Killswitch Engage Part Ways With Frontman

Killswitch Engage have released the following statement:

"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."

Jones, replaced original Killswitch Engage singer Jesse Leach in 2002.

Jones sat out Killswitch Engage's North American headlining tour in early 2010, leading to a flurry of rumors and questions about the status of the band. Killswitch Engage then issued a statement addressing the matter, saying, "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 of All That Remains, was able to fill in and help out the band for the remainder of the tour.

Killswitch Engage is continuing to write and demo material for their next album.

In related news, All That Remains frontman Phil Labonte will NOT be joining KSE as their lead singer as rumored.