“By what means does my life cling?”
Periphery-owned label 3DOT Recordings has been home to a staggering slew of signings as of late — Astronoid, Destrage, Crooked Royals and none other than the crushing Connecticut hardcore quintet, Boundaries. I will openly admit: I am a complete, utter novice to Boundaries, which personally makes this all the more exciting for me. Without bias and with a genuine eagerness to explore, let’s dive into Burying Brightness, Boundaries’ second full-length offering following 2020’s Your Receding Warmth.
Opening Burying Brightness is “It Begins To Speak”, a dizzying dive introducing us into Boundaries’ unique blend of metalcore, beatdown and hardcore. Droning, overdriven guitars ring out around an unsettlingly vicious vocal delivery by Matthew McDougal, who switches between low, haunting, spoken word passages and annihilative aggressive voicings. Right from the outset, Boundaries succeed in crafting a tremendous, towering atmosphere here, effortlessly engaging the listener ahead of the forty minutes on offer.
“Your Own Murder” and “This Is What It’s Like” swing in next, a pair of eclectic hardcore slamfests. Connecting the likes of Desolate, Counterparts and Varials, Boundaries string together vastly different, nuanced bands into one signature sound of sheer, unrelenting savagery. Holding down the foundations, drummer Tim Sullivan and bassist Nathan Calcagno’s performances are sublimely tight on these tracks and indeed the entirety of Burying Brightness, adding to the earthquaking energy present here.
Lead single and fourth track “Heaven’s Broken Heart” is a beyond-brutal Drop B chuggathon, almost reminiscent of old-school Veil Of Maya. Melancholy meanders through this belter of a track, particularly through profound, picturesque lyrics: “Night falls fast / Every eye in the sky cries red tonight / Welcome to the dawn of sacrifice / A world flooded in fire.”
The shining highlight of Burying Brightness comes in the form of second single, “Realize And Rebuild”. Equal parts emotive and energetic, “Realize And Rebuild” exemplifies Boundaries’ success in building anthemic, chorus-driven tracks that mark a more commercial, but undoubtedly captivating stylistic approach. The spoken word section midway through the song is cathartic, impassioned and honestly above all else, endearing in its relatability.
“The world walks by my cage
As I attempt to colour each day
In a way that makes me want to stay
In a way that makes me worth the air that I breathe
My charity is in excess when in the company of death
I have so much to give when there’s no one left
I have so much to give.”
Title track and third single “Burying Brightness” kicks off with a surprisingly djenty introduction, echoing early Elitist. Dissonant lead guitar melodies join the fray shortly after, alongside further terrific vocal work by McDougal. “The things that people will do to each other / The fire forgets what the forest remembers” is a true standout lyric from this record, painfully poignant in its poeticism.
Ultimately, Burying Brightness is a beacon for hardcore bands in 2022 to look towards — Boundaries have truly crafted an admittedly super-saturated sound into their very own. Perhaps Boundaries have done this a little too well, as many of the tracks on Burying Brightness bleed into one another due to their undeniable similarities and slight reliance on formulaic structuring. Fortunately, the staggering highlights largely outweigh this album’s shortcomings, and I have full faith that Boundaries will only continue to succeed and to further diversify their offerings.
7/10
Burying Brightness will be released on Friday 14th October via 3DOT Recordings, and you can pre-order the record here.