The End of Heartache marked a major turning point in their career. It was the bands first album to not feature founding vocals Jesse Leach who stepped away from the band,with Howard Jones taking over as the lead vocalist.[6]
The album was produced by the band’s guitarist Adam Dutkiewicz,who played a key part in shaping their sound. Recorded between 2003 and early 2004 at Zing Studios in Massachusetts,the band aimed to refine their blend of aggressive metalcore with more melodic and accessible songwriting,which helped them break through to a wider audience. With Howard Jones’mix of harsh screams and powerful clean singing expanded the band’s sonic range.[7]
Jones’lyrical approach introduced a more introspective and emotionally resonant tone than previous records,which helped broaden the band’s appeal and emotional range.[7]
Release
The End of Heartache,peaked at number 21 on the Billboard 200,and sold 38,000 copies in its first week of release.[8]
"When Darkness Falls" appeared on the soundtrack to the 2003 horror film Freddy vs. Jason. The album debuted in the top 40 on the Australian album charts on May 17,2004,following a successful tour of that country with Anthrax.
Two music videos:"Rose of Sharyn" and "The End of Heartache" were filmed in promotion of the album. "Rose of Sharyn" had the group performing in a sunny desert with blood dripping from dead branches to form words. "The End of Heartache" featured a darkly lit performance with various animated imagery with scenes from Resident Evil:Apocalypse dotted throughout. Both videos saw notable airplay on Headbangers Ball. The band previously played on the 2003 MTV2 Headbangers Ball Tour.
A special edition of the album was released in 2005 that contained six additional tracks.
The album received positive reviews from music critics. Lani L writing for Tuonela Magazine stated “The End of Heartache” is an essential album to listen to regardless of whether or not you actually like metalcore per se. I would even go so far as to claim that,especially,if you dislike the genre –or what it has become over the years –you really should listen to this album.”[15]Blabbermouth.net wrote “The End Of Heartache" features ten songs and two brief instrumentals,and its relatively short (under 43 minutes) length and wall-to-wall sequencing (all the songs bleed into each other) ensure that the music doesn't get stale and the listener only gets a breath when the band permits.”Finishing with “It may be the end of heartache,but Killswitch Engage shows that metal is not just breathing,but indisputably alive.”[16]
The End of Heartache was ranked number 401 in Rock Hard magazine's book The 500 Greatest Rock &Metal Albums of All Time in 2005.[18]
In 2020 Loudwire named The End of Heartache as the 12th best metalcore album of all time.[19] That same year it was voted the 2nd greatest metalcore album of all time on Ultimate Guitar.[20] in 2023 it Loudwire put the album at number 46 on their list of The 100 Best Rock + Metal Albums of the 21st Century.[21] In their 2024 list of the best metalcore album from every year since 2000 they named the album the best of 2004.[22]
Legacy
The End of Heartache is credited with boosting Killswitch Engage in popularity,making them a household name. In a 2019 interview with Kerrang,Adam Dutkiewicz talked about the rise in popularity the band seen following the album’s release “The moment we were told that we were going to be featured in one of the Resident Evil movies,I realized that people were paying attention to us. “We grew as musicians and band members,and having Howard was such an amazing thing because his pipes are amazing. It was a whole new world that opened up so many possibilities and potentials,so I think we did step it up. It was a good time for us.”[23]
Jesse Leach has spotlighted The End of Heartache as the turning point for the band’s global impact.[24] It has also been credited with “kicking metalcore to the next level”as it showed the genre could be anthemic,emotional,and heavy,all at once.[25][26]
Track listing
All lyrics are written by Howard Jones; all music is composed by Killswitch Engage.
"The End of Heartache" was featured daily as the closing theme song on "Morency" on Hardcore Sports Radio Sirius Satellite Channel 98 from the summer to late fall of 2009; at which time the show was dropped.
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