Leading up to this release, it’s pretty hard to have missed the discourse surrounding the singles released for this album. It was the topic of every social forum, music news outlets, and anywhere you found fans, and resulted in very dichotomized discussions. Certain choices made with the production and the mix seemed to take away more than what they brought, from guitars that muddied in the full mix, excessive bass, or just oddly processed bass drops that took the listeners attention away from what made some of these tracks more impactful. However, despite the backlash, Boundaries culminate with Yearning: The Unbeautiful After that uses the unconventional mix to its advantage. Sounding more aggressive than ever before, Boundaries take the listener on an 14 song anger filled journey that certainly cements itself as another strong installment into their continuing catalogue.
Boundaries set the tone for the record right out the gate with ‘Malconscience’. No pomp, no frills, just sheer rage and a vocal assault from Matt McDougal that sets the precedent for the album as one of his best performances to date. The controversial single ‘Skies Cast Amber Black’ follows and the band doesn’t let any pressure off the gas, keeping the energy and ferocity ‘Malconscience’ kicked off. Standing out on this record is the collaboration with Australian metalcore outfit Make Them Suffer on ‘Torn Wide Open’ in one of the most chaotic tracks on the record, and features some of the more particularly exploratory vocal actions from McDougal. Features from both of Make Them Suffer’s vocalists make an appearance and round out the song into what will likely become a fan favorite. Naturally, it wouldn’t be a Boundaries record with drummer and clean vocalist Nathan Calcagno making an appearance. ‘Death Will Follow Me’ and ‘Only Endless’ both stood out as strong performances from Calcagno. While Boundaries may have taken an unconventional approach with this album, the songs speak louder than the mix, and carries more positives than negatives as a whole. It will be a point of contention amongst fans for years to come, but it will not be a forgotten album by any stretch.
Rating: 78/100
Notable Songs: Torn Wide Open, Death Will Follow Me, Crowned and Crucified
