Last week while on tour supporting Iron Maiden, American metalcore band Killswitch Engage reunited with former vocalist Howard Jones on stage at the O2 Arena in London. Alongside original and current vocalist Jesse Leach, the pair performed a soaring duet of ‘The End of Heartache’, the title track to Jones’ first album with the band back in 2004. Of course, this sparked the usual ‘Leach vs Jones’ debate across their fan base, and this time Leach was quick to respond with a post featuring the pair that read: “This is not about division or comparison. This is about solidarity, respect, and friendship.” The post goes on to detail the complications, forgiveness, and healing that surrounded the rotation of vocalists, support Jones’ new band Light The Torch, and hype up the fact that Jones also has recorded a guest vocal spot on the forthcoming eighth Killswitch Engage album, expected for release in 2019.
Did you know that the heartbeat that opens Sepultura’s career-highlight album Chaos AD was in fact a recording of vocalist Max Cavalera’s son’s heart beating in the womb? 25 years later, Zyon Cavalera is now the drummer of Max’s current outfit Soulfly, and has been since 2013’s Savages album. I can’t even imagine what it would be like to feel in any way tight with my dad, let alone have been literally providing a beat to his music since I was in the womb. While I will admit that not much of Soulfly’s recent catalogue has caused the blood to pump anywhere but the index finger or thumb that clicks away to skip tracks or listen to something entirely different, their latest song ‘Evil Empowered’ is actually pretty tight, and full of huge groove. It truly sounds like the best of Soulfly and Sepultura all finally together in the one banger. I’m interested to see if it can stand up for a whole album when Ritual comes out on Friday October 19.
After slogging it out hard for the last few years, Perth death metal band Earth Rot has finally been rewarded with a national support slot worthy of their work ethic, and you can catch them supporting Norway’s Dimmu Borgir all across Australia this October. How cool is that? Hooray for friends achieving their dreams and touring with their high school heroes. Go check out last year’s Renascentia album if you’re looking for more music along the lines of Bloodbath, Entombed, and Behemoth. Hail Satan.
