Light the Torch's Howard Jones: Top 6 Albums "Always in Rotation" | Page 2 | Revolver

Light the Torch's Howard Jones: Top 6 Albums "Always in Rotation"

From Faith No More to Pantera, singer tells stories behind perennial favorites
light-the-torch-getty-web-size.jpg, Ollie Millington / Redferns / Getty
Howard Jones performing with Light the Torch, Quebec City, Canada, July 8th, 2019
photograph by Ollie Millington / Redferns / Getty

Revolver has teamed with Light the Torch for an exclusive white vinyl variant of their new album You Will Be the Death of Me. It's limited to 300 — so grab yours now before they're gone!

For more than two decades, Howard Jones has stood as one of the most intense and emotive voices in modern metal. And if the new Light the Torch record, You Will Be the Death of Me, is any indication, he shows no signs of letting up any time soon.

A darker, heavier and all-around more extreme listen than its predecessor, 2018's Revival, the album finds Jones and bandmates Francesco Artusato and Ryan Wombacher digging deep into their musical and emotional wells and coming up with a modern metalcore masterpiece in the process.

To celebrate the release of You Will Be the Death of Me, Revolver sat down with Jones to discuss the records that have moved him the most over the years. Given his penchant for mixing passion with power, it's not surprising that the albums that have remained closest to him over the years — the ones that, in his words, "will always be in rotation" — do likewise. Read Jones' picks below.

Faith No More - Angel Dust (1992)

Every song is different. Every song has its own kind of impact, and it's just all over the place. It's organized chaos. Everything was hitting on all cylinders. It's an album you just keep revisiting. There's a lot of standouts, so it's kind of hard for me to pinpoint just one. But if I had to, right now, I'd just randomly choose "A Small Victory." But the whole album is unexplainably good and just easy to listen to, day in and day out.

Pantera - Vulgar Display of Power (1992)

It's an album that had a big hand in making aggressive music mainstream, and there was a reason for that — it's really good, it's well-written, the production is fantastic and the playing is amazing. That album just changed a lot. Dime's solos are amazing, and there were a lot of Phil [Anselmo] imitators after that album came out. Pantera were unstoppable at that time.

Alice in Chains - Dirt (1992)

It's just heavy, great melodies. And I mean, come on — the two of them singing together [Layne Staley and Jerry Cantrell], it's just something so special. This is one of those where it doesn't really matter how you feel — you can always put it on. Even though some of the subject matter is just crazy. You go, "Wow, what are they singing about?" "Oh, it's just this beautiful song about terrible drugs …" [Laughs] But it's like, "How'd they do that?"

Life of Agony - River Runs Red (1993)

A heavy album with very emotional lyrics. I love it. And it will always have a place in my heart. And actually, Life of Agony was the first band signed to a major label that one of my old bands ever shared a stage with. This was back in Columbus, Ohio. And I remember my friend's band had played, too, and they were a straight-edge band and I think they were handing out flyers and talking about their beliefs and pissing people off. It was just one of those funny shows. I'm sure my band was terrible, but you know, I was playing with Life of Agony, so whatever!

HIM - Razorblade Romance (2000)

I had a toss-up for the fifth one, so I chose two. Razorblade Romance, this is a record where I could throw it on any time. It's just pure melancholy. It's mood music for me. The first time I heard it I fell in love with it. There are no weak songs on this album.

Stryper - Against the Law (1990)

The other album I would choose is definitely Stryper, Against the Law. I could have picked any record in their catalog, including the new album, Even the Devil Believes. "Divider"? That song is hotness. But I'm going to go with Against the Law because it doesn't get the love it deserves. I know [frontman] Michael Sweet, he doesn't really think of it as highly as some of their records, but it's got some hits on it, like "Shining Star" and "Two Bodies." There's some good stuff on this album. "Rock the People," "Rock the Hell Out of You." Any time you use the word "rock" in a song title, it rules!