How Killswitch Engage’s Jesse Leach Learned to Scream
Killswitch Engage frontman Jesse Leach takes us back to hearing extreme vocals for the first time, some painful stories of screaming in one of his early bands and on the road with one of metalcore’s biggest bands. This is how he learned to scream!
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Music: Riffs Two by Alexander Nakarada http://serpentsoundstudios.com
Licensed under Creative Commons by Attribution 4.0 License
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#loudwire
@HevertonPerez
April 11, 2026 at 10:54 am
🇧🇷🔥
@MetalArcade
April 11, 2026 at 10:54 am
He's one of the best out there! All you gotta do is step on a nail kids.
@bradfoster8146
April 11, 2026 at 10:54 am
One of the 1st songs i heard was "my last serenade" and i was hooked ever since. It's also the 1st song i learned how to scream…not fantastically, but enough to feel the meaning of the song when i do it
@__Kester
April 11, 2026 at 10:54 am
Thanks for the tips. I can sing pretty good but never figured out screaming so this could help me out. I wanna start a band with a friend of mine but still need to figure out screaming. He's in my old band I used to drum for but I had to quit due to a foot injury that kept me awake at night it was so painful. Luckily there was a lockdown after I left (November 2021) so I didn't have to go anywhere lol. I miss it though.
@PræyNow
April 11, 2026 at 10:54 am
I think cupping the microphone is indeed cheating. But it's still a tool that is still open to use. But it shouldn't be used in the primary vocal track. it should only be used as a backing track, underneath the primary vocal track to add some thickness to the vocals similar to a bass track accentuating and bringing up the guitars in a mix. nothing more. Cupping the mic should not be used as a primary tool. only supplementary.
@nikolistreeter
April 11, 2026 at 10:54 am
thanks for such a cool perspective!
@ItsSafehands
April 11, 2026 at 10:54 am
I liked Jesse, and Element of One and My Last Serenade were absolute bangers. No denying those two track are top tier KsE……I do.
But man… I still miss how Howard and KsE sounded back in the day.
@axe12yearsago
April 11, 2026 at 10:54 am
wish he would learn to sing at some point jk but also wtf is this new album bro
@MerkFreeks
April 11, 2026 at 10:54 am
5:50 Why do I now wanna hear Jesse on a HU song doing the Mongol singing? Or just a KSE track where he busts that out
@deth_blunt
April 11, 2026 at 10:54 am
first time Ive heard Jesse mention Edge of Sanity, one of my favorite bands. Dan Swano is a legend, he has also produced and been involved in so many legendary albums
@E.ternalBTNH99
April 11, 2026 at 10:54 am
That "I Am Broken Too" Tattoo is 🔥
That song is as well 💯🔥🔥🔥
@heelgill
April 11, 2026 at 10:54 am
1:36 Reminds me of the same thing happening to me, except I probably did not scream like a metal vocalist.
@mishkaasis
April 11, 2026 at 10:54 am
yoddeling ! that's the shit that can open your vocal cords aswell -( had to edit), go into mountains and get to know how to unlock your voice.
@mishkaasis
April 11, 2026 at 10:54 am
tho i was from latvia – when i heard that shit it changed my life. Jess – we are on the same page when it comes to HC vocals. easy to listen, easy to break vocal cords and pretty hard to pull off irl without nail to a throat
@ReiKoko
April 11, 2026 at 10:54 am
Killswitch has been my favourite band since I heard Holy Diver. I got Am I Alive or Just Breathing and The End of Heartache after that and I still love both albums. Their first self-titled album is great too. With the exception of their second self-titled album, I've loved them all. You can hear how much Jesse has improved since he returned to KSE. Yes, Howard is an AMAZING vocalist and I wish he was still in KSE too (let's be honest, I want both him and Jesse to be co-vocalists), but it's not fair to either of them to compare them with each other. Howard's skills as a vocalist does not, in any way, take away from Jesse's skills as a vocalist. Jesse is different, but I think he's still great. I love his lyrics. KSE has continued to put out great music since Jesse's return. My Last Serenade was my favourite song ever for many, many years. The Signal Fire became my new favourite song not only because of how good it is, but because it features both Jesse and Howard and I want more like it.
@johnsmith-f5w6b
April 11, 2026 at 10:54 am
u takj about being christian but during 2020, u didnt say anything about the mark of the beast
@TheRockandMetalAsylum
April 11, 2026 at 10:54 am
Legend. So humble and so informative.
@scrwbll19
April 11, 2026 at 10:54 am
My Mongolian wife would be proud about Jesse doing the throat singing.
@MrMimiM
April 11, 2026 at 10:54 am
Cupping sound awful, agree. But Howard is doing it a lot, tell him, Jesse 😛
@GuilhermeSantos-wy8kf
April 11, 2026 at 10:54 am
That's it, just bought a box of nails, i'll come back with the results.
@SIRebrum
April 11, 2026 at 10:54 am
He really improved on his Harsh Vocals ever since his return.
@Rob_Cary
April 11, 2026 at 10:54 am
How I learned to scream: Practicing to Jesse Leach as a teen. One of the best to ever do it! Vocal legend! Love that he's a reggae fan as well!
@unqualifiedproductions1275
April 11, 2026 at 10:54 am
Howard Jones should be the vocalist you're promoting.
@Durkhead
April 11, 2026 at 10:54 am
He didnt sound that good on the latest song they put out
@bluebunnybooks
April 11, 2026 at 10:54 am
Nice
@jakubkarpinski8854
April 11, 2026 at 10:54 am
Alive or just breathing changed my life. Thank you for that Brother.
@joseantoniodominguezperez5720
April 11, 2026 at 10:54 am
Jesse the man
@MaximMatiuşenco
April 11, 2026 at 10:54 am
I want Howard next 😊
@thomasbaldiscola4671
April 11, 2026 at 10:54 am
KSE is one of my FAVORITE BANDS and Jesse is A LEGEND! Loving the new album! 2000's "Metalcore" is the BEST! 🤘🤘
@Nahelus
April 11, 2026 at 10:54 am
i want to scream, im preparing the Legos.
@TheItalianOG
April 11, 2026 at 10:54 am
I secretly want to learn to scream just so I can sing metal lyrics to myself without whispering them lol
@rockyh6634
April 11, 2026 at 10:54 am
Jesse is so awesome really enjoyed this
@acfrmlc
April 11, 2026 at 10:54 am
first person i have ever seen in a corrosion of conformity shirt! hell yea dude!
@DateMike22
April 11, 2026 at 10:54 am
Still miss Howard Jones in KSE but Jesse Leach has definitely grown on me 🤘🏼.
@matthewtheking8989
April 11, 2026 at 10:54 am
How old is Jesse now? Still has a great voice