Album Review: Behind Crimson Eyes - 'A Revelation For Despair'

Behind Crimson Eyes are a band that everyone (and I mean everyone) seems to have an opinion on. To some, they are the finest Australia has to offer. Their blend of pop punk, rock and screamo (I hate the term screamo but c’mon, labels don’t mean shit these days anyway) has taken our country by storm – so much so that BCE were able to shift 20,000 copies of their 2 EP’s over the last 2 years.

Still, there’s always the nay - sayers. The kids that sit at home on their message boards and shit talk everything this band has done in their 3 years on the live music scene. They don’t like BCE’s clothes, or hair, or their fans, or whatever. I’m of the opinion that if a band can divide music fans in such a love/hate way, then they’re on to something. For someone to be so passionate about your band (either in a positive or negative way) means there’s something going on that’s worth taking notice of.

On “A Revelation For Despair” BCE have proven that image and hair cuts (and the online rantings from middle class white kids whining about how hard life is) don’t mean a damn thing when you write music of this caliber.

This record is a massive step forward from anything the band has released previously. Gone are the straight forward song structures and almost pop melodies of songs such as “The Black Veil”. Instead, we are given track after track of down tuned, aggressive riffing. Combine this with the electronic element that is now present in the BCE sound and what you are left with is an epic and almost atmospheric sounding record – something which brings to mind From First To Last’s most recent opus, Heroine.

“A Revelation For Despair” is a slick package. With artwork provided by the famous Derek Hess, and a production job that rivals a great many records coming out of the US at the moment, I don’t see any reason why Behind Crimson Eyes can’t take their Aussie tinged sound overseas.

With 2nd single “You’ve Had Your Chance” impacting radio and TV this

week you can expect BCE to keep building momentum. If you’re

predisposed to hating this band based on their previous works, then

you’re not going to take notice of anything I’m writing here. If

however you choose to listen to this record with an open mind, I think

you’ll be pleasantly surprised.

01     Sex, Lies and Homocide

02     Children Of The Broken Hearted

03     Shakedown

04     You've Had Your Chance

05     White China Doll

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