Killswitch Engage won top honors for best album at the 2004 Metal Hammer Golden Gods Awards .
In late 2004, The End of Heartache was re-released as a special edition album, with a second disc featuring various live performances, a Japanese bonus track, and a re-recorded version of “Irreversal”.
Following the 2003 Ozzfest , drummer Gomes left the band because he wished to spend more time with his wife, to pursue his band Something of a Silhouette, and because he was tired of touring.
He was replaced by Justin Foley of Blood Has Been Shed , and Foley’s first tour with the band was the MTV2 Headbangers Ball in 2003.
The band also embarked on their first Japanese tour that same year.
Touring continued through the New Year’s Day, and in 2003 the first song to feature Jones, “When Darkness Falls”, appeared on the soundtrack of the 2003 horror film Freddy vs. Jason .
Following Alive or Just Breathing ‘ s release, the band expanded to a fivesome; Dutkiewicz moved to guitar and former Aftershock drummer Tom Gomes filled in the vacant drummer position. After Leach was married on April 20, 2002 and began touring again, he fell into a depression , which affected…
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The band then embarked on their First Nationwide tour in 2002 in support of the album.
Bleeding Through vocalist Brandan Schieppati said that both he and James Hart of Eighteen Visions were also asked to try out for the band in 2002, though Hart denied this.
Philip Labonte of All That Remains tried out for lead vocals but lost to Jones, who had to quickly memorize seven songs for his debut at the 2002 Hellfest .