The End of Heartache (song)

"The End of Heartache" is the title track and second single from Killswitch Engage's third studio album The End of Heartache. The song also appeared as the theme song for the 2004 zombie action film Resident Evil: Apocalypse.

"The End of Heartache"
Cover art for the Resident Evil: Apocalypse promo single
Single by Killswitch Engage
from the album The End of Heartache and Resident Evil: Apocalypse Soundtrack
Released	August 2004
Recorded	December 15, 2003 (2003-12-15) - January 29, 2004 (2004-01-29)
Studio	Zing Studios, Westfield, Massachusetts
Genre	Metalcore
Length	4:58 (album version) 4:04 (Resident Evil: Apocalypse version)[1]
Label	Roadrunner
Songwriter(s)	Mike D'Antonio, Adam Dutkiewicz, Justin Foley, Howard Jones, Joel Stroetzel
Producer(s)	Adam Dutkiewicz
Killswitch Engage singles chronology
"Rose of Sharyn" (2004) "The End of Heartache" (2004) "A Bid Farewell" (2005)

The song became the band's breakthrough single, peaking at no. 31 on the Mainstream Rock Chart.^[2] The song has since become associated with professional wrestler Roderick Strong, who has used End of Heartache as his theme song on numerous occasions, most recently in All Elite Wrestling.^[3]

Music video

Two videos were produced for the song. The video edit of the song features mostly clean singing from vocalist Howard Jones with a few background screams, much like the video for "My Curse".

The first video shows the band performing the song inter-cut with footage from Resident Evil: Apocalypse along with close-up shots of the band playing.^[4]

The second video cuts out the Resident Evil: Apocalypse footage and cuts between shots of the band performing the song.^[5]

Reception

The song was included on Revolver's list of "16 Great Non-Hair-Metal Power Ballads".^[6]

Awards

The song was nominated for Best Metal Performance at the 47th Annual Grammy Awards, but lost to Whiplash by Motörhead.^[7]

Track listing

Resident Evil: Apocalypse promo single

No.	Title	Length
1.	"The End of Heartache"	4:04

US/UK promo single

No.	Title	Length
1.	"The End of Heartache" (Album version)	4:58
2.	"The End of Heartache" (Resident Evil: Apocalypse version)	4:04

Personnel

Killswitch Engage

• Howard Jones – lead vocals
• Adam Dutkiewicz – lead guitar, backing vocals
• Joel Stroetzel – rhythm guitar
• Mike D'Antonio – bass guitar
• Justin Foley – drums

Additional musicians

• Andy Sneap – additional guitar

Charts

Chart (2004)	Peak position
US Mainstream Rock (Billboard)[2]	31

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
United States (RIAA)[8]	Gold	500,000‡
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

References

1. Loftus, Johhny (August 31, 2004). "Resident Evil: Apocalypse [Original Soundtrack] - Original Soundtrack". AllMusic. Retrieved April 4, 2014.
2. "Killswitch Engage Chart History (Mainstream Rock)". Billboard. Retrieved June 11, 2021.
3. Childers, Chad (2023-04-27). "Wrestler Roderick Strong Makes AEW Debut to Killswitch Engage Classic". Loudwire. Retrieved 2023-08-12.
4. "Killswitch Engage - The End Of Heartache (Resident Evil Version) - YouTube". YouTube. April 30, 2012. Archived from the original on 2021-12-21. Retrieved April 4, 2014.
5. "Killswitch Engage - The End Of Heartache - YouTube". YouTube. October 26, 2009. Archived from the original on 2021-12-21. Retrieved April 4, 2014.
6. "16 Great Non-Hair-Metal Power Ballads". Revolver. March 28, 2022. Retrieved December 15, 2022.
7. "47th Grammy Awards". Rock on the Net archive. Retrieved April 4, 2014.
8. "American single certifications – Killswitch Engage – The End Of Heartache". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved September 10, 2020.