Killswitch Engage’s Jesse Leach gives health update
Killswitch Engage frontman Jesse Leach gives update from hospital after he undergoes vocal cord surgery
Select the newsletters you’d like to receive. Then, add your email to sign up.
You are now subscribed
Your newsletter sign-up was successful
Want to add more newsletters?
Every Friday
Louder
Louder’s weekly newsletter is jam-packed with the team’s personal highlights from the last seven days, including features, breaking news, reviews and tons of juicy exclusives from the world of alternative music.
Every Friday
Classic Rock
The Classic Rock newsletter is an essential read for the discerning rock fan. Every week we bring you the news, reviews and the very best features and interviews from our extensive archive. Written by rock fans for rock fans.
Every Friday
Metal Hammer
For the last four decades Metal Hammer has been the world’s greatest metal magazine. Created by metalheads for metalheads, ‘Hammer takes you behind the scenes, closer to the action, and nearer to the bands that you love the most.
Every Friday
Prog
The Prog newsletter brings you the very best of Prog Magazine and our website, every Friday. We'll deliver you the very latest news from the Prog universe, informative features and archive material from Prog’s impressive vault.
Killswitch Engage frontman Jesse Leach has checked in from hospital after he underwent vocal cord surgery.
It was announced last week that Leach was to go under the knife to remove a polyp, resulting in the postponement of seven of the band’s tour dates.
Now he’s given an update on Instagram and says: “Surgery went well my friends. Time for rest and recovery. Big thanks to Dr. Woo and the amazing staff at Mount Sinai Hospital. That was a surreal day, I’m glad it’s over and I’m headed home.”
In a later post, Leach thanked his wife for her support, saying: “Massive shout out to my bad ass wife. Feel free to give her a shout (@matadora) and tell her she’s a boss!
“She’s had my back and has been my support through all this craziness, with the vocal polyp diagnosis to the surgery and now recovery. She’s such an empath – like me, it’s a blessing and pain in the ass – and I feel like she was more stressed than I was at times.
“She is my biggest fan, biggest critic, best friend, partner in crime and the love of my damn life. She talked me out of a full on anxiety attack twice this past week. I’m not ashamed to say that.
I feel determined and focused on healing, rebuilding and doing the maximum I can to ensure this doesn’t happen again
Jesse Leach
“My concern for having to cancel my first shows since my return to Killswitch six years ago was devastating to me and my ego/work ethic. In retrospect it feels a bit dramatic, but that’s what happens when you have seemly no control of your mindset. Still working on it daily as anxiety/depression is an ongoing battle – meditation helps a lot.”
Sign up below to get the latest from Metal Hammer, plus exclusive special offers, direct to your inbox!
Leach reports that he’s now “feeling much more at peace” and adds: “I feel determined and focused on healing, rebuilding and doing the maximum I can to ensure this doesn’t happen again.
“You don’t know what you have until it’s compromised and you are injured and can’t do the one thing you do, your passion and your job. After five days of total silence, I will have a follow up appointment to see how I’m healing.
“I’ll keep you posted internet fam. Thank you all for the overwhelming love and support, I’m truly humbled and honoured by it all.”
Killswitch Engage’s next planned show will be a Tallinn’s Saku Arena in Estonia on May 26.
A photo posted by @jesse_d_leach on Apr 30, 2018 at 1:36pm PDT

Scott has spent 37 years in newspapers, magazines and online as an editor, production editor, sub-editor, designer, writer and reviewer. Scott joined our news desk in 2014 before moving into e-commerce in 2020. Scott maintains Louder’s buyer’s guides, highlights deals, and reviews headphones, speakers, earplugs and more. Over the last 12 years, Scott has written more than 11,500 articles across Louder, Classic Rock, Metal Hammer and Prog. He's previously written for publications including IGN, Sunday Mirror, Daily Record and The Herald, covering everything from news and features, to tech reviews, video games, travel and whisky. Scott's favourite bands are Fields Of The Nephilim, The Cure, New Model Army, All About Eve, The Mission, Cocteau Twins, Drab Majesty, Marillion and Rush.
