KILL THE LIGHTS, the band featuring ex-BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE bassist Jason “Jay” James and drummer Michael “Moose” Thomas, along with former members of THROW THE FIGHT, THREAT SIGNAL and STILL REMAINS, has released a new single, “Broken Bones”.
Galloping guitar solos and soaring vocals collide on “Broken Bones”. The song’s pulsing riffs, racing solos, and unforgettable melodies make for one helluva fist-pumping anthem that will incite moshpits the world over. The band perfectly executes a classic-yet-modern metal sound.
“‘Broken Bones’ tells the story of someone who is in the depths of loss, heartbreak, and tragedy,” KILL THE LIGHTS states. “Frozen with fear, they are forced to watch their life play out like a bad movie. Only hope keeps them from drowning in their own struggle with mental health. Every breath a struggle, each day a battle. On hands and knees, they fight just to get through the day.”
KILL THE LIGHTS released its debut album, “The Sinner”, in 2020 on Fearless Records. The band and record were lauded for “statement songs” (Distorted Sound) and for being “broad in scope and technically accomplished in its execution” (Sonic Perspectives).
KILL THE LIGHTS is also now managed by The Oracle Management, a family-run management team founded by DEVILDRIVER and COAL CHAMBER frontman Dez Fafara and his wife Anahstasia Fafara.
“We are very excited to work with Dez and the team over at Oracle Management,” KILL THE LIGHTS exclaims. “Having such an artist-friendly management team with decades of experience and success is a perfect fit for KILL THE LIGHTS. From day one, we have been inspired by Dez and Anahstasia‘s energy, passion, and hustle to ensure KILL THE LIGHTS reaches its full potential. Oracle Management is the missing piece we have been searching for to take us to the next level. We can’t wait to hit the road and share our new record with the world.”
KILL THE LIGHTS is:
James Clark (ex-THROW THE FIGHT) – Vocals
Jordan Whelan (STILL REMAINS) – Guitar
Michael “Moose” Thomas (ex-BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE) – Drums
Jason “Jay” James (ex-BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE) – Bass
Travis Montgomery (ex-THREAT SIGNAL) – Guitar
BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE announced Jay‘s departure in February 2015 during the recording sessions for the group’s fifth album, “Venom”, and recruited Jamie Mathias as his replacement in May of that same year.
In July 2015, BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE frontman Matt Tuck told Revolver: “We parted ways with [Jay] a long time before we announced it. We wanted to make sure we were comfortable making that decision, and comfortable with making that statement publicly. We wanted to get the album ready to be recorded before we said anything…”
Tuck described the split with James as “the most difficult thing we’ve ever had to do, and not just in the band or in our careers, but in our lives, personally. It was awful. Losing a long-term member — and our best friend, which was much more important to us — was a very powerful moment that we’d never been through before, and it was a decision that we deliberated over for, like, three months; we kept fighting and fighting to find valid reasons for him to stay, but eventually it was just impossible.
“I’m not going to go into detail,” Tuck continued, “but it was in Jay‘s best interest personally, more than ours, that he was not in the band. People can read into that what they want, which they will anyway; but it was just stuff going on that was jeopardizing the band’s career, and it had to stop. And, unfortunately, it came to the point where enough was enough, and we just had to make that call.”
In December 2017, BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE announced that it was officially parting ways with Thomas and replacing him with Jason Bowld (PITCHSHIFTER, AXEWOUND). Bowld had toured with the group since November 2015, filling in for Thomas, who had taken a leave of absence as he and his wife were expecting their first child.
In February 2020, Thomas told the “No Fuckin’ Regrets With Robb Flynn” podcast that he didn’t leave BULLET FROM MY VALENTINE of his own accord.
“We’d done the last album [in 2015], which was ‘Venom’, which was kind of more back-to-the-heavier-roots type of thing, which I was a lot happier with; I think everyone was,” Thomas explained. “And it was on that album we left — Jay, and then I left a year later. So we finished ‘Venom’ and then started touring ‘Venom’. It was on the European tour cycle of ‘Venom’ that I left and didn’t return. I would have gone back [on tour], but no one answered my e-mails.”