By RACHEL HENRY
The fourth release from Before Your Eyes came after a year of band trials and tribulations. Guitarist Landon Tewers left the band and joined The Plot In You, vocalist Nick Moore left the band only to rejoin, Jordan DiSorbo and Brandon Rosiar took the place of Tewers and the band switched from Rise Records to InVogue Records. After this plethora of changes, Redemption proves to be a suitable album title.
Whereas 2010’s Untouchable inched towards a heavier sound while dabbling in pop-inspired vocals, Redemption has cut the pop sound down, leaving it just within choruses, resulting in less of a genre lapse and more heavy riffs.
Unfortunately there is nothing dynamic about this release – it’s exactly what a listener would expect from Before Your Eyes. In a borderline-hackneyed genre, the lack of originality will leave new listeners bored and looking for something more ambitious.
Most of the chorus vocals throughout the album are clean, paired with light screams and upbeat riffs. Fans could compare this delivery to From First To Last’s last release, Throne To The Wolves, though the unfortunate recruitment of Breathe Carolina on Dream will leave fans cringing at the direction Before Their Eyes is heading in.
Arguably one of the strongest tracks on the record, Find, is an optimistic performance that embraces atmospheric musicality, followed by Everything which allows Moore to really demonstrate his vocal talent at the song’s zenith. Other notables are Revival, to which ex-guitarist Tewers lends his guttural screams, and Backstabber, which is laden with breakdowns and sets the bar for the album’s heaviest tones.
Before Their Eyes is clearly not ready to sink in a scene full of jaded genre-hoppers. As an effort to mesh their three previous releases, Redemption was nonetheless enjoyable for what it was – catchy choruses with glimpses at the talent that comprises the band but is unfortunately understated with this CD.
