Live Review : Boundaries + Varials + Dagger Threat + No Face No Case @ Rebellion, Manchester on April 11th 2025

There's a theme running through all the bands tonight, and it’s something revolving round the concepts of two-step dancing and jaggedly brutal hardcore. How else should you spend your Friday night than treating yourself to an early gig offering up such joy! Boundaries are the headliners and the undercard is packed with some equally exciting hardcore talent to wet the appetite.

No Face No Case are first on and bound onto the stage in an array of white outfits. But this is no squeaky-clean boyband, NFNC are heavy as you like. The vocals are an absolutely grin-inducing blast of guttural force and slick chat that is the key driver behind the whole sound of the band. The guitar and bass slash and gnaw alongside brutally, while the drums hit with piston hammering. It’s a heavy wall of sound, but interspersed with dance segments and curious sounds effects. Their sound is close to ten56. but it’s fun and bouncy rather than sinister and terrorizing. The energy of the early arriving crowd is already passionately enthusiastic, and they’re rewarded for their commitment in kind by NFNC giving it their all as well.

Second on we have the dangerously enjoyable Dagger Threat. They don’t waste any time kicking the door off the hinges and furiously straight into their set. Unlike NFNC, we’re hit with a wall of black tees and stern aggression. They’re very much the metal end of hardcore in the same vein as Great American Ghost and RSJ. Some of their merch has ‘Spinkick Nu-metal’ on the back and that’s a very good description to use for these guys. There’s an intense charisma to them and you can’t keep your eyes off the stage. The whole band are excellent and engaging throughout, mixing in some thrashy elements and even stompy passages on occasion. Brutal guitar riffs reminiscent of Slipknot are supplemented by haunting high-end stabs, evoking the spirit of Korn and Emmure. A raucous cover of Slipknot’s ‘Eyeless’ only serves to emphasise that judgement.

Varials hit hard from the off, smashing head-on into the face of the front row with a brutal showcase of nuanced, unbridled intensity. From the outset they bite with the guitars, delivering a sound similar to Emmure’s tone and approach. They display an impressively ferocious prowess, especially evident in the rhythm section grumble that permeates the soul of the crowd all the way to the bar. It’s a swaggering and formidable wall of sound akin to Graphic Nature, Kublai Khan (especially vocally) and the aforementioned Emmure. The drumming elevates the overall ferocity of the performance, and the stage presence from all members is deliberate with fury - a raw, aggressive energy throughout.

We finally arrive at the headliners Boundaries. Last time I saw them they were supporting The Ghost Inside, and they were superb. Tonight, they are even better – stunning in fact. They bring an intensity from the very start that scorches you with a surge of energy. There’s a fury to their sound, creating a performance that is both chaotic and deeply emotive. The triple-layered vocals play a key role in everything Boundaries showcase tonight. Pitch perfect clean vocals from Tim Sullivan on drums, are complemented by high-pitched harsh vocals from Nathan Calcagno on bass, and tying it all together are the low harsh vocals from Matthew McDougal.

Their overall vibe is reminiscent of Malevolence, with even more layers to their vocals and guitars that are wild and chaotic. That brings to mind the frenetic energy of bands like The Fall of Troy and SeeYouSpaceCowboy – especially in the unrelenting passion and jagged unpredictability to passages of their songs. It’s their mixture of influences and sounds, combined with their own visceral edge, that demands the crowd’s attention from start to finish. You can hear elements of Touche Amore, given the post-hardcore nature of the emotion, anthemic elements of Stick to Your Guns and the passionate intensity of Comeback Kid. The crowd reacts as one heaving, bouncing mass—total chaos in the best way, with plenty of two-stepping and stage diving. It's a perfect fusion of post-hardcore and hardcore, seamlessly woven together in each song. No this isn’t just hardcore, this is sublime, multi-layered, experimental-tinged hardcore.

Check the “In The Flesh” page for more photos!
Boundaries + Varials + Dagger Threat + No Face No Case