And the first big lineup change has come to metal. Killswitch Engage has announced that they’ll be continuing on without frontman Howard Jones. This is the second time a singer has left the band, following the departure of Times of Grace frontman Jesse Leach after the band’s sophomore album, Alive or Just Breathing. Jones lasted three albums, with their most recent self-titled album coming out in 2009.  The band just made a statement via their Facebook page, which is below.

To our family, friends and fans: We have decided to continue on without Howard Jones as the singer of Killswitch Engage. We love Howard and are thankful for the nine years that we’ve had him in the band. Out of respect for everyone involved we will not be discussing the specific reasons behind this decision. Howard is a part of our family and always will be, and we wish him well. He has left big shoes to fill, so we certainly have our work cut out for us to find the next singer of Killswitch, something we plan on making priority #1 going forward. Most importantly, thanks to all of you for all the support throughout the years and for sticking by us for all this time. We really do appreciate it and we very much look forward to having a new record for all of you in the not too distant future that we can all be proud of. Sincerely, Adam, Joel, Mike & Justin.

The band likely has a portion of the next record written, as they announced they’d be headed back to the studio last summer. There’s no word yet on whether this will have any effect on the band headlining the New England Metal and Hardcore Festival later this Spring. We wish them good luck with their search for a new vocalist. It’s definitely going to be tough to replace a singer for the third time.