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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You thought last week’s fracas involving Phil Labonte calling Black veil Brides frontman Andy Biersack a “faggot” was something? Well, it just gets better and better; apparently the discourse inspired Emmure frontman / space cadet Frankie Palmeri to enter the fray by sharing his thoughts on the word “faggot” via Twitter.

The ignorance displayed here by Palmeri is completely mind-boggling, but then again so is the simplicity of Emmure’s music… but I digress. If Frankie’s point is that gay people shouldn’t use the word “faggot” amongst themselves (and that by extension black people shouldn’t call each other “nigger”), I don’t follow his logic; I can’t think of any better way to rebel against homophobes/racists/etc than to take a derogatory word they coined for you and to co-opt it for your own use. Kinda like how Dino Cazares took the whole baby-eating thing and turned it right back on us; he won! By that same token, if the gay community or any individuals in it decide they don’t want to use “faggot” at all even when joking with friends, that’s fine too. It’s their choice what to do with the word.

Public drama aside, I’m glad these issues are being discussed in the metal community. Needed to happen… badly.

-VN

1) Be nicer to Sebastian Bach
2) Compare penis sizes with Tommy Lee
3) Hire Phil LaBonte as a vocal coach
4) Hire Billy Milano as a personal trainer
5) Hire Tripp Eisen as a baby sitter
6) Sleep with present-day Tawny Kitaen
7) Help Danzig clean up his motherfucking bricks, bitch
8) Listen to Ted Nugent talk about politics
9) Listen to Ted Nugent talk about romance
10) Listen to Ted Nugent talk about Ted Nugent

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Zakk Wylde appeared on American Idol last night, accompanying contestant James Turbin on a cover of Sammy Hagar’s “Heavy Metal,” ’cause, I dunno, I guess he felt like he had too much cred left.

We’re not going to try and give you any actual detailed analysis of this blessed event, though, because, well… that’s why we have ”Idol Remains,” Anso DF’s stupefyingly entertaining weekly re-cap of the show! Anso suffers so we don’t have to… and, besides, his writing is far more enjoyable than the program itself. Just check out these rave reviews!

“‘Idol Remains’ make me sad I’m not actually on the show anymore :( :( :(”
-Paula Abdul

“‘Idol Remains’ is so good it, it makes me wish I could actually sing!”
-Phil LaBonte

“Where am I? Who’s talking? Hello? Is there anyone there?”
-Ozzy Osbourne

So what are you waiting for? Catch up on all of Anso’s “Idol Remains” here. His latest installment will run tomorrow afternoon!!!

I’m sorry, I just love this angel from heaven too much. This last vaguely-metal-related video is kind of amazing, because when it begins you think, “Oh, Neesa is gonna cover Pantera this time!”, but then she says “Not in this house!” (what does she have against Pantera, I wonder?), and instead does a vocal cover of… Seether. That terrible song with Ame Lee from Evansuckence. Oy.

I was kinda hoping her largely phallused boyfriend might join her to sing the dude’s parts of this duet, but, no, she does both parts. Thing is, when she really belts it, she’s actually only not terrible. (And by “not terrible,” I mean that she’s at least as good as Phil Labonte.) Amazing!

If you missed ‘em, check out Neesa’s covers of Megadeth’s “Holy Wars” and Overkill’s “Years of Decay.” The only word I can think to describe her talents is “divine.”

-AR

So as you’re no doubt aware, Halloween is on Sunday, and as you’re hopefully aware, we’re holding a “Heavy Metal Halloween” contest with SPV. The deadline was announced as being on midnight on Halloween, the logic being that people would snap their photos before they went our partying; but Vince wisely pointed out that people might not get to upload those photos right away. So now we’re extending the deadline to midnight on November 1. Hope that helps! If you need a refresher on the rules, go here.

Here’s what else happened this week:

• We debuted a new music video by Nile.
• We also debuted new music by Havok, White Arms of Athena, and Shred Sean and Allan Tecchio.
• Daath’s Eyal Levi talked about trust issues while The Red Chord’s Greg Weeks talked about football.
• We spoke to J. Randall from Agoraphobic Nosebleed and our old pal Eyal from Daath.
• We checked out the latest release from Kylesa, and a new book by the Cro-Mags’ John Joseph.
• We went on a “Reader’s Choice” local scene binge.
• We prayed for the end of karate mosh pits.
• We watched Abigail Williams lob a dildo at Iwrestledabearonce.
• We defended Phil Labonte’s angelic singing voice.
• Sergeant D. taught you about bands you would have hated/ignored in ’95.

And that’s all she wrote this week. Don’t forget that our own Gary Suarez is playing in a Jesus Lizard cover band on Sunday night. Swing by if you can!

-AR

I’ve accused All That Remains’ Phil Labonte of being autotune-dependent many times in the past, and I know it pisses off a lot of ATR fans. Here’s a good comment from a reader calling himself “matttao,” left after the most recent time I said that Mr. Labonte is actually not a very good singer:

This is auto tuned because that is the industry standard. These are not difficult notes. I have no doubt this dude can hit these notes in the studio… To say that Phil Labonte can’t hit these basic notes here is just slanderous and stupid. This is easy shit, folks.

matttao is right. That WAS slanderous of me, to accuse Phil of not being able to sing the parts without the aid of a computer. I realize the error of my ways now that I’ve seen All That Remains’ recent performance of their latest single, “Hold On,” on Fuse:

See! It’s note-perfect!

Oy.

And in case you still don’t believe me, compare and the contrast the above performance with the one on the actual record:

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It’s been a long time since I was a college freshman, a fact which struck me this week as I engaged in my annual tradition of sitting in Washington Square Park and watching the new crop of NYU kids move into their dorms. I love the look of simultaneous excitement and complete fucking terror as a bunch of young men and women between the ages of seventeen and eighteen get away from home for the first time; for many of them, I imagine moving to the big city only adds to the sheer “HOLY FUCKING SHIT!”ness of it all. But this was really the first year when they all looked really young to me, and I suddenly felt very aware of the age gap. Kids starting college this week won’t remember rotary phones or pagers, maybe won’t remember a time without cell phones or DVDs, and only kinda faintly maybe remember the annoying sounds your AOL used to emit as it tried to make its connection. They were being born right around the time “Wherever I May Roam” was making Metallica rich, and they’ve never jerked off to the morning weather girl ’cause internet porn wasn’t readily available.

Do they remember a time without autotune? I know my kids won’t. And I hate to sound like such a grumpy old bastard, but I worry about the long-term effects of such a state of being. If bullshit is the norm, can you have any appreciation for  non-bullshit — e.g., a time when if you couldn’t sing, you either joined a cool punk band or got a job as a bank teller? Lack of skill is no longer impedes artistic success, as anyone can be made to sound as though he can sing, audiences can be distracted from terrible storytelling by an abundance of CGI spectacle, and a woman who has never read Dracula gets away with publishing the most successful vampire books in the history of ever.

This ain’t good.

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All That Remains have made the title track from their new album, …For We Are Many, available for free download if you sign up for their mailing list; but if you’re like me and you don’t want to be bombarded with constant e-mails from the ATR promo crew, the song is also now on YouTube, natch. Check it out below.

I gotta say… it’s not a great song or anything — it’s basically just generic metalcore — but I do like it way, way, way more than any other All That Remains tracks I’ve heard in the past few years, for really just one reason: THERE ARE ALMOST NO CLEAN VOCALS. In fact, I think I’d enjoy this even more if that stupid vocoder shit wasn’t in there. (For fuck’s sake, everyone, CUT IT THE FUCK OUT WITH THE FUCKING VOCODERS.) But I guess at least we can be grateful that Phil LaBonte isn’t trying to fool anyone into thinking he can actually sing. ‘Cause in my experience, he can’t.

…For We Are Many comes out October 12 on Prosthetic/Razor & Tie.

-AR

I haven’t enjoyed an All That Remains album since This Darkened Heart, and that was in 2004, which is like a millenia in blogger years. The problem, I think, is that I saw them live, and realized that Phil LaBonte can’t sing and the rest of the band apparently looks to 21st century Mick Mars as their model of how much to move on-stage. Once I know I’m never gonna be able to enjoy a band in concert, who gives a flying fuck about their records? Especially when their records sound like Overcome.

But ATR’s popularity seems to be ever-increasing, and I’m nothing if not a people pleaser, so here I present the cover for their forthcoming …For We Are Many. The art, by the very talented Travis Smith, makes almost no sense to me as a concept, because while there are “many” people on the cover, only three of them seem to be emitting light from their heads. So unless ATR are suggesting that they and/or their fans are faceless dim bulbs, it kinda seems like the release should be called …For We Are Few. But, hey, what do I know? I’m just a guy who enjoys the act of thinking.

All That Remains’ latest Adam Dutkiewicz-produced affair comes out October 12 on Prosthetic/Razor & Tie.

-AR

[via Noisecreep]

It’s gotta be kinda embarrassing if you’re Phil Labonte and you know clean vocals ain’t exactly your strong suit, then this teenage girl comes along and posts a YouTube vocal cover that smokes not only your live performance but your auto-tuned studio version also. Yes, “embarrassing” would be the word.

-VN

Thanks: C.J. Altman

It was just yesterday that I couldn’t get Jesse Leach to comment on the Killswitch Engage singer situation. And now, after weeks and weeks of speculation, KSE have just released a statement, officially announcing Howard Jones’ departure from the band “due to personal reasons.” No further details are given.

That’s a bummer, but given all the recent rumors of Jones’ permanent departure, it’s not exactly shocking news. What is shocking is that the band has chosen not to bring original front man Jesse Leach back into the fold, or even Phil LaBonte, who covered for Jones on KSE’s most recent tour. So guess who got the gig instead?

FORMER DIVINE HERESY/SNOT VOCALIST TOMMY VEXT.

Yes… we’re as surprised as you are.

Read the complete statement from Tommy and KSE after the jump…

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UPDATE: Reader Ben Alden tells me that Jesse joined the band once again at Northern Lights in Clifton Park, NY. If anyone catches him at any future shows, please let us know…

I saw this video on The PRP this morning, and it’s supposed to be from Leach’s first night performing with the band. If that’s true, then not only did everyone in the band, including Leach, wear the same exact clothes two nights in a row, but Adam D. used the same exact stage banter two nights in a row. Hmm…

First of all, thanks to everyone who let me know that Killswitch Engage were going on at 10 pm. I successfully managed to avoid The Devil Wears Prada. (Who, it’s worth mentioning, had a sign at their merch booth that read “Hoody.” They can’t even be bothered to correctly spell the name of that most basic of metal merch. Sheesh.) Yes, it meant also missing Dark Tranquillity, but that’s the fucked-up world in which we live.

ANYWAY, here are the two lessons to be gleaned from the evening’s KSE set:

1. If the speculation that Howard Jones may never return to the band is true, the group absolutely cannot hire Phil LaBonte as their new front man.
2. If the speculation that Howard Jones may never return to the band is true, the group absolutely must bring Jesse Leach back into the fold.

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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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Dude, I haven’t played Guitar Hero (or Rock Band, for that matter) in for-ever. But apparently their song “Graves of Opportunity” is available as part of a track pack for Guitar Hero world tour, alongside an awesome Chimaira song (“Walking On Broken Glass”) and something by a band I don’t care to mention who are named after a Meryl Streep movie, so maybe it’s time I picked up my plastic guitar and rocked out again.

The “Graves of Opportunity” certainly gives me the desire to do so – I mean, it looks like it was more fun to film than it is to watch. Phil Labonte looks like he’s having a good time, at least.

If there really were Unearth avatars for Guitar Hero, it would be awesome if when you hit “overdrive” or whatever the fuck it’s called, the digital Ken Susi would spit in the air, catch it in his hand, and then run it through his hair. Ah. I can dream, can’t I?

“Graves of Opportunity” comes off of Unearth’s excellent album The March, which is out on Metal Blade now.

-AR

The big beef on the Webernets this weekend concerned a Twitter fight between Shadows Fall frontman Brian Fair and All That Remains frontman Phil Labonte over the latter’s girlfriend. Yup, a Twitter fight. In the end it can most likely be chalked up to a bunch of drunks quibbling, but it sure is funny! Have a look at the Twitter war play by play over at Metal Injection.

Turns out All That Remains have a new video too, for the track “Forever in Your Hands.” I’ve been over All That Remains since the first time I saw them live and realized Labonte couldn’t touch those high notes he hits on record with the assistance of ProTools. Not that I was ever really into the band in the first place. But, ya know, some of you may dig this band… so here’s the video, which features cameos by God Forbid’s Byron Davis, Killswitch’s Adam D. and others.

-VN

It’s Labor Day weekend here in the U.S., which means we’re shuttering the Mansion early this week, and won’t be back ’til Tuesday. We’re sure you’ll find some way to live without us.

Here’s some shit that happened this week:

• We debuted a new track from Salome.
• Sigh’s Mirai Kawashima sent in his final guest-blog from the studio, and revealed the track listing for the band’s upcoming album, Scenes from Hell.
• We chatted with Trivium’s Matt Heafy, The Black Dahlia Murder’s Trevor Strnad, Job for a Cowboy’s Brent Riggs, and All That Remains’ Phil LaBonte.
• We celebrated the triumphant return of Beavis & Butt-Head, and decided that in their particular relationship, Vince is the Beavis to Axl’s Butt-Head.
• Tom Araya thinks Dave Mustaine is a dick, Kerry King thinks Dave Mustaine is a dick, Scott Ian thinks Kerry King is a dick, and everyone in Dimmu Borgir thinks that everyone else in Dimmu Borgir is a dick.

Alright. I’m going to enjoy a little sunshine while I still can. See ya Tuesday!

-AR

Sitting down with All That Remains frontman / Affliction-wearer Phil Labonte was a tad bit uncomfortable, for all the not-so-nice things (but not terribly offensive, either, comparatively speaking) we’ve said about his band. I’m actually not even sure that Phil knew with whom he was conducting an interview — the on-site press coordinator at the Rockstar Mayhem Festival simply introduced me by my birth-given first name, Phil said, “Hi, I’m Phil,” we sat down at a table and that was that. It’s probably a good thing too, since Phil is really into his iPhone, Twitter (which I asked him about) and claims to “read a lot of stuff on the Internet.”

So, whether he knew who I was or not, Phil and I chatted mostly about the band’s newfound mainstream success. What’s it been like? Has he seen a change in the audience at shows? Will it change the band’s approach on the next record? Has it alienated the core fans? Despite my best attempts to get some kind of averse reaction out of Labonte, he held his ground quite well and insisted that for the most part nothing about the band has really changed all that much. Phil was a nice chap and certainly seemed earnest about his answers.

Our chat, after the jump.

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