REVIEW: Your Spirit Dies – My Gnawing Pains Will Never Rest [2025]

Artist: Your Spirit Dies
Album: My Gnawing Pains Will Never Rest

In the same vein as the incessantly discussed MySpace Deathcore revival, there is another equally promising but less oft-discussed movement within metalcore. The 2000s revival—or “Angel Statue Metalcore,” as much of Twitter calls it with a healthy share of tongue-in-cheek—sees many acts taking a step back from the glamorous production and arena-sized Octane Rock choruses that many of the contemporary figureheads within the genre boasting. Instead, pummeling percussion, skin-rending riffs and a thin coat of grit dominates, pulling from the likes of Converge, 18 Visions, Earth Crisis and more—and it turns out Your Spirit Dies might just be one of the best bands doing it, period. My Gnawing Pains Will Never Rest is a vicious example of metalcore done to damn near perfection, full stop. World-ending breakdowns wage violent war against riffs sharp enough to dismember Thanos; vocal dynamism reigns supreme, bass booms, and the production brings the entire release to perfection, figuratively preparing the release sous vide. On My Gnawing Pains Will Never Rest, Your Spirit Dies skyrocket from a band with monstrous potential to a band that deserves monstrous acclaim.

My Gnawing Pains Will Never Rest is one of the most well-composed metalcore records 2025 has seen thus far, and a frontrunner for one the best modern takes on old-school metalcore period. Built on powerhouse percussion that flattens just about everything in its path, much of My Gnawing Pains is a juggernaut. Songs like the introduction, “Trenches of Pain” and “Ritual Sacrament” are stunning examples of this; explosive drumming is a stalwart firmament for booming bass and fretwork so lacerating it stands to be lethal. “A Snow in Summer” is another poetic track laced with lurid aggression, capitalizing on dynamic fretwork and roaring breakdowns to keep the listener’s attention in a vice grip. Your Spirit Dies channel the metallic, riff-heavy frenzied approach of late-2000s metalcore just as efficiently and eloquently as they demonstrate mastery over the breakdown, abundantly evident throughout the record but perhaps most notable on “A Rose for Every Stone” and “Night Pierces my Bones.” Rambunctious heaviness goes hand-in-hand with ruthless instrumental precision. “Ritual Sacrament”—or as I’ve taken to calling it, riff-tual sacrament—is another outstanding example where the fretwork and energy throughout the song shines, but the entirety of the track is tied together with a series of pummeling, punchy breakdowns. My Gnawing Pains Will Never Rest has a stunning variety of incredible songs that demonstrate the broad spectrum of metalcore’s purest form—but as a record, it stands as so much more than just the sum of these songs.

With the pure intensity and stunning instrumental dynamism, it should come as no surprise that Your Spirit Dies hosts a strong and powerful vocal element as well. With harsh, belted screams capable of both piercing yells and blistering low bellows, the vocals throughout My Gnawing Pains Will Never Rest are exactly what they need to be. Sincere at times, scalding and primal at others, Your Spirit Dies make outstanding use of raw, riveting vocals that pair excellently with the frenzied and unrestrained brand of metalcore that they exert such brilliant dominance over. “Ritual Sacrament” continues to shine in this light, but truly just about every song throughout My Gnawing Pains is impressive with respect to vocals, lyrics and songwriting with respect to the cunning way in which the vocals mirror and modulate the intensity of Your Spirit Dies put forth instrumentally.

My Gnawing Pains Will Never Rest is an outstanding release, just a hair’s breadth from perfect—and through no intrinsic fault. Your Spirit Dies have put forth a colossal release that exemplifies metalcore in every way a band should aim to exemplify metalcore, and avoids many of the pitfalls that seem to be more and more commonplace within the genre. In brief, you should make it a point to familiarize yourself with Your Spirit Dies—I imagine it won’t be too long now until you won’t have a choice.

9.5/10
For Fans Of: Azshara, No Cure, A Mourning Star
By: Connor Welsh