“You should learn to find comfort in silence.“
Despite being seemingly down and out, Varials returned in full form to put down the marker for beatdown in 2026. Big riffs, with even bigger production values to go with them, made for a sound that makes any speaker visibly shake. It’s a genre that many touch on, with the likes of Pincer+ and HEAVENSGATE blending their nu-core sound with beatdown elements, at least to a certain extent. The kings of it recently have been DESOLATED, who blend their hardcore stylings with beatdown for an absolutely fierce sound. Now, the well-versed Bound in Fear are knocking on the door, looking to show themselves at the band poised to take the mantle as the most lethal act around.
It’s been a long march to reach Bound in Fear’s latest iteration in the form of A Mind Too Sick To Heal, given “Sentenced” was released way back in 2024 and now features on the album. It does perhaps show the challenges and timelines it can take to put forward a full record at the moment. This, aligned with Bound in Fear’s shift away from their tech-mixed-with-deathcore sound on 2021’s Penance, has suggested a band looking to redefine themselves over the last few years. And while this next step for Bound in Fear does show signs of a brave new era, elements of their sound and production hold them back from fully establishing it.
The main barrier for A Mind To Sick To Heal becomes evident after about two minutes into the record thanks to the loud and compressed production style that has been opted for on the record. Where each heavier moment has sat in this downtuned and high in the mix sound, it just leaves the instrumentals becoming a mashed sound that gnaws away at the end in an unpleasant manner. It’s a pitfall that acts in the beatdown space have fallen into before, in attempts to sound as beefy and mean as possible, yet it essentially restricts the record to only sounding good on car speakers. It is also slightly odd, given the older singles on this record do not have this overblown production; it’s unclear what would have caused this change in direction.
Looking beyond that, there’s a fairly strong record to be found here. Mason’s commanding presence ensures that there is still much to latch on here, making sure the likes of “Scum” are swinging belters that would put a crowd into a fighting frenzy. Their lows are absolutely some of the meanest around and their ability to switch between tempos is impressive, as is noted on the likes of “Soul Casket”, which even throws in a nice two-step beat for good measure. For those who have seen any of Mason’s projects live, what Bound in Fear have produced here will translate even stronger when seen up on stage.
With this in mind, there is an unsettling craft and atmosphere that Bound in Fear have applied well for A Mind Too Sick To Heal. Whether it is the interludes they’ve put together on “A Mind Too Sick To Heal” or “It Never Could Anyway”, and one could argue the production choice was part of this, it doesn’t look to have any niceties. The uneven riffs, that the aforementioned Varials have also embraced, make for a gnarly and brutal listen. Bound in Fear do this noticeably well on closer “Lurking”, with those drawn back vocal moments giving a rawness that leads into chaotic instrumental breakdowns.
It’s difficult to place A Mind Too Sick To Heal, given the discography behind Bound in Fear, and the potential for this to be their magnum opus. Yet while it’s a point that could be seen as getting hung up on, it’s difficult to not look beyond the impact the production has on this record. It leaves the instrumentals feeling too overblown and muddled and the vocals the only draw on the record. For those who enjoy that style or can see beyond it, there is a strong record here, yet it’s difficult to see how this combination separates A Mind Too Sick To Heal it from its counterparts.
5/10
A Mind To Sick To Heal is out Friday the 13th of March via Unique Leader Records, and can be pre-ordered here.