The Plot In You // Boundaries // Live Review // The Limelight // Belfast

School night, and that means one thing: a gig at The Limelight! My home from home throughout the year, there has been no shortage of “Wunderbar” gigs to enjoy. The metal scene has truly come to life in recent years here in Belfast, as local venues have embraced it wholeheartedly and ramped up the quality and diversity of metal bands crossing their doors.

Tonight, I believe, will be my first time catching The Plot In You in the flesh. All the way from Hancock County, Ohio, USA, these cats have four EPs and five studio albums to their name, with their latest ‘Volume Series’ arriving in July 2026, so no shortage of material with which to entertain us this evening. This should indeed be a tasty one. In tow we have Hartford, Connecticut monsters Boundaries, and that means brutality. Both bands offer a serious serving of hefty metalcore, tinged with deathcore and industrial vibes when called upon. The room will be one sweaty mess by 11 pm.

An 8 pm start, which is good for a school night, means I can get home, offload my images and get myself into bed before I turn into a pumpkin, as tomorrow morning, bright and breezy, I have a date with 60 nursery-age kids, and I’ll need my wits about me for that! But listen, I’m a problem solver. You tell me I’ll regret that in the morning; I’ll sleep until 12! Let’s do this!

Just after 8 pm, the lights drop, and Boundaries hit the stage. What is unleashed is as savage an opening act as I have seen in quite some time! The quintet absolutely grab the limelight crowd by the proverbial balls and just don’t let go for the entire set. Bassist Nathan Calcagno takes to the mic in between songs to whip the crowd up into a frenzy, asking for everything that the crowd has to give to be laid bare for the band to see.

The crowd is lapping this shit up; they just can’t get enough! The band pushes and pulls the crowd, orchestrating their every move as they pummel them track after track, a relentless barrage on the senses. Their set is frantic, like being trapped in a warzone, shells dropping all around you. It’s hard to piece it all together. A crazy, beautiful set introduced Boundaries to Belfast, and I have no doubt they won’t forget the introduction.

https://store.boundariesct.com

Photography By Mark McGrogan 

@flashartmark #flashartmark

A short break to get the stage cleared, and The Plot In You make their Irish debut. Jesus H, they are lethal! Unforgiving, they just set loose on the stage, decimating everything in their way. Their sound has a brutal, metallic edge, with Industrial vibes pushing through at times, yet it’s so beautifully melodic and heavy all at once! A furious ball of energy, they just lay waste to The Limelight, track after track, hitting harder than the last. Bathed in a sea of red light, strobes going off like fireworks, and with drummer Michael Cooper up on a raised platform looking down from above, they lay down some serious riffage. Frontman Landon Tewers’ vocals are sublime; he is wound up like a frenetic ball of energy, ready to explode at any minute. But somehow, through the crushing performances, he manages to keep his composure and keep those vocals on point.

That band are on fire tonight, treating us to a sizeable back catalogue as well as new tracks from the upcoming self-titled album, we get the heftiest of heft as well as their softer side, if that can be said of a Metalcore band. But either way they brought the kitchen sink for their Irish debut and they did not disappoint, a beautifully polished performance all round has the audience captivated. When called upon they deliver, as I look around the room I can see ladies singing their hearts out along with the emotive lyrics, dudes head banging like their lives depend on it and people boogeying their wee hearts out. This is what it’s all about: a school night, it may be, but the Belfast metal community always comes out when a band of this quality comes through town. Tonight was badly needed to reset and re-establish the norm on our city streets, and for that, I am grateful.

I cannot say it enough, the band put on a stellar performance, it’s a real eye opener when a band of this genre comes from across the pond, they bring something of another level to the live performances you see, it just seems to be ingrained in their DNA, and it just comes to life on the stage. A really powerful, polished performance to admire. Hopefully, they will build on this and come back soon to re-engage with their Irish fans north and south of the border. Till next time.

You can still catch them in Europe over the summer.

UK/EU SHOWS + FESTIVALS

June 15 – Belfast, Ireland – Headline Show
June 16 – Dublin, Ireland – Headline Show
June 18 – Clisson, France – Hellfest
June 19 – Netherlands – PinkPop
June 21 – Dessel, Belgium – Graspop
June 19 – Netherlands – PinkPop
June 21 – Dessel, Belgium – Graspop
June 22 – Hamburg, Germany – Headline Show
June 24 – Stockholm, Sweden – Broken Summer
June 28 – Helsinki, Finland – Tuska

The Plot In You have announced ‘The Volume Series’, a full-length culmination that unifies that band’s preceding four EP instalments into one complete collection, set for release on Friday, 10th July 2026 via Fearless Records.

THE VOLUME SERIES

The Plot In You Official Track Listing:

Photography By Mark McGrogan 

@flashartmark #flashartmark