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.

If that combo makes you scratch your head and go “zuh?” then you certainly wouldn’t be the only one, but there you have it: three of the most vocal personalities from Cannibal Corpse, Killswitch Engage and The Black Dahlia Murder are apparently teaming up for a new project.

The news comes straight from Corpsegrinder’s mouth, as told to the Metal Injection dudes aboard the 70,000 Tons of Metal cruise ship last week. Axl originally reported on a rumor about this merry group of metalmen back in August of 2011, but according to an article published by Rob Pasbani on Metal Injection yesterday it’s “DEFINITELY” (emphasis his!) happening. Here’s the juice:

We spoke with Corpsegrinder last week during our coverage of the 70,000 Tons of Metal, and even though the cameras stopped rolling, Corpsegrinder was still in a chatting mood. I just so happened to be wearing a Black Dahlia Murder shirt, and Corpsegrinder noticed it and confirmed to us that he is DEFINITELY working on a project with the Black Dahlia drummer, and Adam D. and it’s sounding killer.

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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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Photo by Jeff Chan

Those poor metalcore Massholes in Unearth have been without a drummer since parting ways with Derek Kerswill back in 2010 — although, to their credit, they did make the best of a bad situation, recruiting Killswitch Engage/Blood Has Been Shed skinsman Justin Foley to sit in on last year’s Darkness in the Light. But now a press release tells us they’ve finally found their man to take the gig full-time:

“Nick Pierce is a self taught drummer who’s been playing since age 10. He grew up playing for local bands in the Seattle/Tacoma area (Culling the Weak, Eterna Nocturna, Embalmed) as well as LA based band The Faceless. Nick first sat in behind the kit for Unearth in May of 2011 during their two show trip to Alaska. Unearth discovered Pierce on YouTube where he had been covering Unearth songs, among many other bands, on a series of videos on his YouTube channel.”

Man, I do love that musicians can legitimately find one another through the internet. Seriously, I think it’s great that internet can make us one big community, able to communicate across vast spaces in miniscule amounts of time with people who share common interests and life philosophies. It’s a really beautiful thing. In fact, besides the endless sea of free porn, it’s my second favorite thing about the internet.

But I digress.

After the jump, check out two videos of Pierce in action: one of him performing “Watch it Burn” with his new band, and an eight-minute solo for all you drum nerds out there. Enjoy…

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Yo! Have you guys signed up for our new e-mail list yet? If not, you can, and should, do so above. You’ll get occasional updates from the MS Mansion with breaking stories, special features, exclusive premieres, etc., delivered right to your inbox. Don’t worry, we won’t spam you — expect a newsletter-type of situation with updates once a week at most. And don’t forget to friend us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter to stay up-to-the-minute on all the latest suckage.

With that shameless plug out of the way, let’s look at some of the things we did this week, shall we?

• Maybe we should rename the site “Sports Suck?” God Forbid’s Doc Coyle taught us about the NBA and Lazarus A.D.’s Jeff Paulick taught us about the NFL.
• We spoke to Matt Halpern from Periphery and Bandhappy and Nick Cohon from Cormorant.
• We were saddened to report that legendary Black Sabbath guitarist has been diagnosed with lymphoma.
• Jason Richardson was saddened to learn that he has been fired from Born of Osiris.
• We considered ten possible candidates to replace Howard Jones in Killswitch Engage.
• We wagered that the new Metallica album is not going to sound like The Black Album despite what the band says.
• We passed judgement on the new Van Halen single and video.
• We got excited that Refused and At the Drive In are reuniting.
• We learned that Virgin Steele are from Long Island.
• We started to look at some Albums That Will Fuck Your Face Off in 2012: new releases from Adimiron, Hypno5e, Ides of Gemini, Pallbearer, Sai Nam, and Samothrace.

Next week we’ll have even more Albums That Will Fuck Your Face Off, interviews, premieres, and, of course, plenty of snark. ‘Til then, brothers and sisters…

-AR

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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via Badass Digest

Hey! We have a brand new email list! Sign up above for occasional updates from the MS Mansion with breaking stories, special features, exclusive premieres, etc, delivered right to your inbox. Don’t worry, we won’t spam you — expect a newsletter-type of situation with updates once a week at most. And don’t forget to friend us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter to stay up-to-the-minute on all the latest suckage.

First week back from the holidays, and already the vocalist for one of the most famous metal bands of its generation has split from the band. What drama does the rest of the year hold? Pontificate in the comments section while you enjoy these stories from earlier in the week:

• We debuted new music by Liberteer.
• The Safety Fire’s Dez Nagle gave us a tour of his live rig, while Lazarus A.D.’s Jeff Paulick kept us up-to-date on all things football.
• We spoke to Rick Jimenez from This is Hell and comic book author Matt Fraction.
• We checked out the latest releases from Face Reality, No Sir, and Step Aside, as well as The United States of Toil.
• We learned that in 2012, it’s cool to be tr00.
• We discovered the best worst new band of 2012 so far.
• We said good things about this band so other ppl will know them and they will get sucess andwe will all be all happy!
• We mourned the loss of The Human Abstract.
• We got a primer in how to start a djent band.
• We made a Stuff You Will Hate mixtape.

Next week brings more debuts, our special brand of 2012 release previews, and maybe, just maybe, if you’re real lucky, some snark, too. Weird for us, I know.

See ya Monday!

-AR

As soon as it was announced this week that Howard Jones was splitting with Killswitch Engage after nine years, everyone asked the same obvious-but-important question: Why? Was it because of the rumors  Jones impregnated porn star Allie Foster a few years back? Rehab? “Creative differences?”

Now Jones has finally spoken out via a posting on KsE’s Facebook page, and the answer, it turns out, is simply “musical fatigue.” Here’s the full statement:

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For the young ‘uns that don’t remember, Blood Has Been Shed is the way killer turn-of-the-century metalcore band that Howard Jones and Justin Foley were in before they signed Killswitch Enage. It’s true! I swear it! These dudes were really real people even before KsE ever came along.

Blood Has Been Shed are also a band that a lot of people — like me! — have been waiting for a reunion from since, like, forever. Or at least 2009, when BHBS guitarist Corey Unger said that “I have been working on the new album,” which led many of us to believe that he was probably, y’know, working on a new album.

So naturally, when Vince and I interviewed KsE bassist Mike D’Antonio  Mr. Jones later that same year, we asked the vocalist about it. I’ve re-printed this quote about a bajillion times now, but it’s never not-relevant to the discussion of a possible BHBS reunion, so here it is again:

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UPDATE, 1:22 PM: Now the band has confirmed that they are, indeed, breaking-up. Thanks to The PRP for catching the story. Original post follows…

I don’t know how we missed this, but shortly before MetalSucks went on hiatus last month, Lambgoat reported a rumor that Oceano were breaking up — which is great news if, say, you’re a petty little fuck like me, who wishes ill will on people whose greatest crime is making music that you don’t personally enjoy. And then yesterday those rumors picked up some steam when Oceano vocalist Adam Warren — who has apparently parted ways with his deathcore cohorts — made the following statement, which a) strongly implies that Ocean are indeed calling it quits, and b) makes reference to Howard Jones’ just-announced split with Killswitch Engage:

“I’m shocked, but well… If Killswitch can go on after 9 years and 3 albums without Mr. Jones on vox…. Why couldn’t a certain band with out me? (2 albums and a mere 3 years) Just sayin.”

So that sounds promising, right?

Alas, it ain’t so.

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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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Well, I guess technically we don’t know that for 100%. But the fest’s organizers have just released “a TEASER from a mystery headliner,” and if that’s not Howard Jones’ voice, than my name is Phil Labonte.

Listen to the teaser here and decide for yourself.

But let’s be real, it’s Killswitch Engage.

-AR

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]

Last week I wrote a little bit about how a lot of modern production techniques I loathe may actually be aesthetic choices; and I tried to keep that in mind as I attempted to listen to Dead Throne, the latest offering from The Devil Wears Prada. If, for example, the band didn’t favor such excessive use of autotune and vocoder, would the songs at least be solid?

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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

What the fuck? Look at this press release Axl just forwarded to me:

“It was in 1983 when Howard Jones first burst upon the contemporary music scene and brought his very English song-writing and pioneering synthesizers to an unsuspecting world. His first two albums Human’s Lib and Dream Into Action were massive worldwide hits.

“Human’s Lib reached #1 in 1984 in the UK and featured the hits ‘New Song,’ and ‘What Is Love?’  In 1985 Howard released his follow up: Dream Into Action, which quickly became a Top Ten Platinum album here in the US and featured the massive hits: ‘Things Can Only Get Better,’ ‘Life In One Day,’ ‘No One Is To Blame,’ and ‘Like To Get To Know You Well.’

“Now for the first time ever, Jones will perform these first two classic albums in their entirety in the US this fall. A true icon of the 80’s and godfather of modern electronic dance music, Jones will be giving the fans what they’ve longed for.”

Okay, so first of all, I did NOT know that Howard Jones was English. I always thought that dude was from Massachusetts!

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Here’s an interesting story that The PRP picked up on: during a recent interview with Lithiummagazine.com, Killswitch Engage/Times of Grace guitarist Adam Dutkiewicz claimed to be working on  a death metal side project with the drummer from Black Dahlia Murder and the singer from Cannibal Corpse.” (That would be Shannon Lucas and  George “Corpsegrinder” Fisher, respectively, in case you somehow don’t know that.)

And while it isn’t presently clear whether or not Dutkiewicz was being serious or just dicking around, I’d still like to say right now: I would check that band out.

Here’s my reasoning:

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