrespectful to Howard Jones. I think HJ is a great vocalist and a great performer, and I love The End of Heartache. But I don’t think it’s any secret that you fellas needed some kind of creative kick in the pants. And Leach did an amazing job when he played with you back in 2010, and Alive or Just Breathing is a bonda fide modern classic. If you weren’t going to be able to move forward with Howard Jones, then, really, getting Leach back was the only move that made any real sense. So, mazel tov! I am officially excited to hear your new album and see you dudes live again.

Now, if I may be so bold, a humble request to keep in mind while moving forward: please don’t let your reunion album sound like Times of Grace.

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Have you checked out KillswitchEngage.com today? We’re not sure how long it’s been there, but as of the time this article is being published there’s a splash screen up with a photo of the band — including original lead singer Jesse Leach. While the band has yet to release a statement via their website, Facebook page, press release or any other medium, a photo is worth 1,000 words and we can’t think of any other possible way this could be construed.

After Howard Jones’ departure on January 4th, asking Leach back into the band seemed like only logical course of action; 3rd vocalists never work out, and duh, it just makes sense given all the history and Leach’s recent relationship with the other band members. Welcome back, Jesse!

Thanks: Corey B.

It’s hard to keep a secret in these Internet-crazy times. If I were Jesse Leach and I had a really big secret to keep — like whether or not I was about to re-join Killswitch Engage after Howard Jones’ departure — I’d probably just avoid giving interviews to the press altogether to make sure what I say couldn’t be mis-interpreted, or I couldn’t slip up and let fly a small nugget that gives the whole thing away. But Jesse Leach is apparently still doing interviews despite rampant speculation that he’ll rejoin the band, and he had some interesting things to say in a recent interview with Australia’s Loud Magazine:

My viewpoint is to respectfully step back from the situation and support them. Whatever decision they make will be the right one for them and I look forward to what it is.

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Yesterday we ran a very silly post in which we hypothesized about possible new vocalists for Killswitch Engage, except that the majority of candidates we named are not realistic possibilites (more on that in a second). I know that there are people who were bummed that we didn’t consider more realistic potentialities, but there was a reason we didn’t do that — it seems to us that Jesse Leach is really the only man for this job. (And, yes, we know that Leach just told fans via Facebook that “If I have something to say, I WILL say it. For the moment I have no comments on KSE.” But what do you expect him to say?)

Leach isn’t just the obvious choice — he’s really the best choice. Because his voice is still in great shape; because he’s a great performer; and because in 2012, we’d like to think that bands have learned from the Gary Cherones, Blaze Bayleys, and Dan Nelsons of the world. Being the third singer for a really famous band is a thankless task, even if you’re really talented. Tommy Vext, for example, is a great vocalist — but if he really did join KsE, he would face a momentous uphill battle to be accepted by fans and come out from under the shadow of Leach and Jones. And history teaches us that he — or any other singer, for that matter — probably would not win that battle.

So. This message on Killswitch’s official website certainly caught me by surprise…

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With Howard Jones now available for a White Lion reunion, who will be the new vocalist for Killswitch Engage? The obvious answer, of course, would be for the band’s original frontman, Jesse Leach, to return to the fold — although there’s been no word on such a possibility yet, save for some cryptic comments from Leach himself. The second most obvious answer would be Phil Labonte, but (mercifully), he’s already said “I’m not gonna be singing for KsE.”

So if we take Labonte at his word and imagine, for the sake of discussion, that Leach is not returning to the band… who else might get the gig? After the jump, we weigh a few possible options.

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According to a post on the band’s Facebook page, Howard Jones is no longer the singer for Killswitch Engage:

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.

It’s difficult not to speculate that the rumors involving Jones impregnating porn star Allie Foster had at least a small part, if not more, in the events leading up to this decision. The band never did respond to the rumors, but Jones sat out their early 2010 tour while All That Remains’ Phil LaBonte and his rack of AutoTune gadgets filled in. Original KsE singer Jesse Leach did a few gigs with them too which of course led to plenty of rumor-mongering that Jones was out of the band for good, but again, nothing was ever said in any official capacity. Whatever’s going on behind the scenes of KsE and with Jones personally, it certainly doesn’t sound pretty. It’s worth noting that Jones DID play a set of shows with the band in May of 2010 after his hiatus. It’s also worth noting that it’s entirely possible the Allie Foster allegations are either a) completely untrue, and/or, b) had nothing to do with Jones’ eventual split from the band.

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It would seem that Killswitch Engage are getting ready to make a new album… which means that Times of Grace, the project from KsE guitarist Adam Dutkiewicz and former KsE vocalist Jesse Leach, are, at least for the time being, on hiatus… which means that Leach can now concentrate on his other project, The Empire Shall Fall. And, hey, look at that! Volume I: Solar Plexus, the first in a planned series of EPs from the band, is now streaming right here.

I have a whole lotta respect for Leach as a singer and a performer, but this EP isn’t doing anything for me — it’s just a little too 2003ish for my tastes. That being said, it’s great to hear Leach not being wildly over-produced, which was my big problem with the Times of Grace album. Leach’s voice is so good, there’s absolutely no need to make it sound like the dude needs to be autoLabonted, y’know?

Check out Solar Plexus here, then weigh in with your thoughts below. You can order physical copies and purchase digital downloads here.

-AR

[via The PRP]

Times of Grace’s new video, for the song “Live in Love,” is like an odd hybrid of The Verve’s “Bittersweet Symphony” video and Soul Asylum’s video for “Runaway Train” — it’s basically just the band walking, intercut with various facts pertaining to a particular social issue.

But I have nothing bad to say about it, ’cause the social issue is abused children, and the video is meant to support the Rise Above Foundation, “a nonprofit dedicated to providing Massachusetts children in foster care with enriching activities, opportunities and experiences.” Which is, obviously, a very, very good cause.

Check out the video below, then head over to the Rise Above Foundation to learn how you can help. Times of Grace’s The Hymn of a Fallen Man is out now on Roadrunner, and we’re giving away some autographed copies of the CD booklet for this week’s Completely Unreadable Band Logo competition.

NOPE, THEY TOOK THE VIDEO DOWN. OH WELL. GO HELP THE KIDS ANYWAY.

-AR

[via The PRP]

Horns up for reader Kimberly De Simone. She correctly identified last week’s logo as belonging to the band Introrectalgestation. For her efforts, Kimberly wins  a copy of the CD booklet for Opeth’s Watershed that has been signed by the entire band. I hope you get that framed, Kimberly!

This week, we have another awesome prize, again courtesy of the nice folks at Roadrunner Records:  a copy of the CD booklet for Times of Grace’s The Hymn of a Broken Man that has been signed by both Adam Dutkiewicz and Jesse Leach. Pretty sweet, right? And we’ve got TWO of ‘em to give away!

All you gotta do to win is identify the name of the band whose logo appears below, then shoot me an e-mail at axl AT metalsucks DOT net with your answer, your name, and your address. ALL ENTRIES WITHOUT AN ADDRESS WILL BE DISQUALIFIED. From everyone who gets it right, we’ll randomly select two winners and announce their names one week from today.

This week’s logo was suggested by the reader known as “Utmu,” and it is a fucking doozy… best of luck reading it, ’cause I sure as shit can’t!

-AR

The days when a musician stands a chance of making a living as a musician may very well be coming to a close. It’s one thing for the members of Crowbar Abortion to have to get jobs at the mall when they’re not on tour, but when even the dude from Guns N’ Roses is giving guitar lessons on his down time, you know times are tough.

Which gives a little extra edge to the below video, in which our doppelgängers at Metal Injection ask various musicians what they’d do with their lives if they weren’t in a band. Because that’s a question most metal musicians should probably ask themselves at some point or another.

Best answer comes from Revocation drummer Phil Dubois-Coyne, although I’m down the response A Life Once Lost’s Doug Sabolick and Bob Meadows provide, too.

This video is the first in a new series Metal Injection is doing, called, cleverly enough, “Ask the Artist.” Go here to make sure you stay up-to-date on all future installments, as I’d wager that they will continue to be this entertaining.

-AR

Remember when Adam D.’s hair looked like this? Good times.

Times of Graces, the Alive or Just Breathing-era Killswitch Engage reunion that doesn’t play any songs from Alive or Just Breathing, will spend their summer doing support of Underoath. (I’m sure there’s a “Underoath is Not-” joke to be made, but I’m not quite sure what it is. Underoath are Not-Botch? Underoath are Not-Good? I’m open to suggestions.) Other bands on the bill will be Stray from the Path and Letlive. Or, put more simply: I’m not going to this tour.

But you can! No judgments. Okay I might judge you a little but not so much that we can’t still be friends. Jesse Leach can still sing his ass off and Adam D. is still entertaining as hell to watch. I’m just a grumpy old man who wants to hear “Life to Lifeless” more than he wants to hear “Live in Love,” and doesn’t want to hear Underoath, Stray from the Path, or Letlive at all.

But if you’re not like me — and, statistically, a lot of you are not like me — here are dates. Enjoy the show!

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How does she do it? Jacqueline Cheng strikes again with another set of positively epic photos. The subjects: Times of Grace — featuring ex-Killswitch Engage vocalist Jesse Leach and current KsE guitarist Adam D., along with fellow KsE guitarist Joel Stroetzel on live guitar — at New York City’s Gramercy Theater on February 22, 2011. We weren’t in attendance, but these photos make us wish we were. Check them out after the jump.

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Back in 2008, legendary metalcore pioneers Overcast — who went on to be in a couple ofsmaller bands you may have heard of, like Shadows Fall and Killswitch Engage — got back together to re-record some old tunes for a collection called Reborn to Kill Again. When that album was released, I interviewed vocalist Brian Fair (also of the aforementioned Shadows Fall), and I asked him if Overcast might ever write some new music together. His answer?

“We’ve actually talked about it because Pete [Cortese, guitarist] and Mike [D'Antonio, bassist] definitely have ideas for songs. We just have to make sure that they’re Overcast songs, you know? And not just a Pete song. Like I said, it has to be tuned to E and there has to be a mosh part that goes nowhere and there has to be random time changes for no reason. All those things have to be there in order to make it an Overcast song. We’re definitely not opposed to [writing and recording new material]. It may or may not happen, it depends on if the songs are quality.”

Well, I guess somewhere along the way these dudes either decided that these songs are not “Overcast songs,” or otherwise decided that it just wasn’t Overcast without guitarist Scott McCooe and drummer Jay Fitzgerald, or, uh, something else — because the band’s three most famous alumni (In case you’re dumb: D’Antonio went on to join KsE, Cortese went on to join Seemless) are now reuniting to form a new band called Death Ray Vision.

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…the fuck?

So the Times of Grace tour is now underway, and I don’t think I was alone in wondering if the band would playing any vintage Killswitch Engage material out on the road. I mean, it would make sense — 3/5ths of the KsE Alive or Just Breathing line-up is Times of Grace, and, clearly, this is the big selling point for the group. I mean, you don’t just start out headlining on your first tour unless you’re a supergroup or, in this case, an unofficial reunion.

But now reader Tyler Lesniewski has e-mailed us a link to the setlist from the band’s first live performance, and guess what? There’s not a single KsE song on it.

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So Times of Grace, which is basically a reunion of Killswitch Engage’s Alive or Just Breathing-era line-up (seriously, they’re only missing two members), made their live debut last night when they kicked off their tour in Baltimore, and, well, wouldn’t ya know it?, someone filmed it on a cell phone. So here’s the footage. The quality is obviously not perfect, but it does look like the show was fun.

I’d be curious to know if they played any old KsE songs, but haven’t been able to find that info anywhere on the net yet… if you were there or know someone who was, please report!

More footage and remaining tour dates after the jump…

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As first reported last week by vocalist Jesse Leach, Times of Grace’s debut album, The Hymn of a Broken Man, has leaked onto these here internets. I suspect that many of you have already illegally downloaded it, ingested it, and shat out an opinion.

But if you haven’t, well, here’s your shot — Metal Hammer is now streaming the album in full. It seems like a lot of you are excited for this album; I was saying to a friend the other night that when people say they want a GN’R reunion, they really mean they want an Axl-Slash reunion, and when people say they want an Alive or Just Breathing-era Killswitch Engage reunion, they really mean they want a Leach-Adam D. reunion. So, uh, here ya go!

I haven’t had a chance to listen to the record yet, so I can’t really get in on the debate as to whether or not these dudes have created something which lives up to their formidable-if-brief legacy. Of course, you guys are free to rip each other all the new assholes you want in the comments section. So listen here, and then get a-rippin’. Roadrunner will officially and legally release the album tomorrow.

-AR

So The Hymn of a Broken Man, the debut album from Times of Grace, doesn’t come out until January 18, but it’s already leaked online. Now, obviously, an album leaking is nothing new in this day and age, but I had no idea about the leak — until vocalist Jesse Leach decided to vent about the leak on Facebook, at which point I read about it on Blabbermouth and Metal Underground. Over at Gun Shy Assassin, where Leach regularly contributes a column, Chris Harris has even posted a story imploring readers not to download the leak. And if you hadn’t already read about the leak from one of these, or any number of other, media sources, well, now you’re reading about it here on MetalSucks.

My point is simply this: I understand that Leach is frustrated that the album leaked. I don’t begrudge him his frustration. But all he’s done now is called attention to the leak, and made who knows how many more people aware of it.

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Well, I didn’t see this coming: Times of Grace, a.k.a. the Alive or Just Breathing-era Killswitch almost-reunion, are gonna do a tour. And I’m not being facetious when I say I didn’t see it coming — I sincerely didn’t think they’d tour, ’cause both Adam D. and Jesse Leach have, like, a gabillion other commitments. But I guess they’ve each cleared the month of February to hit the road. Support will come from Straight Line Stitch and War of Ages.

This announcement, of course, raises a few questions, like:

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A still from Times of Grace’s riveting new video. Kubrick couldn’t have shot it any better.

It was less than a week ago that Times of Grace, the new project for past and present Killswitch Engage members Jesse Leach and Adam Dutkiewicz, debuted their first video, for the song “Strength in Numbers,” and now they’ve already posted a second, “Where the Spirit Leads Me.” It’s debuted exclusively via Record Store Day and Metal Club, and while it’s not embeddable yet, you can check it out here.

The video itself is honestly not that interesting; it basically combines the worst parts of The Blair Witch Project (e.g., shaky footage of the ground) with stuff that seems more interesting when I watch it on The Discovery Channel (e.g., a swarm of flies doing… something). But it’s the second song we’ve heard from Times of Grace, and so it gives us a better sense of what the project is going to sound like — and, as we suspected, it’s apparently going to sound exactly like Killswitch Engage.

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Times of Grace, the new project for former Killswitch Engage vocalist Jesse Leach and ongoing Killswitch Engage guitarist Adam Dutkiewicz, have debuted the video for their first single, “Strength in Numbers,” at Alt Press. We first heard this song back in October, and it still sounds more or less like Alive or Just Breathing or Maybe Just Enjoying a Quick Power Nap to me, but that’s really neither here nor there right now, as I think we need to hear more of the album before we can start making jokes about how Adam D. has apparently tapped out his massive encyclopedia of riffs.

No, instead I wanna talk about the video. It’s bizarre, isn’t it? I used to do volunteer work with schizophrenic homeless people, but I didn’t never get to go all Braveheart with ‘em or anything. Mostly, we just played Uno and other simple games in an environment specifically designed to keep them calm and away from makeshift weapons. (Although I do recall a particularly vicious spork fight one Thanksgiving.) But in hindsight, teaching them to have a crew to catch their back in case they ever need to fuck shit up would have been a much more effective lesson. If that nice Russian lady who loved to play dominoes just so she could yell “DOMINOES!” over and over again regardless of who won or if anyone at the table actually scored a point happens to be reading this, I’d just like to say: I’m sorry I failed you.

Times of Grace’s debut, The Hymn of a Broken Man, comes out January 18 on Roadrunner, and despite my snark, I am sincerely hoping that it beats my ass like I stole its locket.

-AR