Album Review: Yearning: The Unbeautiful After by Boundaries
Album artwork for Yearning: The unbeautiful after by Boundaries
Boundaries are one of the few bands alongside the likes of Chamber and Orthodox who have quietly circled the periphery of modern metalcore, building momentum with each release and the stars seem to have finally aligned in 2026 by thrusting a number of new forces forward in what feels like the ushering in of the new era of modern metalcore that we’ve so desperately needed with the aforementioned leading the way. Yes, revivalcore exists but it’s running it’s own race against Krate users at the moment, modern metalcore has nothing to worry about in this instance.
The combination of bands releasing highly self-proclaimed records amongst those who survey the phantom radar beneath the surface listener’s vision; a pattern has spawned. We’ve watched bands discard that special something that drew us to them and made us fans, but in Boundaries case, exploration has taken precedence. At a point in their career where they’re playing bigger stages while being appended to and headlining well-sold tours around the western world, it takes guts to set aside what built them up in the first place.
“Yearning: the unbeautiful after”is a Boundaries record in the vain that vocalist Matt McDougal dominates above all in his lyrical content and presence as a vocalist whilst being accompanied by gloomy meanderings and ambience balanced with hard-hitting percussion and riffs. Written about the events that transpire from personal decisions made in life and how you live with those decisions whether they be opportunities or consequences, it’s a thematic throne that demands aggression and emotional integrity. A concept you’d imagine Counterparts would carry out with composure amongst blinding light shows behind a barrier but the added sentimentally and care that comes from Boundaries on this record multiplies after finding out how long they spent on mixing Skies Cast Amber Black (the original mix was fine by the way). This album is distinct and a product of love and torture that oozes Boundaries.
Opening track Malconscience is a door swung violently open in the face of exploration. Taking 90s industrial ambience and nu-metal stylings paired with the signature modern metalcore mosh call(ing card), the track dives head first into descending chugs where Matt McDougal and bassist Nathan Calcagno trade the line “I just want to see you suffer” back and forth before switching it up to “show me what I wanna see” getting more and more desperate with each delivery. Boundaries have spared no expense delivering something heavy that doesn’t feel heavy for the sake of it. It’s purposeful in making a point that they are exploring without straying too far from what they already know.
Guitarists Cory Emond and Cody DelVecchio are not strangers in expressing their love for the early 2000s metalcore sound especially in Misery Signals as you can hear that appreciation and influence ring true in Unequal Whole where both guitarists trade nostalgia-laden riffs and twinkling leads that wouldn’t feel out of place in Of Malice and The Magnum Heart. The rolling chugs lent from a time before modern metalcore became what it now is, Unequal Whole musically is a homage to the band’s love for ‘real metalcore’.
Tracks like May This Pain Never Leave, and Only Endless, shine against the albums abrasive nature but have ultimately became the focal point of its criticism. The increased presence of clean vocals by Tim Sullivan has led to calls the band are selling out and chasing the modern metalcore bag but what’s strange is that this isn’t a new phenomena in Boundaries’ discography. Cleans have always had their place. Granted at a smaller frequency but the gradual progression into Sullivan’s cleans being given more attention is the best direction the band could have taken. The introduction of a vocal styling that can hold it’s on as well as work alongside Matt’s unique caustic style is a triumph in itself.
Torn Wide Open features vocals from Make Them Suffer and their influence and input doesn’t span much further than simply being a name on a track. Not adding or taking away anything of interest, the addition of two vocalists is underwhelming as they both deliver cookie cutter parts that feel outdated and unnecessary.
Second feature of the album comes from Landon Tewers on Crowned and Crucified and much like the preceding features, it adds nothing besides the knowledge that maybe one day we’ll see them perform together when booked on the same festival. It’s a hope piece for Metalcore Twitter if anything.
The one thing Boundaries has always delivered on is a closing track, and title piece Yearning: the unbeautiful after is a spectacular meeting of the band’s past records and what they envision their future to look like. Sullivan’s chorus hooks gliding above twisting leads followed by chugs and snare bombs, the collective vocal parts from McDougal and Calcagno that beg for small venue mic grabs fade against discordant scales.
The once violently swung open door is gracefully shut and considering the appeal that “Unyielding: the unbeautiful after’s” new sound will have, it’s a matter of time before the new heights Boundaries will reach result in the metaphorical door being push pitted into by people with the worst optics on “the scene” despite only attending big tour package shows with barriers. As much as Unyielding… was written for themselves to expand their discography and begin a new chapter, the demographic target whether chosen intentionally or not is a doubled edged sword in that they’ll gain a broader fan base that didn’t appreciate them before but now do simply because clean singing parts are laid out in front of them comes at a price of alienating those that have been around for the past couple albums that loved the uncompromising abrasion that was offered in the likes of Your Receding Warmth or Burying Brightness. The future of Boundaries is bright but the allure of this somewhat new direction and what it brings may dim overtime for long time fans.
FFO: Orthodox, Chamber, Knocked Loose, Misery Signals
SCORE: 6/10
Yearning: The unbeautiful after is out on all streaming platforms on Friday 17th July via Sumerian Records.
