As Living Arrows – Hope and Ruin | Album Review

Devastating in every possible sense of the word, Hope and Ruin isn’t an easy listen. But it is absolutely wonderful.

The second full length from the post-screamo outfit As Living Arrows (FKA Dead Bird), Hope and Ruin is a body of work that wears its meaning in its title. Or rather, it would do so fully if it’s title was reversed. A record that draws upon reflections of departed loved ones, spiralling mental health and the ever-perpetual struggle to get to the end of each wretched day, this album portrays itself as a mirror to how one can only find hope for a better day after purging and destroying everything that stops one from from finding optimism.

Granted, yes, this ethos has long been crux of everything screamo and post-hardcore adjacent since the genre’s very origin. But what separates this from its peers is the combination of urgency and how it ties together a plethora of inspirations. With subtle nods to a range of artists like Russian Circles, Deafheaven and The Jesus Lizard, Hope and Ruin is a screamo record that assures its brilliance by looking beyond the genre’s parameters.

Opener ‘As Above So Below’ immediately grips one’s attention with all the delicate grace of a clenched hand to the throat. Kicking into being with the vocal-chord tearing screams of vocalist Thomas Wagstaff, the track is a barreling barrage of a need for catharsis via destruction. It may sound hyperbolic, but as the band grapple with the subject of regret in the wake of death, you can almost feel the spittle from Wagstaff lancing one’s face point-blank, the rush of disturbed air as their peers battle with pliable riffs and the thrall of emotional damage as the refrain of ‘You can look back / But please don’t stare’ is repeated like both a mantra and a painful reminder.

‘The Greatest Weight’ continues the emotional wrath and deliverance in a way that’s almost comparable to scene pioneers Envy, especially with its breakdown sounding akin to nothing short of a complete mental break – complete with manic energy and the kind of screaming that comes from the pit of the stomach and all. It’s devastating; there’s nothing here that would quanlify as pleasant listening. But in a way that’s unlike a lot of acts within this scene, this level of wrought emotion feels authentic and deeply genuine. In turn, it’s as cathartic as it almost unconformably intimate.

One of this record’s greatest elements is how it delicately handles motifs from other genres prior to incorporating them into the emotional ravaging it manifests as. But As Living Arrows don’t approach genre dynamism for the sake of it here, far from it in fact. In a similar fashion that made their 2020 debut In The Absence Of so arresting, this record sees the band employing cues from far flung genres in order to mirror mental strife in its most detailed and genuine form. From the mathy progression to black metal fury of ‘Altruist’ to the piano driven post-rock soundscape of ‘Life Noir’ – a track that harkens the spoken word contemplation found within ‘Serpents and Synonyms’ from their last record – all the way to the massive post-metal riffs within ‘Sun King’ that would turn the heads of Russian Circles, Hope and Ruin is rife with genre dynamism that’s conducted with finesse and subtle confidence. It’s this sense of fluid creativity in conjunction with the record’s inherent emotional drive that makes Hope and Ruin just such a powerful and arresting experience.

As the intentionally quiet and reflective ‘Sky Reflects Itself’ leads into the crumbling breakdown that is ‘The Tower’ with all the intention and force that originally made Devil Sold His Soul such a formidable entity upon emergence, Hope and Ruin ultimately comes to pass as maybe one of the best screamo-adjacent records of this year. It’s a record that not only masters delicate genre experimentation, but one that shows how an aptitude towards such a craft can truly portray emotional fraught in it’s most authentic form whilst never hindering the purity that is the drive for catharsis. Much like acts such as Chalk Heads, Incaseyouleave and Pleiades have done recently, Hope and Ruin sees As Living Arrows showcasing just how incredible, fertile and genuine the national screamo scene has become.