Before Their Eyes is a post-hardcore band hailing from Ohio and signed to Rise Records (home also to The Devil Wears Prada) and this self-titled album is their first release. They are currently doing shows across the country on the "Scream the Prayer" tour, where you can catch their emotional lyrics and diverse music style in action. They're also in the studio apparently finishing up their second release, The Dawn Of My Death.

The album opens with "City in a Snow Globe" which begins slowly musically and lyrically, but soon leads to fast paced guitar riffs and wrenching screams. Nick's vocals mix smooth sounds while pumping out heartfelt screams throughout the track, which is thematically about regret and bad decisions he's made. It's the best track in the collection and a prelude to an absolutely great album.

"This is Redemption, This is Our Lives Washed Clean" and "Close Your Eyes, It's Okay to Rest Now" are about finding forgiveness and moving forward in life. Ridiculously long song titles aside, the tracks deliver a great message about picking up the brokenness in our lives and turning the pieces into something good for the future. "Shotguns Speak Louder Than Words" is another fantastic listen. The emotionally packed lyrics describe the experience of losing someone close and how much pain it brings, but knowing that everything is still okay because life is not over when our earthly time is done. You'll also catch a couple of radio-friendly tunes on the CD that showcase the band's diversity (those of which being "You Talk a Good Game" and "Why 6 is Afraid of 7"). In "You Talk a Good Game," you'll notice a synthesizer mixed with some acoustic guitar while "Why 6 is Afraid of 7" delivers a less screamo feel that's just right for the radio airwaves and fits nicely into the album.

This is an impressive start for the young band, and I can only hope that they keep it up in the future. The diversity both musically and vocally will help them to reach multiple crowds while their meaningful lyrics on relationships, dealing with bad choices in life, and God's power and redeeming love will bring them full circle. The album has not left my car stereo since they day that I bought it and I recommend it to anyone who is into the hardcore music scene.

- Review date: 5/7/08, written by Kevin Hoskins of Jesusfreakhideout.com