A heavy metal band is often defined by its vocalist. But does it have to be? I would argue, no.
There’s no denying that a frontperson has a huge impact on a band’s distinctiveness. Metallica would be wildly different without James Hetfield on vocals. Corey Taylor’s singing/screaming is instantly recognizable in any Slipknot song.
Sometimes, though, a band has to try to survive losing a unique vocalist and keep going. Does it always work? No. But occasionally, a band will come back swinging with a brand new vocalist that sparks a whole new era for them. Let’s talk about a few.
Killswitch Engage
Killswitch was actually the first band that came to mind for me on this list, because I have been a fan of theirs through all their lineup changes. Which are, honestly, kind of serendipitous.
I use the word “all,” but they’ve only ever had two official lead vocalists: Jesse Leach and Howard Jones. When the band formed in the late 90s, Leach joined as frontman. He was the vocalist on their first two albums: Killswitch Engage (2000) and Alive or Just Breathing (2002).
Around the time that their second album, Alive or Just Breathing, was released, Leach went through some severe mental health struggles that led to his leaving the band. This is when the band tapped Jones (ex-Blood Has Been Shed) as their new frontman. He would go on to tour and record with the band for a decade, exiting in 2012.
After considering and auditioning various new vocalist prospects, the band ultimately chose… Leach, again. Frankly, it was the absolute best decision they could have made.
Lorna Shore
I’ve talked about Lorna Shore so many times. They are, easily, one of the best modern metal bands around right now. They have been putting out top-5-level deathcore-style metal over the past few years, and they’ve been doing so with their third professional vocalist, who’s their fifth frontman overall.
The band’s first vocalist was John Hawkins, who was out after roughly one year. Then Ray Meoni briefly stepped in before Tom Barber became the band’s longest-running frontman to date. He helmed the mic from 2010 until his exit in 2018, going on to join Chealse Grin.
Then, for a roughly two-year period, CJ McCreery (ex-Signs of the Swarm) handled vocals. He was dismissed from the band in 2019 after a former girlfriend brought forth allegations of sexual abuse against him.
This brings us to Will-motherf***ing-Ramos. I’m going to say something that even he would probably be too humble to agree with… Will Ramos is, unequivocally, the most skilled deathcore vocalist of all time. The talent that he has for the genre… he could perform songs by other deathcore bands, but no other vocalist should do a song from the last three Lorna Shore projects anywhere near as perfectly. Truly, he is the GOAT.
Arch Enemy
In 1995, Arch Enemy was unleashed into the world by Carcass guitarist Michael Amott and metal vocalist Johan Liiva. Both men were originally members of the legendary death metal band Carnage.
For the first five formidable years of the band’s career, Liiva was the frontman. However, after three albums, he was fired. The band then brought in German death metal vocalist Angela Gossow, who performed with the band for 14 years. Her contributions include the back-to-back acclaimed albums Anthems of Rebellion (2003) and Doomsday Machine (2005).
In 2014, Gossow stepped down from the band but remained on in a management capacity. In her place, she recommended that the band hire Alissa White-Gluz from Canadian metal band The Agonist as her replacement. Which they did. White-Gluz remained the band’s vocalist until 2025, when she too stepped down to pursue other opportunities.
So where does that leave the band now? Well, if you’ll notice, the above music video features neither Gossow nor White-Gluz. That’s because, in February 2026, Arch Enemy announced Lauren Hart, formerly of Once Human, as their new lead vocalist. She’s already killing it.
The post 3 Heavy Metal Bands That Survived Losing Multiple Vocalists And Continued to Come Back Swinging appeared first on VICE.
