SAME PAINS: TERMINAL SINGLE REVIEW
- Feb 12
- 3 min read
Same Pains, North Queensland Metalcore band are back with their first release of 2026, 'Terminal'. Now I am going to put a trigger warning on this one because of the subject matter, so if you have or are currently suffering from thoughts of self harm, please treat yourself with kindness and back out of the review if needed. Same Pains released their first single 'Unsew' in 2023 and have since released several singles and
their Album 'closure - an aggregate' in 2024. What height do I fall from to kill, A trigger finger that's struggling to still, How long will I hang around, convulsing of limbs only inches above the ground, What a waste of life, Always waiting to die, fuck it.
During a forthcoming Same Pains interview, Terminal is described as, "It is inspired by the notion of refusing to help myself. That I almost need to be suffering to have an identity. I am not of value nor do I want to be. Whatever this is, I will overcome it myself for better or worse. But it truly never leaves. This changes a person forever." Terminal is one of those songs that I can see becoming a sort of anthem to those in the scene, with it's heavy subject matter being entangled so diligently and thoroughly within the alternative music space, I am sure it will resonate with many listeners. Been giving up day in and day out, Death sweetly
singing my name now, Regret it all on the way down, What height do I fall from to kill, A trigger finger that struggling to still, Feels like I'm terminally ill. I'm useless, defeated, I'm never, never really needed, Yeah. Vocalist Justin has put on the performance of a lifetime within Terminal. From the first note the pain, anguish and self deprivation is evident. There are moments with intentionally agonising breathes being audible, pushing home the idea of the loss of control and the inward spiral. In full transparency while watching the video release I had tears in my eyes, his portrayal of losing yourself within your own mind hitting a little too close to home. The part of this vocal performance that hits the hardest in my opinion, while it covers his full vocal range of highs and lows, and my forever favourite blegh, the vocal tonnes are
expression in too much fear to reach outwardly for help. I drove past the doctors office today, I'm convincing myself, that I'll be okay, This body has now become holding place, Somewhere to live my life at a dying man's pace, I'm not a valuable person, I offer nothing to no one, A failure, Well does it take one to know one? What? Musically, strap yourselves in, because the band definitely rise to meet Justin, the soundtrack to this introspective tale matching the chaotic spiral with the spirit of a collective who understand the feeling and are using the music as their own personal therapy. While listening to this track for the review I found myself, hitting repeat over and over again, going back and listening to the individual instruments and I can honestly say that the way the band
plays throughout this track is heartbreaking. From the whirring and screeching guitars, to the heavy bass and unrelenting drums you will be drawn into this tale of woe. Finally I need to mention the last thirty seconds, where everything whines down, not to a sense of freedom and breaking into a place of healing, but instead to a space of giving up and in the video Justin can be seen laying on the floor, singing "down" as he trails his fingers on the floor, his voice getting softer the deeper he falls. Terminal is an incredibly heavy song that has been approached in such an elegant and unapologetic way, hitting with the same intensity of Numb by Linkin Park and Adam's Song by Blink 182. Just let me, leave, put me down like a setting sun, it was my dream be a waste x2, so forget my face, turn that shit up, check check, it was my dream a waste, it was my dream to be a, waste, yeah, it was my dream, it was my dream to be a waste, it was my dream to be a waste, so put me down, so put me, down x12
If you need help or someone to talk to, Lifeline is available 24 hours either to call on 13 11 14 or via text on 0477 13 11 14.
Same Pains feature in our 15 QLD Bands You Need To Be Listening To list, which you can read here.
For Fans Of: Johnny Booth, Loathe, Static Dress and Vein.fm
10/10
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