Few musical interactions carry more potential for drama than brushes between a band's onetime frontman and the musician who took his place. Not so for Jesse Leach and Howard Jones, Killswitch Engage's current and former vocalists, respectively: The two have have started hanging out and are forming a fast bond, as evidenced by a pair of social media posts uploaded to Leach's Instagram documenting their first extended hang. "The past is the past and when you let go of certain things, forgive and move on, life gets a whole lot sweet[er]," he writes at one point. "Really, really, really cool hangs. My heart is full today."
"Tonight was therapy and laughter...the longest we were able to talk alone as friends" Leach says in the caption to the first post, a shot of him and Jones posing for the camera. "This guy is my dude! Lots of laughter and some deep stuff as well. Honored and happy!" He goes on to gush over Light the Torch, the band (formerly known as Devil You Know) Jones formed following his three-year-stint with Killswitch Engage from 2009-2012 "Just wait...this man is back in full effect!" he warns (in a possible reference to Light the Torch's upcoming album Revival). Just in case anyone had any lingering doubts about the status of their relationship, the accompanying hashtags include "#SoMuchLaughter," "#Pals," "#Brothers" and "#WeGood."
In other words, fans shouldn't be alarmed by photo number two, which shows Jones choking his former KSE bandmate Adam Dutkiewicz as Leach holds the guitarist in place. "So we had a little venting session about working in the studio with Adam D.," Leach jokes. "Howard went in, I assisted. Adam deserved it."
All kidding aside, Leach says the meeting proved a productive and cathartic. "I honestly didn't really know Howard as a person until last night," he noted. "We've seriously just never hung out. A lot of really crucial stuff was said and I made a new friend. We have a lot in common, it's crazy! It was also nice to see all of the guys hanging out in the same room sharing stories and tons of laughs."
For more Killswitch Engage, check out Revolver's list of the top 5 Killswitch Engage songs as voted by fans.
