REVIEW: Your Spirit Dies - It Is Well…
- David Waites
- 6 hours ago
- 2 min read
One of the most exciting emerging names in metallic hardcore, YOUR SPIRIT DIES return with It Is Well…, a short but crushing three-track EP that further cements the band’s growing reputation within the genre.
Hailing from South Carolina, the five-piece revive the spirit of early-2000s metalcore and sludge with a modern sense of weight and atmosphere. Following the success of last year’s My Gnawing Pains Will Never Rest, the band continue to build on the dark, groove-driven intensity that earned them praise from fans and critics alike. Where that release announced their arrival with force, It Is Well… feels more focused, deliberate, and emotionally punishing.
Opening track Starless wastes no time throwing the listener into chaos. Brandon Byars delivers desperate, throat-ripping screams over pounding drums and suffocating riffs as the track surges forward with relentless momentum. The stop-start breakdowns are easily the song’s defining feature, creating moments of tension that briefly let the track breathe before crashing back down with even more force. At times, the pauses feel almost claustrophobic, as though the song itself is gasping for air. The guitar work from Tyler Dorman and Hunter Lenoir balances melody with heaviness, weaving dark, sludgy riffs through the track without sacrificing momentum. Meanwhile, Keenan MacNeal anchors the chaos with hard-hitting percussion that drives the song forward with precision and urgency.
When Peace, Like A River acts as a haunting interlude between the EP’s heavier moments. Built around distorted production, distant choir-like textures and creeping static, the track feels deeply unsettling from start to finish. Rather than offering relief, it drags the listener further into the dread that hangs over the entire record. The result is eerie, cinematic, and surprisingly memorable despite its restraint.
Closing track Whispers In Omen delivers the EP’s most complete display of the band’s strengths. Rapid-fire drumming collides with slow-burning guitar work while Killian Dawson adds a powerful low-end bass presence that sits beneath the chaos while helping control it. Byars’ vocals sound particularly vicious here, shifting between desperate bellows and raw screams that feel close to breaking point.
The track’s breakdowns land with devastating force, but it’s the atmosphere that pushes the track beyond straightforward aggression. Violent guitar crashes dissolve into eerie passages of distortion and static, giving the song a feeling of emotional collapse rather than simple heaviness. Beneath the chaos, the track feels like an exorcism of rage and emotion — tense, suffocating, consuming and impossible to look away from. The closing screams fade into static and feedback, leaving behind a lingering sense of unease.
Like their debut album, It Is Well… carries itself with confidence and dominance, but there’s a sharper sense of control running throughout these songs. Rather than simply recreating the sound that first earned them attention, YOUR SPIRIT DIES sound more focused, more cohesive, and far more threatening. This EP is not an introduction or a reintroduction — it’s a statement of intent from a band continuing to carve out their place within modern metallic hardcore.
Score: 8/10
It Is Well… will be released on 15th May 2026 via MNRK Heavy.
Words: David Waites
Photos: Ricky Mina
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