Review Summary: Life doesn’t give anything that time won’t reclaim.
If you have any doubts about
Death is Little More, go listen to the transition from “Darkness Shared” to “Like Petals from a Stem.” Aside from the fact that the latter is easily the most unhinged track on the record, that transition is the kind of moment that epitomizes why
Death is Little More is worth a spin (or two, or three). This album is a crossroads of meticulous technicality, hyperbolic heaviness, and hauntingly intense melodies, all while seamlessly paying tribute to the titans that helped define the genre in the 2000s. It chugs, it riffs, it screams like a violent maniac, and it’s an absolute thrill to listen to.
From the very first seconds of the opener—“Turning Hate into Rage”—it is evident that Boundaries have not forgotten how to make music that is mind-numbingly heavy, but as the song segues from an introductory breakdown into an opening riff reminiscent of Killswitch Engage or As I Lay Dying, Boundaries evoke a sort of timeless appeal that impeccably blends into their songwriting. While I would normally consider such an effort lazy at best and horrid at worst, this nostalgia-driven “classic” feel only makes the album only more endearing. Furthermore, this theme is a sort of underpinning for the record, which takes creates a balance between the “mathy” elements of their songwriting and the seemingly never-ending (and seemingly always kick-ass) breakdowns.
Despite the relatively short runtime of the record (thirty-three minutes), the album is positively brimming with memorable moments—from that groovy riff in “Scars on a Soul and the hauntingly beautiful guitar solo in the eponymous “Death is Little More, to the moment in “Easily Erased” when the song crescendos only to halt in a moment of silence while Tim Sullivan sings, “Will you break all the promises that you made?” All of these traits coalesce in “Blame’s Burden,” which aside from featuring a stellar spot from Marcus Vik, contains the best showcase of the melodic elements of this album. It never feels onerous or annoying though, and is more likely to leave you with a stupid grin on your face more than anything else from the pure fun of it.
Aside from that, have I also mentioned how punishingly brutal, batsh*t insane, holy-f*ck-hang-onto-your-pants this album also is? To start with, Matt McDougal gives the performance of a lifetime. He goes from angst-ridden, to furious, to maniacal and everything in between. Coupled with his vocal performance is a tour-de-force of focused insanity, including blast-beat laden tracks like “A Pale Light Lingers” and “Scars on a Soul” and hair-raisingly nasty breakdowns on every damned track in the record. The album puts the listener in a furious chokehold from the very first second right until the end.
Do I lament the notable absence of some of the more technically ambitious features of their last album? Sure. It’s also a bit over the top and does sometimes feels a bit mushed together, but those are minor qualms in an otherwise thoroughly enjoyable experience. If you like your metalcore fast, heavy, and undeniably fun, listen to this record. If you don’t, well that sucks—because you’re missing out.
