Behind Crimson Eyes

Scream Out Your Name To The Night

Written by: TL on 25/04/2007 20:25:20

This album cracks me up. But more on that later. About five months ago the Australian emo/screamo guys Behind Crimson Eyes released their highly anticipated debut full length "A Revelation For Despair" effectively surprising just about everybody who'd ever heard the band before, as their sound had, to say the least, changed quite a bit. The new style received some rather mixed response, but that apparently didn't stop the release of a compilation album containing all the songs from the bands first three EP's as well as 5 previously unreleased songs. The songs from the EP's have been altered in absolutely no way at all and truth be told, the release smells so badly of cash grab that even Linkin' Park would get nauseous.

Forgetting about details like that however, there's really no way you can dislike this release. Seen from an emo-perspective it's a square 10 record. You see, one of the things that are terribly cliché about Behind Crimson Eyes is that they were vastly better on their EP's than on their quite mediocre and completely forgettable full length. Their old material simply cuts your wrists in all the right places. It's the record Matchbook Romance, Story Of The Year, Just Surrender, Hidden In Plain View and, to save time and space, every other band similar to those, would have written if they'd been capable of writing an album that contained only good stuff (Oh wait, Just Surrender actually could do that.. Oh well). It's not revolutionary and it's not artistic and it's not unique, in fact every element in every song BHC wrote back then is about as cliché emo as you can possibly imagine, however that means jack shit seeing as the band were capable of the few things that really mattered: Keeping things simple, captivating and above all else, staying believeable.

At no point during the fifteen songs does the band relapse to sounding in a way that would make you think "cmon guys this is just a wee bit too ridiculous". In a manner few others than Silverstein have mastered, this band can write ten songs about stabbing your ex-girlfriend because she cheated on you (or something along those lines) without you ever going "woah, this is just too messed up" because you're simply bound to be too busy going "this is actually pretty fuckin' awesome". The cleverly disguised pop melodies, the simple but effective walls of powerchorded riffage and the perfect-but-remarkably-cliché screams give anyone with just the slightest dash of emo-fan in them a run for their money.

I find this release so terribly amusing because hating it would make sense considering what a lousy cash grab it is, but still it's lightyears ahead of the way too ambitious stuff the band decided to fill their actual album with. I recommend that everyone who likes emo even the slightest bit download this at once, as it will please their ears like.. something disgustingly ear-pleasing! Even if you already own the EP's, the extra five songs are worth getting.

8

Download: Bullets For Blood, Game Of Life, Art Of War, Nightmare On Apparition Street Part 6
For the fans of: Silverstein, Matchbook Romance, Story Of The Year, Just Surrender
Listen: MySpace

Release Date 26.03.2007
Boomtown Records

Related Items | How we score?
Comments
comments powered by Disqus

Legal

© Copyright MMXXIV Rockfreaks.net.