Boundaries, Varials, Dagger Threat and No Face No Case – Rescue Rooms, Nottingham – 9th April ‘25

2 days ago

*Boundaries at Rescue Rooms in Nottingham. Photo by Carrie-Anne Pollard*

Tonight showcases a stacked bill of heavy as shit metalcore from Europe and further across the pond. Kicking off proceedings are No Face No Case from Prague. Combining beefy breakdowns with electronic elements, and always with a hint of tongue in cheek fun, No Face No Case clearly enjoy what they’re doing, and so does the crowd. No first band blues are in sight, for the next half hour limbs are flailing, bodies are bouncing and pits are circling.

Next up are German metal machines Dagger Threat, who’s chunky riffs have the whole room headbanging. The best thing about hardcore gigs is everyone is there to have a good time, whether the band is familiar or not. Any opportunity to dance, pit or throwdown will be taken. Dagger Threat take things up a sizeable notch though, when vocalist Tim Rogler states ‘we’ve brought something very special for you’. As the first note of their final song hits, the room goes wild with bodies scrambling to get to the barrier to scream along ‘fuck it all, fuck this world. Fuck everything that you stand for’. Ending on a cover – Slipknot’s Surfacing – was a perfect choice.

Main support comes in the shape of Varials, who keep the energy up. The room is fuller, but the centre remains opened up, leaning more towards good old fashioned push pits rather than hardcore dancing. Vocals are being handled by Cell frontman Skyler Conder, with the official line up still up in the air, Varials don’t let this hold them back. We see our first crowd surfers of the night, the room is singing along, and the band pull no punches, delivering a ferocious and unwavering set.

Last but certainly not least, Boundaries take to the stage, storming their way through Turning Hate Into Rage and My Body Is a Cage. Most recent album Death Is Little More takes up most of the set, but choice cuts from their back catalogue are peppered throughout. Vocalist Matthew McDougal is a powerhouse of emotion and brutality while screaming, but seems noticeably shy when the music stops, with bassist / backing vocalist Nathan Calcagno talking to the crowd between songs. Darkness Shared has the whole room singing along, while Is Survived By is a two stepping dream.

A few crowd surfers have floated over the barrier throughout the set, but it’s not until A Pale Light Lingers that the flood gates not only break, but are completely disintegrated under the heavy flow of bodies riding across the room. Big up to the security guard who spends the whole song grinning while plucking bodies off the top and gently setting them down before the next person appears. Boundaries charge through several more songs, before ending on Easily Erased. The way this band is touring at the moment, they’re making their mark on the scene, and definitely won’t be erased easily, and after a set like that, nor would we want them to be.