Dying Wish - Symptoms of Survival (2023)^{Release ID: 48488}

It took me the entire albums release weekend before I could muster how I felt about the newest album from Portland metalcore band Dying Wish. And it's because I found the record more conflicting than I did at first. I really enjoyed my initial playthrough of Symptoms of Survival, thanks in large part to a very well done mastering job. Nothing on the record becomes overwhelming and it pushes some excellent hardcore vocals from Emma Boster to the front. The clean singing could have been incorporated a little bit more frequently in my opinion, but the sparseness makes them feel that much more comforting when they do arrive.

The album starts off very strong with its very clear influences to the great melo-hardcore bands of the mid 2000s, but eventually it transforms and the compositions become more sporadic and not as well implemented, almost as if it was starting to take influence from another 2000s metalcore band: Converge. But that's not even the best part! Halfway through the album, "Paved in Sorrow" takes on this post-hardcore ballad that would not feel out of place on a Svalbard album!

And yet, the album still flows remarkably well. Even if I'm not the biggest fan of the herky-jerky performance styles of early Converge, Symptoms of Survival is an album that maintains an identity and shows that they can keep that identity intact even through the albums emotional roller coaster. A pleasant surprise for sure and one that should be considered by anyone familiar with 2000s metalcore.

Best Songs: Symptoms of Survival, Starved, Path To Your Grave, Hell's Final Blessing, Lost In The Fall