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Before Their Eyes is the type of band whose sounds will make listeners picture swooping black hair, tight jeans and teenaged faces. And, playing an entirely contemporary mix of driving, melodic pop-rock and heavy, not-quite-authentic metalcore, Before Their Eyes will simply do nothing for people who already despise Chiodos, A Day to Remember and He Is Legend (on I Am Hollywood, at least).
But those bands' fans could do a lot worse.
Confident, clean-cut and with a drive to create at least some substance, Before Their Eyes does just enough to keep their full-length debut from being entirely forgettable. Aside from being capable musicians, the band's songs are generally concise and smooth, making for a record that, despite shifting between heavy and poppy gears all the time, feels natural and well planned. The band also crafts some detailed, instrumental melodies and has a knack for solid vocal hooks; if nothing else, Before Their Eyes is tolerable because of its memorable choruses and soaring singing. And the bursts of metalcore? Well, they're disposable, mostly taking the shape of double bass-y breakdowns that are liberally sprinkled with shrieks, growls and dissonant squeals. The band gets a little "Southern" from time to time, but it sounds generic enough that listeners will know this band calls Ohio home.
Unlike many of Before Their Eyes' peers, this record doesn't sound forced, awkward and 100 percent artificial. (It might be 90 percent artificial, but that's a big difference.) It's far enough from great that it'll have a hard time breaking out of its overpopulated niche, but it's at least tolerable. At times, it's even enjoyable.
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