Howard Jones Explains Departure From Killswitch Engage

Killswitch Engage made headlines last week with the announcement that vocalist Howard Jones was no longer in the band. The ex-singer himself took to the band's official website to explain the reasoning behind the split.

Killswitch Engage has been in this situation before. When singer Jesse Leach left the band in 2002, he announced his departure to the other members via email just days before a show. His replacement -- Howard Jones -- has now joined Leach under the "Former Members" heading on the band's Wiki page, but as he explained on the Killswitch Engage website last Friday -- the circumstances surrounding the division are completely different this time around:

"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."

Jones then explained that things began to fall apart during the early phases of writing for the upcoming follow-up to 2009's self-titled Killswitch Engage album:

"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."

Many have speculated that Jesse Leach may rejoin the band as their vocalist, most likely caused by the formation of Times of Grace -- featuring Leach and KSE guitarist Adam Dutkiewicz. The duo formed in 2008 and released their debut album 'The Hymn of a Broken Man' in 2011. So far there has been no indication from either party that Leach will return to the band.