A Tale of two (or three) Howards

Do you remember our old mate Howard Jones, him of the frizzy 80's hairdo, shoulder pads and pop/funk super-lite "hits"- "New Song", "What is love" and "Things can only get better".

Don't get me wrong, I liked the fella, who understand is still touring at the age of 52.

Another Howard Jones, the lead vocalist of the Heavy Metal Group- Killswitch Engage.

I've never been a serious Metalhead, I listen to Black Sabbath, Yes, Judas Priest and Metallica, but have never been part of the whole lifestyle, the dark arts not being my thing by any measure.

However I stumbled on a documentary on the band Killswitch Engage and was enthralled by the lyrics, which weren't as dark and foreboding as the norm but actually seemed positive. This being the work of Jesse Leach the band's first vocalist and song-writer. The musicianship which was incredible, their raw energy and Leach's powerful vocals, which blew me over and I watched on to see Leach, eventually leave the band so as to spend more time with his wife and as a resultof basic fatigue with the Rock lifestyle.

The band went on to recruit a new lead singer named Howard Jones, the new guy being a fairly popular act in the New England area. A tatooed brute of a man with a frighteningly powerful voice and an incredible stage presence, one other thing about this guy being that he's wait for it- Black.

Howard Jones is the only Black lead vocalist of a mainstream Heavy Metal Rock band and I must say that I have been most worried by my constantly playing their CD over and over again in my car and began to wonder if the spirit of darkness had consumed my already over-burdened and I daresay overworked Soul. In particular I haven't been able to get over Rose of Sharyn. However succour was at hand, apparently a lot of their songs including the one referred to were written by Jesse Leach, a committed Christian and the Band strangely enough have worked with a number of Christian Heavy Metal Bands such as Underoath and all their songs have a positive albeit stark and raw theme.

Howard Jones on stage is like watching a dynamo in action with the raw power and delivery of his stagecraft. I've included a link to a clip of their video http://www.killswitchengage.com/ You can also listen to their songs via their Myspace page- http://www.myspace.com/killswitchengage

The contrast between the two Howards couldn't be more palpable - one an effeminate, skinny Pop-singer, the other a savage brute of a man and a heavy metal vocalist. My point? None actually, just an interesting contrast.

On the Howard theme, this post would not be complete without mention of a third Howard, yes you guessed, that gimp from the Halifax advert, what a small world we live in. Have a great May people and by the way I've been writing this Blog for a year this week, thanks for reading and all your comments and thoughts.