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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Let’s all please give a warm welcome to Mariel “Tormentia” Pietrykoski, the latest addition to the MS Photo Squad. Mariel was at God Forbid’s November 28th show in New York City, a benefit orchestrated by our favorite Dirty Jer-Z-ers to help Tommy Vext (ex-Divine Heresy and ex-Snot) cover the medical costs incurred after a vicious attack left him hospitalized. Though I couldn’t attend the show, I saw Tommy just last night and he said how genuinely moved he was by how God Forbid stepped up for him and how many people came out to support. Check Mariel’s pics from the night after the jump.

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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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Quick re-cap: first original Fear Factory members Dino Cazares and Burton C. Bell announced they were teaming up with non-original Fear Factory member Byron Stroud and never-a-Fear Factory member Gene Hoglan to start a band that would not be called Fear Factory.

Several weeks later the band announced that they would be called Fear Factory.

Now our pal Anso DF at Hipsters Out of Metal! is reporting that original Fear Factory drummer Raymond Herrera told some radio show that nu-Fear Factory can’t be called Fear Factory no’ mo’:

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And the Band Played On is a HBO movie about AIDS. “The Band Plays On” is a new song by Snot, and the first ever to feature Tommy Vext on vocals.

Just wanted to get that out there.

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Ponder the Freudian nature of Metallica’s new album artwork as you grill hot dogs this weekend. I know I will. Here are the key headlines from the week:

• Very old Italian friar fronts a metal band, makes most of today’s scene kids look like pussies.
• Metallica released the album artwork for Death Magnetic, which in fact does look just like a hairy old vagina.
• Whitechapel’s new record scanned over 5,000 units in its first week of release… zuh??
• We launched a new mini site-redesign. (BIG ups to our pals at Metal Injection for their help!)
• Tommy Vext and Dino Cazares scuffle backstage at a show; Dino’s wife gets caught in the crossfire and receives some wicked bruises.
• The Haunted’s Peter Dolving blogs for MetalSucks.
• Jucifer gets booted from the stage at a Brooklyn show.
• Snot get back together, hiring Tommy Vext to fill the shoes of the late Lynn Strait. No word about who will fill the shoes of Lynn Strait’s dog.

I know we’re a bit late on this, but this is just the kind of low-brow, tabloid shit we thrive on and I just can’t resist! Adding fuel to the fire that has been the ongoing feud between Dino Cazares (ex-Fear Factory) and now ex-Divine Heresy singer Tommy “Vext” Cummings (now in the recently reunited Snot), Cummings apparently attacked Dino and has wife backstage at the Rockstar Mayhem Fest this past weekend. According to the MySpace blog of Mrs. Cazares: [sent in to us by Noah Skape, among other readers]:

Last night @ The Metal Mayhem Festival, Having a great time with awesome friends backstage. Out of no where comes a beer and fist straight to my face (so horrifying and painful) that…..somebody (Tommy Vext). He has my husband by the hair (it all was so sudden) next thing you know the live nation guards pushed us all over stopping everything and it took several guards to take Tommy down, they took him down and he hit his head on the ground cutting his head open, and even then he was still pulling my husband’s hair, and not letting go.

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Iann Robinson at None Louder is reporting that Divine Heresy broke-up on stage at this past weekend’s New England Metal & Hardcore Festival:

“From what was being spread around the monitors were out and vocalist Tommy Vext couldn’t hear himself. After eight songs and fearing his voice might blow Vext requested the band cut the set short. Ex-Fear Factory member Dino Cazares shoved Vext and a physical altercation ensued. As far as we know the band is no more but that could change.”

There’s been no official statement from the band or their label, and everything looks hunky dory on the band’s MySpace page; still, we consider Robinson a very reliable source, so I’m inclined to believe that this is real.

I’m sure that Fear Factory fans will celebrate this news as evidence that a full-on FF reunion is in the works (especially after Dino was spotted hanging out with Burton C. Bell a few weeks ago). Still, even if Divine Heresy were to break up, I’d hope it would be in a somewhat more amicable manner than this; when we interviewed the band back in November, they seemed like genuinely nice dudes who were really enjoying working together, and for former bouncer/security guard Vext, getting to front Dino’s new band must have seemed like winning the lottery.

Divine Heresy are suppposed to kick off their next U.S. tour May 9 in Philly; presumably we’ll get some kind of official word before then.

-AR