Killswitch Engage’s Jesse Leach is the son of a preacher man whose family moved frequently before settling in Rhode Island whose hardcore scene in Providence greatly influenced him.
In 1999, he co-founded Killswitch in Westfield, Massachusetts, with bassist Mike D’Antonio, guitarist Joel Stroetzel, and drummer Adam Dutkiewicz. The group’s self-titled debut album dropped the following year, and along with Alive or Just Breathing in 2002, helped shape American metalcore and made Leach’s voice one of the genre’s most beloved.
Sadly Leach had to leave the band shortly after their second album due to burnout and depression. He was replaced by Howard Jones (not the ’80s synth star, but the dynamite singer) and the band’s momentum continued to peak.
During his decade away, Leach fronted the metal/blues band Seemless, formed The Empire Shall Fall, and reunited with Dutkiewicz on their side project Times of Grace, which released The Hymn of a Broken Man in 2011. He also launched The Weapon, a hardcore project rooted in political and social themes, and ventured into ambient sounds under the solo name The Way Back Within.
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