Dying Wish is quickly becoming one of my favorite heavy bands. Seeing them play Furnace Fest in 2024 kind of made me pay attention to them more – it was such a tight, energetic performance, and probably one of my favorite sets that year. So I was definitely paying attention when they released this album this year, and I was not disappointed.
Backed by Will Putney’s amazing production (a genius in my mind, this dude almost never makes a bad sounding album), this album sounds so immense and so… natural. In a time where the “Bad Omens-core” is the popular sound in heavy music, I really appreciate Will Putney’s naturalistic, minimalist approach to recording and producing albums.
The songs here are incredible too. Opener “I Don’t Belong Anywhere” is an explosion of a song, and it’s followed by probably my favorite of the album, “A Curse Upon Iron,” with its clever dynamics and really affecting anti-war message: “Cast the blame on your guiltless neighbor / Every finger pointed is a bullet / Another forgotten casualty / The curse of iron branded on our souls… faith in gold has cursed us all.” “Heaven Departs” is another favorite of mine, mourning humanity’s dwindling chances of salvation. This one has an absolutely amazing chorus and buildup to a really haunting outro. I could gush about all 10 of these songs, as they all have something really great to offer.
It’s another dark, difficult album, which maybe keeps it from being higher on my list. It’s similar in theme to The Acacia Strain’s album this year, but doesn’t go as far as that album does.
The Neimans 
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