Short and sweet guys: who do YOU think should replace Howard Jones as frontman and vocalist of Killswitch Engage?
After the news that the big guy has left the band, speculation has been rife, and indeed, the band are looking for a replacement, so weigh in with your input!
Warning: anyone who says the words “Jesse” and “Leach” will be shot on sight.
- CG
OMG most dramatic thing of 2012 evar! We learned on Wednesday that Howard Jones had left metalcore stalwarts Killswitch Engage, but we didn’t get the full reason. So was it the porn star thing? Drugs? Bust up over who had the biggest rider? Unfair share of groupies?
I’m kidding of course. It’s actually a very low-key and “fair enough” sort of thing.
“Well, I guess I will shed a little light without going too deep. As some of you may know, I’ve had a pretty interesting couple of years to say the least battling with some personal issues. One of the low points being diagnosed with type 2 diabetes that went unchecked for years. The rest of the band stuck with me through it, and to be honest they are the ones that kept me going. The whole experience definitely put a scare in me.
Recently we’ve all been in writing mode but somehow I couldn’t get excited about the new album and all the touring that would go with it. The guys saw it before I did. In hindsight I now realize that my heart wasn’t in it. I have had an amazing decade with KSE. I love Justin, MikeD, Joel and Adam for hanging in there and standing by me no matter how bad it was. I have so many good memories, and those are the ones that I will keep. Will I be involved in music again? Sure, I have been in bands for a little over half my life, can’t stop now. Until then, get the new KsE album, it’s going to be good. Thanks everyone for letting me try to entertain you, and I wish myself well in my future endeavors.
Gone fishin’
Howard”
So there you have it. Word on a replacement if and when.
- CG
UPDATE: It would seem that Oceano are done for.
Just to clear everything up, Oceano is NOT looking for a new singer. New England Metal and Hardcore Festival will be one of the last Oceano shows ever, and yes, Adam will be there. Thanks for all of your support.
Tragic. [via Metal Injection]
Yesterday in the wake of all the shock and awe of Killswitch Engage moving on without vocalist Howard Jones, Lambgoat pointed out that Adam Warren has also apparently left Oceano. The coincidences don’t stop there; where I speculated that Howard leaving Killswitch may have been related to allegedly knocking up a porn star that one time, Adam left Oceano because all all the touring was apparently preventing him from seeing his son grow up. D’awwww.
Here’s what Adam had to say:
“I’m shocked [about Howard's departure], 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.”I got a son that’s growing quick to provide for and I don’t wanna miss a second of it. I keep it real. I’m workin on some projects here at home, they’ll pop up when I get time away from father duties to dig deeper.”
Word on the street has it that Killswitch Engage frontman Howard Jones had to skip out on their last tour, not because of a health problem, but because he knocked up pornstar Allie Foster.
According to Foster’s twitter account, she is about four months pregnant and Howard is the father. And apparently, Howard tried convincing Foster to get an abortion. And to make matters worse for Howard, TMZ is wanting a story.
Howard Jones of Killswitch engage, meet TMZ and your bitter baby momma coming with sweet sweet fuckin revenge you dirtbag
[source]
So, cheating on your wife with a pornstar and getting her pregnant, then suggesting she get an abortion? Howard has really stepped in it. This is all completely unverified by a source other than her, though. She could be some attention whore wanting to make Howard look bad for all we know… but geez, Howard. Way to be the Tiger Woods of metal.
- JR
Also, lol. (LINK NOT SAFE FOR WORK!)
There are two meanings behind that headline. Killswitch Engage have indeed created another good metalcore album. But here’s the thing; They do very little to stray from the formula that created all of their other albums. There is a slight change in sound, but that’s probably because Brendon O’Brien stepping in to help handle production instead of guitarist Adam D. taking the duty on by himself. Other than that slight sonic difference, it’s really your typical Killswitch record with the pop formula of intro-verse-chorus-verse-chorus-bridge-chorus or an
y similar variation on that. Imagine, if you will, as Killswitch Engage being like an expansion pack instead of a sequel and you’ll get a rough idea of what to expect. On the Howard Jones fronted KsE spectrum, I’d almost put it above The End Of Heartache. But to do that, you kinda have to pretend for a second that they didn’t write that album five years ago.
Another difference I can point out is that there’s actually a guitar solo in the opening track “Never Again”. I was pleasantly surprised when it popped up. However, that’s the only one on the album and it being featured on the opening track gave me a false hope of there being more in store. I also don’t recall hearing any backup vocals from Adam D.
I’m normally a guy who loves some sort of progression in sound. I’ve got a touch of the ADD and I get distracted easily, so I can’t really listen to the same album being made several times over without getting bored. But that didn’t happen all that much during this album like I expected. There are melodies and hooks throughout that keep you interested. Speaking of hooks, let’s be honest with ourselves. With all intents and purposes, Killswitch Engage are making catchy pop-metal. This isn’t a bad thing. There’s nothing wrong with putting away the brutal and technical shit for a second and listening to something with soaring melodic choruses and a heartfelt message.
Killswitch Engage – Killswitch Engage gets…
- JR
