Album Review: Borders – Bloom Season (Arising Empire)

Borders return with their new album Bloom Season, due for release 18th of November 2022 via Arising Empire.

A genre-defying band, Borders combine metalcore, hip-hop, hardcore, grime and so much more. It’s a wild combination that has made them beloved in their short time as a band and this sophomore album is certainly highly anticipated.

So, what do Borders have to offer here and how does it fare in a world of metal music that is getting more and more experimental by the day?

Opening the record with a brash blend of bouncy hip-hop, garish grime, eccentric electronica and ferocious metalcore, Fade to Black and Fix This are part of an energising start. The intensity of Borders, front and centre, but not without a certain amount of catchiness. The latter of the two has a chorus that is very lively indeed.

With Suffer, Borders scale back the experimentation a bit (just a little bit) and focus on delivering a wild metalcore/electronica fusion anthem. Something they accomplish with ease. Before nu-metallers Dropout Kings help make NWWM one of the most challenging tracks on the album. The Borders style clashing disorderly with the guest’s nu-metal efforts. It’s got a lot of fire, especially with that chorus, but it might be just a bit to all over the place.

The melody in I Get High sits nicely alongside the hip-hop and blistering flareups of fervent heaviness. Although the latter part of this track is so chaotic, it’s all anyone will remember. Whereas Gaslight has Borders clean their sound up a bit for rapping clarity and a chorus that soars nicely. Before nu-metal band Cane Hill pop in for Godless. A track that is excessively and excitingly fast and furious. Nothing but circle-pit mayhem here.

Finally, it’s the pairing of Cut the Rope and MDM. Two more blasts of wildly experimental Borders’ hits. Where the album’s goal of keeping you moving is encapsulated by a pair that are stupidly hyperactive, heavy enough to make you gurn and fresh enough to make you feel a bit stupid for thinking that thrash and death was all metal was about.

Borders aren’t for everyone. That was established with the debut and it’s now been given the rubber stamp here. However, for every one person who dislikes this level of genre-bending, there will be ten that love it. That’s the most important thing for Borders and Bloom Season is only going to enhance their status.

Borders – Bloom Season Full Track Listing:

1. Fade to Black
2. Fix This
3. Suffer
4. NWWM (Feat. Dropout Kings)
5. I Get High
6. Gaslight
7. Godless (Feat. Cane Hill)
8. Cut the Rope
9. MDM

Borders – Links

Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | YouTube