Howard Jones (American musician)

Howard Jones (born July 20, 1970) is an American metalcore vocalist, best known as vocalist of the bands Killswitch Engage and Blood Has Been Shed, and as the current vocalist of Light the Torch, formerly known as Devil You Know.

For the English synthpop / New Wave musician, see Howard Jones (English musician).

Howard Jones
Howard Jones live 2018
Background information
Born (1970-07-20) July 20, 1970[1]
OriginColumbus, Ohio[2]
Genres
Occupation(s)
  • Musician
  • singer
  • songwriter
  • producer
  • manager
  • lyricist
  • composer
  • vocalist
InstrumentsVocals
Years active1997–present
Labels
Associated acts

Personal life

Howard Jones is an avid fisherman and owns property on the Red River of the North in Manitoba, Canada. He is a frequent guest on Jamey Jasta's podcast. Jones left Killswitch Engage in early 2012 to allow himself to manage his type 2 diabetes which was worsened by a hectic touring lifestyle.[3] In 2013, Jones stated that his diabetes put him in a coma for 3 days.[4]

In 2015, Jones revealed that he had struggled with anxiety and depression for a long time, which had been worsened by his rise to fame in Killswitch Engage. He revealed that he had come close to committing suicide in 2009, when he had aimed a .44 Magnum revolver at his head in his apartment in Connecticut, and that the police had intervened after being notified by a concerned neighbour.[5] In 2018, he teamed up with his former band to raise awareness for mental health;[6] the resulting song "The Signal Fire" appears on the 2019 album Atonement.[7]

Jones used to be straight edge.[8] Today, he shares a passion for medical cannabis with friend and fellow Killswitch Engage frontman Jesse Leach.[6]

Career

Howard Jones started his career in music in Blood Has Been Shed from 1997 - 2004. In 2002, Jones joined Killswitch Engage as their new vocalist after Jesse Leach left the band. During his time with Killswitch Engage, they released two gold albums, The End of Heartache and As Daylight Dies.

Jones started a new band Devil You Know with guitarist Francesco Artusato (All Shall Perish) and drummer John Sankey (Devolved, Fear Factory and Divine Heresy). After Sankey's departure and his attempt to claim the copyright of the band's name, the rest of the band members started again with a fresh name, Light the Torch, with the addition of a new drummer.

Discography
Blood Has Been Shed
  • I Dwell on Thoughts of You (September 21, 1999, Ferret Records)
  • Novella of Uriel (February 20, 2001, Ferret Records)
  • Spirals (March 11, 2003, Ferret Records)
Killswitch Engage
Light the Torch (formerly Devil You Know)

Guest appearances

References
  1. "Free Birthday Database". www.birthdatabase.com.
  2. "Howard Jones - Metal Storm". www.metalstorm.net. Retrieved July 31, 2017.
  3. "Howard Jones Explains Killswitch Engage Departure". ultimate-guitar.com. Retrieved September 26, 2012.
  4. "Howard Jones Discusses his health". metalhammer.com. Archived from the original on May 5, 2013. Retrieved May 1, 2013.
  5. "Ex-KILLSWITCH ENGAGE Singer HOWARD JONES Discusses Near-Suicide Attempt, Battle With Depression, Anxiety". July 8, 2015. Retrieved March 16, 2019.
  6. Nad Jankovic (April 18, 2018). "Killswitch Engage and Howard Jones team up for mental health". Archived from the original on October 13, 2018. Retrieved March 16, 2019.
  7. "Watch JESSE LEACH And HOWARD JONES Face Off In KILLSWITCH ENGAGE's 'The Signal Fire' Video". BLABBERMOUTH.NET. August 20, 2019.
  8. Dario (September 22, 2006). "Interview mit Killswitch Engage". www.allschools.de (in German). Archived from the original on July 30, 2016. Retrieved May 9, 2017. [...] Howard ist in vielen belangen ein eher gelassener Typ, der seine Meinung nicht unbedingt jedem aufbindet, dass wird auch sehr deutlich wenn man auf das Thema Straight Edge zu sprechen kommt: Ich denke, dass es für mich das Richtige ist, wenn es für jemanden anders aussieht, dann ist das in Ordnung. [...] (Howard is in many respects a rather serene guy who does not necessarily tie his opinion to anyone, that is also very clear when the topic of straight edge comes: I think it's the right thing for me, if it looks different for someone, it's all right).
  9. Robert Pasbani (February 14, 2014). "DEVIL YOU KNOW Announce New Album The Beauty of Destruction, Reveal Album Art & Release Date". metalinjection.net. Retrieved February 5, 2016.
  10. "Hear Howard Jones Roar on Violent New Breed's High-Octane New Song "Bury Me"". Revolver. May 31, 2019. Retrieved June 7, 2019.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.