Portland’s Dying Wish‘s recent success has not stopped them from making honest music that proudly flexes their hardcore roots. If anything, they’ve only expanded on this. With their third full-length, Flesh Stays Together, out Sept 26 via SharpTone Records, the 5-piece turns their focus to tracing the cracks in today’s society in a sonically haunting and thought-provoking way.
Dying Wish’s last two albums flirted heavily with mid-2000s metalcore nostalgia. Think Killswitch Engage riffs wrapped in hardcore’s DIY rawness. But when it came to Flesh Stays Together, they didn’t just rinse and repeat.
“Everyone in the band has matured a lot, especially in their influences and tastes,” guitarist Pedro Carrillo explains. “This record is more about what we know we sound like now rather than what we want to sound like.”
Vocalist Emma Boster adds, “There are more clean vocals this time, and people might assume we’re going Octane Radio or trying to be more marketable… but that was never the point. Like the opening track has straight-up doomsday chugs under clean vocals.” Carrillo interjects, “We were trying to find a way to make things sound even heavier, yet somehow more beautiful this time around.” This became clear after hearing an advance copy—despite the increase in clean vocals, Flesh Stays Together stands as their heaviest and most punishing work yet.
For Boster, it’s also a return to her roots. She began singing in a choir long before she ever screamed into a microphone, and that foundation has quietly shaped her voice ever since. Now, weaving that early training into Dying Wish’s most punishing material feels like a full-circle moment, though one with a far darker tone than her younger self could have imagined.
For Flesh Stays Together, the band teamed up with Will Putney (Knocked Loose, Full of Hell). “We didn’t want to make the same record again,” says Boster. “I was inspired by artists like Ethel Kane and Chelsea Wolfe. I feel like we’re really just kind of toeing the line of being like a metal band at this point.”
The haunting aesthetic of Flesh Stays Together is also showcased on the visual end. The album’s cover, depicting a woman suffocating in a plastic bag, has created some controversy. Boster explains, “It’s not about glorifying violence; it’s art made by women. We had multiple concepts with both male and female models, but I resonated with the image because it’s how I felt making this record. Suffocating in today’s world, and honestly, that’s how I’ve felt these last few years.”
That claustrophobic vibe might be thanks in part to the setting: the band was literally snowed in at Putney’s house for two weeks during recording. The horror influence runs deep, with the lead single’s visuals channeling films like The Ring. When asked to compare the album’s artistic direction to a horror franchise for the less technical fans, Boster and Carrillo agree to “half Nosferatu, half the Conjuring,” with romantic elements woven into brutality.
While Dying Wish’s sound has expanded beyond hardcore’s boundaries, the scene’s ethos remains their backbone. “In hardcore, you can’t fake it,” says Carrillo. “People know if you’re not part of the community. That DIY mentality makes us work harder.”
Boster agrees, noting the difference in reception between hardcore and metal audiences. “Hardcore kids see us for what we are… people who grew up in the scene, making music with that morality behind it. Metalheads sometimes just see a girl in a band and judge differently.”
The band is equally passionate about the scene’s growing diversity. “When I started going to shows 15 years ago, women were there, but rarely in bands,” says Boster. “Hardcore and punk were ahead of metal in normalizing women, trans people, and queer folks on stage.” Carrillo adds “Now it’s not just about who’s in the band, it’s women booking shows, running entire fests, working lights. Running the whole show”
As a woman fronting a heavy band in the metal and hardcore space, Boster is no stranger to being compared to peers like Courtney LaPlante of Spiritbox or Poppy. When asked how she wants to be perceived when faced with such comparisons, she says, “I think I have more of a masculine edge to me,” she says. “I don’t want to be perceived as pretty… That’s not part of my MO. I want to intimidate, to make people think, ‘Holy fuck, that girl scares the shit out of me.’” While she has all the respect for the other acts having toured (Spiritbox) or to be touring with them (Poppy), this is the persona she embraces.
If there’s one thing that keeps Dying Wish sharp, it’s their commitment to treating music like a physical sport. Both Boster and Carrillo talked about taking fitness seriously as it helps them deliver high-energy performances day in and out during long tours.
“Taking care of your body means you can do this for decades,” says Carrillo. “I don’t want to be in the back taking all the pain killers ’cause my back’s shot.”
For Boster, fitness is both a practical and mental boost. “Our manager once told me there’s no difference between a musician on tour and an athlete in a playoff circuit. Exercise helps my sleep, my voice, and my confidence. On stage, I want to feel like an athlete.” And so she trains like one—an indication that the band looks to do this for a long time to come.
Flesh Stays Together is out Friday, and you can preorder it from SharpTone Records. Follow Dying Wish on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter for future updates.
Photo Credit: Kyle Bergfors
