WHAT THEY SAID
"Having that surgery in 2018 changed everything, and I've just learned so much technique and then also just changing my lifestyle and rest." * Killswitch Engage vocalist Jesse Leach broke down his vocal health with JJ Tartaglia of This Day In Metal, in an interview covered August 17 by Blabbermouth *. Leach had the surgery and follow-up therapy in 2018, right as the band was recording "Atonement" *.
THE DETAILS
- Recovery meant close to two months of total silence, and Leach told Music Feeds he fell into a deep depression once he understood how serious the damage was — though he later described that silent stretch as meditative and educational *.
- He credits vocal coach Melissa Cross, who created "The Zen Of Screaming," with saving his career: "She saved my life." *
- Now 48, Leach says his voice is finally at its strongest after roughly three decades of singing, thanks in part to more sleep, quiet days off and less partying *.
- Ninth album "This Consequence" landed in February 2025 via Metal Blade and produced a Top 10 single with "I Believe" *.
- The band just wrapped a U.S. run with Machine Head, Iron Reagan and Havok, after co-headlining 2025's "Summer Of Loud" with Beartooth, I Prevail and Parkway Drive *.
WHAT HAPPENS NEXT
With "This Consequence" still fresh and Leach saying his voice has never been better, the question is how much more touring the band stacks onto an already brutal 2025–26 stretch.
Subscribe nowHelp us with the hunt to 1000 subscribers