KILLSWITCH ENGAGE’s JESSE LEACH Opens Up About His Friendship With HOWARD JONES: ‘I’d Always Admired Him’

In a new interview with Nik Nocturnal, KILLSWITCH ENGAGE singer Jesse Leach spoke about the band’s status as one of the leaders of the so-called New Wave Of American Heavy Metal scene, alongside such acts as SHADOWS FALL, LAMB OF GOD, UNEARTH and GOD FORBID. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): “I think I’d be remiss not to mention the behemoth that is [former KILLSWITCH ENGAGE frontman] Howard Jones as well. Him at the helm really took what we started out as sort of, like, I’d say fairly underground. That first record is not commercially viable. [2002’s] ‘Alive Or Just Breathing’ was when we started to lean into that, but [2004’s] ‘The End Of Heartache’ [which was Howard’s first album with KILLSWITCH], to me, is when that band just blew up into the stratosphere. So I can’t not mention that legacy. And to be able to be part of the legacy with rotating members and we’re still at it, that’s unreal. On paper, it shouldn’t work, but it does somehow.”Regarding how KILLSWITCH ENGAGE ended up inviting Jones to make a guest appearance on “The Signal Fire”, a song on the band’s 2019 album “Atonement”, Leach said: “I felt it was important in my heart. Those guys had to work some stuff out internally between them and Howard — a lot of unspoken stuff, which I respect highly that they kept it out of the public eye. They had to just settle some things. Once that was done and he started up again with — it was DEVIL YOU KNOW at the time, which turned into LIGHT THE TORCH, I’d always admired him. I always thought he was an incredible vocalist. I would even take it back to even before BLOOD HAS BEEN SHED, he was in a band called DRIVEN. And his band used to play with my band CORRIN, and I remember the first time seeing him sing and scream, and being, like, ‘This guy, he’s different. He doesn’t sound like anybody else’ that was doing it at the time. And back then, you’re young; we didn’t really know each other that well, and respecting him as a vocalist, but not really knowing him. So when it was water under the bridge and he started to show face and he came out to a show in Canada, it was the first time I got to hang with him and actually talk to him, which led to an entire evening of us hanging hard. He doesn’t drink, but I was drinking. And I got enough liquid courage in me to sit him down and look him in the face, like, ‘Dude, you know what, man? I’ve gotta tell you this. Out of respect for you, I’ve never had to sing anyone else’s material. I was reluctant to do that when I rejoined the band. I was, like, ‘Oh, this is awkward. I didn’t write these lyrics.’ I didn’t know how I was gonna connect with them, but it became such a huge inspiration to me. And ‘The Arms Of Sorrow’ was the first song that really hooked me in. And I told Howard, I was, like, ‘That song is what brought me in. You are great at what you do and I need to tell you to your face. People have tried to divide us and compare us and I have so much respect for you.’ And then, within a half hour, he’s, like, showing me LIGHT THE TORCH demos. And I’m, like, ‘Dude. DEVIL YOU KNOW was good, but LIGHT THE TORCH, you’re shining in this. This is really cool.’ And then, at the end of the night, we’re arm and arm singing old-school hip-hop songs together. We became friends. And then from there, it was, like, okay, so he’s back. He’s part of the legacy. He’s part of the family.”Leach continued: “[In August 2018, Howard] was in London doing press while we were opening for IRON MAIDEN, and I knew he was gonna be around. So, of course, we invited him out, like, ‘Let’s just hang with Howard.’ As we were walking to the arena in London, I looked over and was, like, ‘Dude, you should do ‘The End Of Heartache’ tonight on your own. Are you cool with that?’ He’s, like, ‘Yeah. Let me just listen to it ’cause I haven’t listened to it for years.’ I was, like, ‘Cool. You’ve got a couple hours, man. Just get up on that stage and do what you do. It’d be good for everybody.’ So there’s a picture of him online with us. And the wheel started turning. And as I was writing ‘The Signal Fire’, which comes from the scene in ‘The Lord Of The Rings’ where they’re lighting the fires on top of the mountain; to me it was like this call to arms and it was a song about unity. I’m, like, ‘Dude, why don’t we get Howard? It’s perfect. The song is about unity. It’s about asking for help.’ And the back end of this story is this is pre-vocal surgery. I was having a hard time because I was singing on polyps for about 10 years, according to the doctors. I was singing on broken vocal folds for 10 years. Making of ‘Atonement’ was when it all went to shit. And I was having a hard time hitting simple notes. And Adam’s [Dutkiewicz, KILLSWITCH ENGAGE guitarist and producer], like, ‘Something’s not right with you, dude.’ So within two days of that, we had Howard flown out. And he jumped in the studio. I had to be quiet. I sat there and listened to him record ‘The Signal Fire’. I went home, went to see the doctor. The doctor’s, like, ‘Bad news. Put the tour on hold, album on hold. You need to sit and be quiet. We’re gonna pump you up with a bunch of drugs. Hopefully there’s something we can do for you, which led to me three months of complete silence and vocal surgery and total, like, ‘I don’t know if I’m gonna be able to do this anymore.’ So, interesting timing of him coming in… And in my mind, it was, like, worst-case scenario, I’m done. He’s already on the record. Maybe he just finishes the record up and I passed the torch to him. So that’s the backstory to it all. But thankfully I was able to continue on.”KILLSWITCH ENGAGE’s new album, “This Consequence”, is due on February 21, 2025 via Metal Blade. “This Consequence” is KILLSWITCH ENGAGE’s ninth album overall, and sixth with Leach, who rejoined the band in 2012.”Atonement” was released in August 2019 via Metal Blade Records in the U.S. and Sony Music Entertainment in the rest of the world. The disc featured an additional guest appearance by TESTAMENT frontman Chuck Billy. It marked the band’s third full-length release since the return of Leach, who rejoined the group in 2012.KILLSWITCH ENGAGE will embark on a headline tour in March 2025. It’s their first tour of North America since late 2022. The trek will feature support from KUBLAI KHAN TX, FIT FOR A KING and FROZEN SOUL, and will kick off on March 5 in Nashville and runs through April 12 in Portland, Maine.[embedded content][embedded content]