Review Summary: Before Their Eyes return with their strongest and hardest hitting album yet.
It's been a strange few years for Ohio's Before Their Eyes existence. They have gone through several members, most of whom were guitarists who didnt quite work out. The latest member to leave was guitarist/screamer Landon Tewers who went on to form the metalcore band The Plot In You. Lead vocalist Nick Moore even left the band for about a year, but he decided to come back. After all that drama and the terrible record that was "Untoachable", it would be easy to see the band quit. They showed tremendous perseverance and it shows with their latest offering, "Redemption."
The album starts off with an instrumental track which simply serves as an introduction for the first real track called "Lies." "Lies" wastes no time as an aggressive guitar riff with a guttural scream hits you straight in the face. It is a very upbeat song with very little screaming, with the exception of the opening riff and a breakdown at the end of the song. Nick's vocals sound great as his voice soars in the chorus. The first half of the album is a lot more upbeat than heavy with the exception of a couple breakdowns. The first of two ballads on the record, "Everything" is very impressive as Moore's vocals sound great over the instruments, as the music rises Moore's vocals rise. Unfortunately, BTE invited Breathe Carolina to do some guest vocals on "Dream" which is an epic fail, to no surprise. The second half of the album contains the heaviest material, especially on the tracks "Revival" and "Backstabber". "Revival" is the best track on the album and is easily the heaviest in the band's discography. Landon Tewers makes a brief return to the band as he offers his unique and heavy screams, which is nice as it gives some diversity to Moore's higher growls. "Backstabber" has a very impressive breakdown that reminds me of their song "Hell or Highwater" (which was previously the bands best song). The song "Faith" has some very impressive guitar work as guitarists Jordan DiSorbo and Bandon Rosiar use the entire fret board to their advantage. This track also has one the catchiest chorus' on the album. The album ends with the track "Alive" which is a very good track to end the album on. It has a strong anthem feel to it which ends the album perfectly.
Before Their Eyes return with their strongest and hardest hitting album yet. The vocals are terrific as Moore lets his voice soar on every chorus on the album. His screams have improved greatly as well and they never get old. The bass is audible in the breakdowns which is always a plus as they are rarely heard in metalcore albums. The breakdowns are not used that often, but they are very effective when used.
There is much improvement over "Untouchable" as BTE take a much heavier approach on this album. Although it is a great album, it is nothing new to the genre. However, It shows that BTE have the guts to try and improve, even through adversity.
