The metal machine that is Killswitch Engage has announced today that they will be parting ways with lead vocalist Howard Jones. Jones has been with the band for nine years. The band announced the sad news with the following release:
"To our family, friends and fans: We have decided to continue on without Howard Jones as the singer of Killswitch Engage. We love Howard and are thankful for the nine years that we've had him in the band. Out of respect for everyone involved, we will not be discussing the specific reasons behind this decision. Howard is a part of our family and always will be, and we wish him well. He has left big shoes to fill, so we certainly have our work cut out for us to find the next singer of Killswitch, something we plan on making priority #1 going forward. Most importantly, thanks to all of you for all the support throughout the years and for sticking by us for all this time. We really do appreciate it and we very much look forward to having a new record for all of you in the not too distant future that we can all be proud of."
This comes on the heels as Jones also sat out the band's North American headlining tour in 2010 which led to the band releasing the following statement at that time:
"It became overwhelmingly obvious to all of us around Howard that he is in no condition to be on tour right now and that he needed to get off the road and get himself better. It's a personal matter and while we understand everyone's curiosity and concern for Howard and the band, we appreciate everyone respecting Howard's privacy at this time."
Phil Labonte, lead singer of All That Remains filled in for the band temporarily that year, but the resolution to this New Year's catastrophe is nowhere in sight. The band continues to write for the new album, follow up of their 2009 self-titled album. Who knows how this story will end but all we can hope is that they find someone worthy of filling Jones' big shoes; and fast.
