ALBUM REVIEW: Yearning: The unbeautiful after – Boundaries

BOUNDARIES have used their last three albums to carve themselves a space in the vicious revival of the more aggressive strains of 2000s metalcore. Forgoing the popular models of the scene like BAD OMENS, BOUNDARIES have always leaned closer to bands like KNOCKED LOOSE – dissonant riffs, savage vocal performances, and breakdowns upon breakdowns. Even when the band incorporates clean vocals, it feels closer to screamo acts of the aughts rather than cynical radio-chasing. On their fourth outing, the band still holds true to these ideals, cramming relentless barrages into small packages weighed heavy with grief.

This grief comes from a car accident that killed several friends of the band members, as well as other tragedies in their personal lives. Vocalist Matt McDougal pulls out no stops on getting this pain across; his dynamic screaming delivery and heartfelt lyrics that often center around self-loathing and mortality have always been a core tenant of the band’s sound. Here, he rips his heart open for all to see, through turns both poetic “I will take this torment and circle the earth/Leaving signs of you like a leaking urn” and blunt “A son, a brother, a father, a friend/but never fucking dead”. Every line is spat with venom, shrieked in mourning, or growled in anger at the senseless death that afflicted these close people to the band. The clean vocals from drummer Tim Sullivan help provide occasional levity from McDougal’s seething bellows and unhinged caterwauling. 

Emotion is pushed to the surface in the instrumental composition, too. Sullivan unleashes squalling blast beats on The leper’s bell that make a wide-open space for McDougal to disgorge his bile onto. Startlingly melodic riffs emerge on tracks like Death will follow me and Nothing, gathered, providing some tonic to the onslaught of downtuned chugging and growled vocals. Despite the constant breakdowns, Sullivan and the band’s guitarists, Cory Emond and Cody Delvecchio, write distinct patterns into each mosh frenzy, making the consistent presence of these sections still manage to feel fresh.

Aside from the usual pleasures BOUNDARIES provide, the band pushes themselves to write distinct songs that are replete with new ideas as well as well-loved standards. Opener Malconscience has a frantic pulse that turns metalcore into a demented rave track, with a thudding kick rhythm that underscores relentless chugging patterns from the guitars. Crowned and crucified is a vicious number that boasts old-school metalcore riffage and a well-placed feature from THE PLOT IN YOU vocalist Landon Tewers, whose renowned emotional screams fit perfectly in the world of BOUNDARIES. Torn wide open is the other track to contain a vocal feature, utilizing both screamer Sean Harmanis and clean vocalist Alex Reade from Australia’s MAKE THEM SUFFER. The first half of the track is all energy as Harmanis, McDougal, and bassist Nathan Calcagno trade off screams of “life is fucking killing me”, but the second half feels like an ethereal warning as Reade’s gentle clean vocals enter like a spectral lullaby. The title track, which serves as the album’s closer, pulls out all the stops with a grand chorus, thunderous breakdown, and a repeating final lyric as the album fades into silence: “What would you have me do/There’s nothing left to give and everything to prove”. Throughout this track list, the band remains dynamic and fresh. Four albums in and they don’t even seem close to running out of good songwriting ideas.

The true flaw of this record comes not directly from the band, but from the production, which kneecaps the band’s impressive songs at almost every turn. While BOUNDARIES’ earlier releases saw Randy LeBouef at the production helm, the band has this time around embraced Drew Fulk, most likely due at least in part to his work with KNOCKED LOOSE, which was lauded on the release of 2024’s You Won’t Go Before You’re Supposed To. However, Fulk is not able to recreate the same production magic he managed with the Kentucky mainstays. Instead, BOUNDARIES sees their songs muddled beneath a mix far too compressed for its own good. McDougal’s vocals still sound clear, but many guitar riffs and any presence of bass is suffocated, and the drums often ring out tinny and flat when they should have thunderous impact. There are moments that work, such as the over-the-top bass drops and occasional echoing snare bombs, but the unfortunate decisions that went into mixing this album makes it weaker in comparison to BOUNDARIES’ other albums, even with the potent songwriting and performances.

If nothing else, Yearning: the unbeautiful after is impressive for how well it tackles its subjects of grief, coping, and recovery with an in-your-face earnestness that is refreshing in the often cliched lyrics of metalcore. Every member of the band is firing on all cylinders, but even at its best, you can’t help but wish for a better mix to allow these powerful songs to fully shine.

Rating: 7/10

Yearning: the unbeautiful after is out now via Sumerian Records.