AfterWinter have roots back to 2015 as the core band for the BioGenesis album “A Decadence Divine” and their followup EP “Black Widow.” After parting ways with BioGenesis founder Chaz Bond, they re-formed as AfterWinter with new lead singer Jerry Grazioso. AfterWinter‘s backbone is the Nealeigh family, where bassist Dan is father of three other members: lead guitarist Luke, lead female vocalist Majennica, and keyboardist Sam. Rounding out the band is rhythm guitarist James Riggs and drummer Eli Clossom. It took 4 years to bake their sprawling debut “Paramnesia” that spanned 2 CDs that featured progressive flair aimed at a detective mystery story. A year after their debut, Jerry passed away after a fight with brain cancer.
And this is the backdrop for “Boundless:” loss, grief, and continuing life. This is a subject that I personally have grown quite familiar with since writing for this site and have seen a myriad of ways of how folks process grief. What AfterWinter have pulled together is an artifact of that journey through the lens of progressive metal. To fill the void left by Jerry, Luke Nealeigh stepped up on lead male vocals to balance with Majennica’s female lead to retain a dual lead vocal attack.
“Boundless” showcases progressive metal that is quite accessible. I like that this sounds like metal, which connects with me at a primal level, however there are plenty of proggy and other episodes that speak to the mind and soul. It is not a short listen, but the patient listener will hear a quite satisfying album that meanders without getting lost as the band brings forward little treasures from their walk with grief. Although the focus is on grief, it points to peace. The idea of Jerry being at peace with God kept coming up in production, which led to the naturally peaceful lake enclosed by trees for the album art. The closing minute of the album are nature sounds recorded from that very spot.
The album is epic in the truest sense. It is a long and storied journey from beginning to end that goes through many musical terrains including symphonic, thrash, prog, and a ballad. The thrash riff opening “Poison The Well” sets the tone that this is a heavy metal outing and not just knotted prog lines tying up our ears. The song structures feel familiar but extended, not from repetition, but from progressive developments of the various sections. The shifts between sections is gradual, requiring more time to hear changes in musical landscape, similar to a long roadtrip. As such, I appreciate the various landmarks like the cinematic “The Forgotten Wanderer,” the “Justice”-era Metallica riffing in “Distance,” and the Serenity-esque polyphonic madrigal on “Glass House.”
I have already mentioned the top-notch riffs, but I was intrigued in how they dovetail into proggy lines where the keyboards join in countermelody. The solos show technical exuberance without losing focus on melody, trading often between guitar and keyboards. A great example is “Sunrise.” The bass, an instrument often left in the shadows, has expansive windows of solo work like on “Silver Lining” and the drums bring in extra fills, particularly in the more subdued sections on “Find Me,” to keep the attention on the song when it moves through these gradual changes.
Luke brings an aggressive tone to his vocals reminding me of another Luke who sang for Tourniquet. For the heavy metal sections, this works great and he pushes into that lead vocalist role, but he does well in conjunction with Majennica’s clean vocals on “Times Embrace” and “Sunrise.” Majennica’s voice has a natural quality that is refreshing. Her highlight is in the ballad “Find Me” where her natural, almost folksy timbre is the staple through its progressive build up and release.
The only negative on this release is that the mix sounds a little dull and can get a little muddy on the more aggressive passages. It is subtle, but noticeable enough to not give my entire heart to this release. Others may cry out for editing as the songs are lengthy, but they land great for me as a longtime fan of progressive and classical music.
From top to bottom, this is a very thoughtful offering of progressive metal that would have appeal to fans of Dream Theater, Queensryche, Metallica, Luca Turilli, and any of Neal Morse’s myriad of projects. With some tightening up with the production, there is a great future ahead for this talented band.
Rating: 8.5/10
Written by Sean Bailey
Tracklist:
1 – Poison The Well
2 – Boundless
3 – The Forgotten Wanderer
4 – Distance
5 – Times Embrace
6 – Sunrise
7 – Find Me
8 – The Silver Lining
9 – Glass House
10 – Penance
11 – Absolution
AfterWinter is:
Luke Nealeigh – lead guitar and lead vocals
Majennica Nealeigh – lead vocals
James Riggs – rhythm guitars
Sam Nealeigh – keyboards
D.A. Nealeigh – bass
Eli Closson – drums
Release Date: May 29, 2026
Record Label: Roxx Records
Discography:
Paramnesia (2023)
Boundless (2026)
Social Media: Facebook | YouTube | Spotify
Video for Distance