Dying Wish – Flesh Stays Together [Things You Might Have Missed 2025]

Here we go again, another day, another genre that generally gets written off by the metal faithful. Metalcore is a gateway for many metalheads, but it rarely has staying power past those formative years. I had the opposite experience, and only really found metalcore that I enjoyed well into my heavy music tenure. Dying Wish is one of those bands that dug its way out of the pit and drilled its way into my brain. The band’s latest album, Flesh Stays Together, is an emotionally charged ripper filled with catchy hooks, vicious breakdowns, and a manic energy more akin to acts like Venom Prison than its contemporaries.

Dying Wish vocalist Emma Boster is the immediate standout, and their vitriolic, raspy screams combine with rich, deep cleans to make for hooks that last. Metalcore is full of mediocre vocalists who are decent screamers with terrible clean singing, making many bands’ music feel perfunctory rather than genuine. Not here, Boster is a top-tier mic-barker, and Flesh Stays Together is stuffed with memorable moments. “Revenge In Carnage,” “Nothing Like You,” and the title track are just a few examples where they shine. Dying Wish doesn’t let the ball drop elsewhere, and the rest of the band keeps pace. Guitarists Pedro Carillo and Sam Reynolds bring the hammer with impactful breakdowns bolstered by production that can stand the weight. While Flesh Stays Together leans more on the hardcore side with its guitarwork, the abrasive pick-scraping, thoughtful leads, and quality mixing raise it above the heap. Jon Mackey’s bass is the thrumming soul of the album, audibly chugging in the background and adding impact to every note. Lastly, a clean and natural snare with a solid punch from drummer Jeff Yambra rounds out a band that knows how to bring the core to metalcore without carrying all the lame baggage that usually comes with it.

Flesh Stays Together hits hard and is impeccably played, as all good metal should be, but the powerful emotional core is even more potent, permeating the entire album. “Nothing Like You” calls out toxic family behavior and alcoholism, and Boster swears to be better than those who came before them. Even well-worn tropes have a hard edge, with the title track becoming both a call to arms and an ode to the power of becoming infatuated. When Boster sings, “I’d massacre all of heaven for you”, I can’t help but feel similarly about protecting the ones I care most about. Flesh Stays Together is a dark look at the worst in us, putting a mirror up to how family shapes our flaws, and Boster tackles these demons head-on.

It may be metalcore, but Dying Wish brings the filth, and Flesh Stays Together showcases that the genre can still transcend its tired trappings. There isn’t a throwaway track on the album, and it comes in at a tight thirty-five minutes, making for a listen that beat me down and left me asking for more. Dying Wish may be lumped in with the rest of the core bands at a glance, but Flesh Stays Together is a nasty piece of work that wouldn’t be out of place amongst much grimier acts. If you enjoy bands like Venom Prison, Pupil Slicer, and Cloud Rat, this album deserves to be in your rotation.

Tracks to Check Out: “I Don’t Belong Anywhere,” “Nothing Like You,” “Moments I Regret”