I was a sophomore in high school when The End of Heartache first dropped. It represented my first foray into what I would call pure modern metal. I’d been listening to the forebears of metal like Black Sabbath and Thin Lizzy for a minute, but hadn’t quite dabbled in the true dark arts yet.
And then I heard double bass pedals, chugging guitars, and blood-curdling vocal screams. I was hooked. This was the real deal, and as a 15-year old loaded with testosterone, it provided a helluva outlet to get all that angst out in what I feel was a pretty healthy way (and still do feel that way).
My buddies and I saw them the next year live on The Taste of Chaos tour. It was a helluva lineup with bands like The Used, My Chemical Romance, A Static Lullaby, Senses Fail, and Saosin all on the card, but I’ll never forget the experience of Killswitch live. The power and size of lead singer Howard Jones up on stage, the frenetic energy of drummer Justin Foley behind the kit, and the absolute insanity of guitarist Adam Dutkiewicz. The dude was rail thin and straight up wore a midnight black Dracula-esque cape as he literally sprinted around on stage like an absolute madman. I’ll never forget my buddies and I daring each other to go into the mosh pit, only to absolutely bail out once we saw a guy that stood about 6’5 and weighed about 300 lbs with purple hair down the middle of his back windmilling his way through the center of the pit and sending people flying. Our scrawny high school selves wanted no part of that.
It was an absolute scene, a helluva introduction to metal, and forever cemented this album as an all-time personal classic.
Standout Songs: A Bid Farewell, When Darkness Falls, The End of Heartache
