When it comes to Metalcore there may be nothing new left under the sun. Some detractors would argue that there never was anything to the subgenre. And to those insufferable malcontents may I suggest a long holiday and taking a listen to Killswitch Engage’s Alive or Just Breathing (Roadrunner) or Coalesce’s Functioning on Impatience (Second Nature). There may be a dearth of new or novel sounds on Boundaries’ My Body In Bloom EP (Unbeaten Records), but boy does this Connecticut unit know how to make the most out of fundamentals.

Scattered throughout the six bangers on My Body In Bloom is Code Orange’s concrete pounding and disharmonic noise, searing Gothenburg riffage straight from the Darkest Hour playbook and the breakdowns and attitude of Hatebreed. Splash in some hints of Slayer and Corey Taylor styled spoken word bits and you can start to smell what Boundaries is cooking. ‘Kill Me Patiently’ and ‘Blush’ kick the proceedings off and function basically in tandem with jarring guitar harmonics, stacks of nail-driving double kicks and concussive mosh parts. That smart bomb blast is immediately followed by the Melodic Death Metal guitar lines and ferocity of ‘Hesitation Wounds.’ If that track doesn’t you considering exiting mosh pit retirement, then I’m afraid your heart may not be healthy enough for Metal.

And again, any heathen who’s paid attention to the last twenty years of extreme music will be familiar with the guitar/kick drum syncopation and selective blast beats of the title track. Sure, countless New England Metalcore staples have done it. Yeah, I know there’s a meaty breakdown waiting for me two-thirds in. But you know what? I look forward to it. I look forward to that beast the same way I await a cold beer at the end of a long work week. I’m going to devour that breakdown like the Arby’s sandwich I’m chowing down after several of those said beers.

Has Metalcore run its course? Sure, just like Thrash, Death or any other subgenre before it. Too many people showed up to the party and we all moved on to the next fad, but that doesn’t mean the style became any less valid, or there aren’t worthwhile bands doing it still.

8 / 10

HANS LOPEZ