Massachusetts metallers Killswitch Engage played their first show with original vocalist Jesse Leach back in the band last night [Sunday, April 22] at the New England Metal & Hardcore Festival in Worcester, Massachusetts. Fan-filmed video footage of the performance can be seen below.

Leach sang on the band’s first self-titled album, which came out in 2000, and on their landmark 2002 Roadrunner debut “Alive Or Just Breathing”. Leach left the band in 2002 and was replaced by Howard Jones, but his work on “Alive Or Just Breathing” has always been revered by diehard, longtime Killswitch Engage fans.

“Honestly, we didn’t want to jump into anything too quickly,” Adam told AOL‘s Noisecreep in a recent interview. “We were in a position where we could take our time and try out as many singers as we wanted. There are a lot of talented singers out there, and we didn’t want to rush everything. We ended up mulling it over a bit, and we tried out a few different people.

“When we got back in the rehearsal room with Jesse, it just felt right. He’s one of my good friends, and the awkwardness of meeting someone for the first time, and all of that stuff, was gone when he jammed with us again. We also knew what Jesse is capable of, so it just took all of us getting in a room together again to remember how cool it once was. He blew us away.”

Regarding the reasons for Leach‘s original departure from Kilswitch Engage ten years ago and whether those same issues will come into play now, Adam said, “He was feeling a lot of frustration [back in 2002]. He didn’t know how to take care of his voice, and he would blow it out every couple of shows. We had to cancel a lot of shows because of that. He was also a newlywed, and they didn’t know how tough it would be to be in a relationship when the other person is a road dog. It was a lot of pressure on him. All of those things piled up, and it put him in that bad place. But these days he’s really learned how to take care of himself on the road. His marriage is also going great, and they’ve figured out how to make it work, even though one of them is a touring musician. Jesse‘s in a much better place now, that’s for sure.”

Killswitch Engage is hard at work on material for the follow-up to 2009’s second self-titled album.

In a recent interview with the Brock And The Fatguy radio show, Jesse stated about Killswitch Engage‘s new material, “I have the 14 demos for the new Killswitch record, and let me tell you, I’m glad that they didn’t turn into Times Of Grace [songs], and I’m glad that Killswitch is gonna have the opportunity to write another record with me — or a few more, God willing. I can tell you right now from the demos, the people are gonna be really surprised; they’re setting the bar up high once again. I’m literally within day three of just listening to them and just sort of digesting them. It’s really fast and it’s really heavy. It’s not what people are going to anticipate, I’m sure. I literally am getting chills right now talking about it. It’s gonna blow the doors off people, man. It’s gonna be great.”

The band’s setlist was as follows:

01. Numbered Days
02. Self-Revolution
03. Fixation On The Darkness
04. Rose Of Sharyn [dedicated to ex-Killswitch Engage frontman Howard Jones)
05. This Is Absolution
06. Take This Oath
07. Prelude
08. Vide Infra
09. Temple From The Within
10. The Arms Of Sorrow
11. My Curse
12. The End Of Heartache
13. A Bid Farewell
14. Life To Lifeless

Encore:

15. My Last Serenade
16. Holy Diver [DIO cover]

Related articles:
Times Of Grace – Hymn Of A Broken Man [CD review]
‘Killswitch Engage’ To Begin Work On New Album [August. 2011]
 ‘Times Of Grace’ Singer Working On Solo Album [Sept. 2011]
 ‘Howard Jones’ Has Left ‘Killswitch Engage ‘ [Jan. 2012]
Will Singer ‘Jesse Leach’ Rejoin ‘Killswitch Engage’? [Jan. 2012]
It’s Official: ‘Jesse Leach’ Rejoins ‘Killswitch Engage’ [Feb. 2012]
‘Killswitch Engage’ ‘Jesse Leach’ ‘Blew Us Away In Auditions’ [Feb. 2012]
‘Jesse Leach’ On New ‘Killswitch Engage’ Material: ‘People Are Gonna Be Really Surprised’ [Feb. 2012]
‘Killswitch Engage’ Singer: ‘Metal Has Changed, But I’ve Changed As Well’ [April 2012]