Jared Dines and Howard Jones announce debut album as Sion
The YouTube star and former Killswitch Engage man are gearing up to release the 12-track effort later this month
YouTube guitar hero Jared Dines and ex-Killswitch Engage frontman Howard Jones have announced the self-titled debut album from their Sion project will be released on November 26.
The duo had previously dropped a video for first single Blade and accompanied the announcement by debuting a new single, More Than Just Myself.
A statement under the new video reads: “The self titled record from Howard Jones and Jared Dines features 12 tracks. After almost 2 years in the making we are incredibly excited to share what we created with you all. This record was funded independently out of Jared and Howard's own pockets so every play and every share helps greatly.”
The origins of the band date reportedly date back to Dines’ and Jones’ involvement (as guest guitarist and support, respectively) on Trivium’s 2018 tour, but work did not begin in earnest until last year.
“It was just very casual, and it's just been that way – very natural, and not, like, [with] any type of real plan,” Dines told Rock Feed (via Blabbermouth). “[Musically] I think there's a lot of natural influence I have from bands like Killswitch Engage, As I Lay Dying, et cetera, et cetera, because that's the era I grew up on, so that's kind of imprinted into my playing as it is.
“So it's very natural for me just to flow out these very, you could call it Killswitch Engage-sounding songs, but that's not the intent, what we were going for. But.. whatever Howard wants to do with it, it's gonna sound like Howard. It's gonna sound like me and Howard, whatever that sounds like...”
Sion’s self-titled debut album arrives November 26. Head over to Jared Dines’ YouTube channel to find all the links you’ll need to follow Sion on streaming platforms and beyond.
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Matt is Features Editor for GuitarWorld.com. Before that he spent 10 years as a freelance music journalist, interviewing artists for the likes of Total Guitar, Guitarist, Guitar World, MusicRadar, NME.com, DJ Mag and Electronic Sound. In 2020, he launched CreativeMoney.co.uk, which aims to share the ideas that make creative lifestyles more sustainable. He plays guitar, but should not be allowed near your delay pedals.