Stones & Diamonds

With Stones & Diamonds, Death & Exhale step into that territory where a band stops sounding like “one to watch” and starts sounding like a fully realised force. This album feels like the culmination of their identity, the heaviness, the ambition, the technical edge, all brought together with a focus that makes the whole thing feel genuinely purposeful. You can hear the hunger, but you can also hear confidence. It’s the sound of a band who finally know exactly what they’re trying to say.

One of the first things that hits you is just how tight this record is. The guitars come in like sharpened steel, percussive, mechanical, and packed with those progressive/djent flourishes that twist riffs into something more interesting than simple chugs. The drums sit that perfect line between machine precision and raw human energy, with fills and patterns that give the songs their pulse instead of just keeping time. And the low end ties it all together, a thick wall of sound that rumbles underneath everything without drowning the details.

Vocally, the performance is a standout moment in itself. The range is massive, crushing lows, strained mids, higher screams that cut straight through the mix but what stands out most is the emotional weight behind it. Deathcore can sometimes fall into the trap of being all bark, no feeling, but here the delivery actually matters. There’s anger, frustration, self reflection and a sense of control even at the album’s most chaotic moments. It feels like someone working through something real, using the heaviest music possible to do it.

The songwriting shows a level of maturity that you don’t always get from a band still relatively early in their career. Rather than leaning on constant breakdowns or endless blasts, they use dynamics to make the heavy moments hit harder. Tracks often open with atmosphere or tension, letting a riff simmer before everything comes crashing down. They’re not afraid to slow things down, let a melody creep in, or drop into cleaner textures that add clarity to the chaos. When the breakdowns do arrive, they land with much more impact because the band earns those moments, instead of relying on them.

There’s also a clear sense of progression throughout the album not in a concept album way, but in how the mood and intensity shift. Early songs tend to punch hard and set the tone, while the middle stretch brings in more groove, more experimentation, and more emotional edges. By the time you get to the later parts of the record, the band feel like they’re pushing deeper into their sound, exploring weight, melody, and texture with more confidence. It all flows together, almost like one long piece that evolves naturally as it goes.

Production wise, Stones & Diamonds strikes a really nice balance. It has that modern clarity and punch, the kind of mix that lets every layer breathe without losing the brutality. The guitars sit nicely in the pocket, present and sharp while the bass adds real backbone rather than just boosting the low end. Drums are crisp, impactful, and mixed with enough space that the fast sections don’t get blurred together. The whole album has this polished heaviness that feels professional without losing grit.

What really elevates the record, though, is how intentional it feels. Nothing here sounds like filler. The band isn’t just writing “heavy songs” they’re building an atmosphere, a mood, a headspace. The themes reflect that too, inner conflict, personal damage, the push and pull between rising above and collapsing inwards. It mirrors the title perfectly, the idea of pressure, transformation, breaking down and hardening up again. It gives the aggression a bit more meaning, and you can feel that thread running through the entire record.

In the end, Stones & Diamonds is the type of album that marks a turning point. It’s the sound of a band levelling up not just playing heavier, but playing smarter, deeper, and with a clearer identity. Death & Exhale mix deathcore, progressive metal, and djent in a way that doesn’t feel like a mashup of influences, but a natural extension of who they are. It’s heavy music with real shape, real intention, and a real sense of forward momentum.

If this is where they’re at now, it’s hard not to imagine them becoming a genuine name in the next wave of modern heavy bands. Stones & Diamonds feels like the start of something big.