Dying Wish – Fragments Of A Bitter Memory
Release Date: 1st October 2021
Label: Sharptone Records
Pre-Order/Pre-Save
Genre: Metalcore, Metal, Hardcore.
FFO: Killswitch Engage, Bullet For My Valentine, Hatebreed, Seeyouspacecowboy.
Review By: Ross Bowie
In recent years the term “metalcore” might have been regarded as a “dirty word” to put down a band for sounding generic or dated but in 2021 a crop of bands have found the sweet spot between raw hardcore energy and fun harmonic metal riffs. Dying Wish’s debut album Fragments Of A Bitter Memory has come along at the perfect time for them to join a scene that is once again bursting with life.
Dying Wish have come roaring out the traps with their new record Fragments Of A Bitter Memory, this is apparent from the opening seconds of the first track Cowards Feed, Cowards Bleed which can only be described as an assault on the senses as the pace of the track doesn’t stop for a beat. The pace of this record is something that rarely dips and on the few occasions it does stop for a breath, you know there is a barrage of riffs and breakdowns waiting to smother you all over again. The riffs come thick and fast, and their intensity is matched by vocalist Emma Boster’s abrasive and brutal screams. Her vocal work is ferocious and elevates the songs to a new level of terror.
In the past twelve months bands have been adding their own unique flavours to the tried and tested metalcore formula but this year has seen bands double down on the traditional roots of the genre and make it exciting again. Alongside Seeyouspacecowboy and Wristmeetrazor, Dying Wish find themselves in good company. They might not be reinventing the wheel or throwing new ideas into the mix but what Dying Wish do is take all the sounds you heard bands make in 2005 and bring them into the modern era. Fragments Of A Bitter Memory is not redefining the genre but what it is doing is absolutely nailing a sound fans have been missing for years. When the sound is done to such a high standard why bother messing with it?
Dying Wish might not be bursting with new ideas (Yet) but Fragments Of A Bitter Memory has shown they can write excellent songs. This album is a jukebox of everything that made metalcore so great and if that doesn’t excite you then what will? Dying Wish will conquer stages everywhere they go and with these songs in their arsenal, this isn’t the last time you’ll hear their name. 
(4 / 5)
