Howard Jones on Engaging With Killswitch Engage’s Jesse Leach: ‘It’s Cool to Call Him a Friend’
Consider minds sufficiently blown, as Killswitch Engage recently played a pair of shows in London where former vocalist Howard Jones rejoined the group, performing alongside current vocalist Jesse Leach and making for a definite memorable moment for Killswitch fans. Even though he now fronts Light the Torch, Jones' ties with Killswitch have remained strong, recently spending time with Leach and guitarist Adam Dutkiewicz in the studio as well.
Speaking about the recent onstage reunion with Antihero Magazine (seen in the video above), Jones explained, "Adam hit me up and said, 'Hey, you wanna be my girlfriend for the London shows?' I said, 'Okay.' That is literally how it happened. So I came, showed up, hugged everybody, Jesse was, like, 'Dude, you remember the lyrics to 'The End of Heartache'?' I'm, like, 'Hell no!' But I remembered. That's honestly what it was. We're family. The band — Jesse, Mike [D'Antonio], Adam, Joel [Stroetzel], Justin [Foley] — we're family. So it was cool getting to hang out with my boys again, and I just love 'em."
When asked about Leach, whom he replaced in Killswitch and who returned to the band after Jones left, the vocalist said, ""He's a great guy. Seriously, he's just a nice dude. There's no other way to explain it — he's so nice. But, yeah, it's been great, man. We've got a lot of similarities, so it's just … That guy, it's cool to call him a friend."
As stated, Jones did recently spend time in the studio with Leach and Dutkiewicz and his guest spot is expected to included on the next Killswitch album.
Having just finished a European tour, Killswitch Engage have some time off before a one-off show in Uncasville, Ct. on Sept. 15. After that, they'll head to Australia for shows in late October and early November. See their tour schedule here.
As for Light the Torch, you can look for Jones and his bandmates returning to the road in October for a North American trek that carries over into early November. See the dates here.
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