YOUR SPIRIT DIES: South Carolina Metal/Hardcore Outfit To Unleash My Gnawing Pains Will Never Rest Debut Full-Length May 2nd Via MNRK Heavy; New Video/Single Now Playing + Preorders Available

Photo by Celina Odeh

South Carolina metal/hardcore outfit YOUR SPIRIT DIES will unleash their My Gnawing Pains Will Never Rest debut full-length on May 2nd via their new label home of MNRK Heavy. Today the band presents their first single, “In The Depths Of Grief,” and album preorders.

Small towns across America are home to countless untold stories, and Columbia, the state capital of South Carolina, is no exception. With a population just over 140K, this city may be small, but it’s big on spirit. YOUR SPIRIT DIES, hailing from this very place, channels that humble yet fierce energy, embodying an underdog work ethic and an unstoppable fire. After buzzing nationwide and earning acclaim from the likes of Brooklyn Vegan, No Echo, and more, the group shares their story on My Gnawing Pains Will Never Rest.

“The record encapsulates every single thing we’re about,” notes vocalist Brandon Byars. “We’re five people who were born in small towns in the South. We were never supposed to leave these places; we were ‘supposed’ to live and die here. For us, the simple fact we’re doing this is huge. We tried to craft an album that stands on its own, and we busted our asses to make it as different as we possibly could.”

Comments Scott Givens, MNRK’s SVP of Rock and Metal, on the band’s signing, “YOUR SPIRIT DIES is an amazing young band and they make a great addition to the MNRK Heavy family.”

The members of YOUR SPIRIT DIES each cut their teeth in other regional favorites, with Byars and guitarist Holden Hall in Remembrance, guitarist Tyler Dorman in Hopesick, and bassist Keagan McChesney in Soul Press, while Brannon Crumpton does double duty on drums in Moru. The band arrived in 2020 with the debut EP, The Process Of Grief. Two years later, they accelerated their ascent with a follow-up EP, Our Saints Drown In Ash. Earning critical acclaim, BrooklynVegan hailed the track “2000 Needles” “a raw, heavy metalcore song,” and No Echo raved, “The South Carolina-based quintet brings to mind the golden era of Trustkill Records.” Distorted Sound professed, “the band can receive no less than full marks for their command of the genre’s essentials.”

And the command continues as they bulldoze a path for My Gnawing Pains Will Never Rest, with tracks like “Serpentine” featuring Dan Weyandt of Zao. Piercing fretwork rains down over a double bass beatdown, alternating between guttural growls and haunting spoken word. Byars’ roar explodes with a warning, “You will die alone.”

Melodic guitar and ominous orchestration set the tone for “Unjust God,” giving way to rapid-fire drums and black metal style tremolo picking. The barrage barely lets up as Byars screams, “I stare into the eyes of an unjust god,” bleeding into a bold clean chorus. “I lived in a Southern Baptist home for my entire life,” he reveals. “Early on, I knew it was something I wasn’t interested in. The title, My Gnawing Pains Will Never Rest, is a line from the Book of Job. The whole book is about God giving Job all of these trials and messing him up pretty badly. The song ponders, ‘Is God just?’”

Then there’s the lead single “In The Depths Of Grief.” Squeals practically choke the groove as the breakdown quakes with impressive force. “It’s personal,” he elaborates. “My mom is seventy-one, and she just got back from the hospital. ‘In The Depths Of Grief’ is about watching your loved ones grow older, wither, and eventually die. She isn’t there yet, but she has bad heart problems. When I was a teen, we had our differences. I did the whole rebel thing and got into stuff I probably shouldn’t have. I’m not as angry as I was, so our relationship is definitely better than it’s ever been.”