Never go back. This is the advice usually received by anyone wishing to return to a former job or ex-partner. For the most part, it is wise counselling. But not always. Killswitch Engage lead vocalist and frontman Jesse Leach is the prime example of someone for whom going back was the best thing he could possibly have done.
“My first time with the band didn’t end in a great way,” Jesse reflected. “I was suffering from depression and felt I was letting the other guys down but I didn’t even have the mental energy to tell them I was leaving face to face.
“I ended up writing them a long email explaining what each song and the whole experience of being in Killswitch Engage had meant to me. I asked them not to try to contact me because I thought I was done with music for good. I didn’t know what I was going to do with my life but it wouldn’t be music.”
The other band members were left shocked by Jesse’s departure. Bassist Mike D’Antonio, guitarist Joel Stroetzel and guitarist/drummer Adam Dutkiewicz had formed Killswitch Engage three years earlier in 1999. Jesse was recruited shortly afterwards. Their self-titled debut album and the 2002 follow-up, “Alive or Just Breathing,” had attracted critical acclaim and earned the band a fanatical following on America’s metalcore scene.
“We knew Jesse had problems but didn’t think he would leave,” Mike recalled. “We didn’t really understand everything he was going through. We actually felt slighted that he quit by email rather than talking to us.”
Tom Gomes had been brought in on drums which freed Adam to play lead guitar. But the band now had to find a new singer and lyricist.
“We tried a number of singers,” Joel revealed. “None of them were that impressive. But we got a call saying Blood Has Been Shed singer Howard Jones wanted to try out. We couldn’t believe it because we knew he was a fantastic singer and songwriter. We had our man.”
The new line-up didn’t last long. Tom grew tired of touring and wanted to spend more time with his wife. He left in 2003 being replaced by another member of Blood Has Been Shed, drummer Justin Foley.
A period of stability was to follow with the band recording three albums between 2004 and 2009 which saw them become established on the mainstream music market. “The End of Heartache,” “As Daylight Dies” and their second self-titled album all brought Killswitch Engage major chart success. The latter peaked at number seven on the Billboard 200.
“We toured each album,” Adam explained. “The tours took us across the world, not just North America. This allowed us to build the kind of fanbase that many mainstream artists would love to have, let alone metal acts.”
Vocal duties for some of the “Killswitch Engage” album concerts were performed by a rejuvenated Jesse. With good relations having been re-established, Jesse and All That Remains singer Philip Labonte took turns substituting for the incapacitated Howard Jones.
No-one knew it at the time but this episode marked the beginning of the end for Howard. Killswitch Engage took a break from touring in mid-2010 with each member pursuing other interests. These included Adam forming the band Times of Grace with Jesse. When Killswitch Engage entered the studio in 2012 to record their sixth album, 2013’s “Disarm the Descent,” Jesse was the vocalist.
“We’ve never revealed Howard’s reasons for leaving,” Justin stated. “We respect his privacy and have always thanked him for his wonderful contributions.
“Jesse wasn’t the automatic choice as Howard’s replacement. He auditioned along with several other singers but there was no doubt about who we wanted. We jammed on the Howard-era songs and some stuff from the early days. Jesse just blew us away.”
“I felt honoured and blessed to be with the band again after my ten-year break,” Jesse emphasised. “It was obviously a strange situation for all concerned and I’m sure the guys must have been concerned that I’d go off again at some time. But I’m sure the experiences we’ve shared and the work we’ve done during these last four years proved they made the right choice.”
“Disarm the Descent” was a massive world-wide smash. It reached the top 20 in numerous countries, peaked at number seven on the Billboard 200 and hit the number one spot on both America’s Top Hard Rock Albums and Top Rock Albums charts.
“Incarnate,” the band’s newly released seventh album, has done even better. It debuted at number six on the Billboard 200, took pole position on the Top Hard Rock Albums and Top Rock Albums charts and became their first top ten hit in Britain.
“Writing the album was hard labour at times,” Jesse admitted. “I wanted to write about current events but in a way which was ambiguous enough for people to draw their own conclusions. Getting that right was a problem.
“There were times when I hardly slept. I stayed awake writing pages of words. I probably had 80 or more pages of lyrics. I wanted to give it everything I had, vocally and lyrically. I couldn’t be more proud of the finished songs and the amazing response to the album has made everything worthwhile.”


in 
brief


Justin Bieber


Justin Bieber’s ever increasing popularity has seen him set yet another record. The 22-year-old Canadian heart-throb singer has now become the first artist to have his catalogue of videos register ten billion views on VEVO.
The mark was achieved in six years and three months, 2,316 days to be precise. Four billion of those views have been notched up since last September when Justin began to release material from his latest album, “Purpose.” Unsurprisingly, he has been the number one artist on VEVO’s viewing chart for 20 consecutive weeks.
Justin also looks set to break a record which he currently shares with Katy Perry and Taylor Swift. These are the only artists to have two song videos reach one billion views. But with the viewing numbers for Justin’s What Do You Mean? now beyond 900 million, it may not be too long before he becomes the first artist with three videos surpassing the one billion mark.




The Last Shadow Puppets


Arctic Monkeys’ lead singer Alex Turner and solo artist Miles Kane combine their talents as The Last Shadow Puppets. Their 2008 debut album, “The Age of the Understatement,” topped the UK chart. After an eight-year gap, they have just released “Everything You’ve Come to Expect” as the follow-up.
Four tracks have so far been issued as singles. Videos for Bad Habits, Aviation and the album title-track can all be found at www.youtube.com/user/TLSPVEVO
There is no official video as yet for their latest single, Miracle Aligner. But a lyric video accompanying a live recording of the song is posted at www.youtube.com/watch?v=qeoIb0Euz_M
Every song on “The Age of the Understatement,” plus one additional track, can be heard at www.youtube.com/watch?v=ESH65FoKzkE&list=PL0C6BB869E205E0E2


Cape Cub


Hailing from the north-east of England and fronted by singer/songwriter Chad Male, Cape Cub recently released their debut four-song EP, “Closer.” But it was Lantern, a song not on the EP, which really got them noticed.
“We won the Amazing Radio Audition Poll,” Chad explained. “Then Lantern was featured on Hypetrak and got support from BBC Introducing. These kinds of things are so important for new artists.”
Lantern, plus each song on “Closer,” can be heard at (no www.) soundcloud.com/capecub
The band have made two official videos. One is for the Closer title-track while the other accompanies their new single, Swim. These are posted at www.youtube.com/channel/UCDX-K_SeD1dde_xY0—PJpg
Fans have created videos to partner other Cape Cub songs and remixes. These can be found on YouTube by typing the band’s name in the website search box.