Behind Crimson Eyes

17 December 2006 by Chantelle Thomspon

As a band comes into being, neither they nor their fans can prophesise where their music may lead them. For Behind Crimson Eyes, a two year journey has raised with a debut album released through the revolutionary Roadrunner Records.

As 'A Revelation For Despair' hit stores on November 18th one thing was clearly obvious, Behind Crimson Eyes was never destined for small things. As Josh Stuart, lead singer and lyricist, reflects on 'A Revelation For Despair' he notes:

"'A Revelation For Despair' was the culmination of 8 or 9 months of writing and recording. With this album I've found a more progressive sound for the band, it has a harder and fresher edge. Lyrically, this time around, the songs were written for a wider audience whereas before they were more cliché. It's more observational while hopefully not being preachy.

"We went with issues that we personally felt strong about. Issues that break free of musical conversation. The album is also more technical, we strived really hard to break boundaries."

And that is exactly what has been done. Breaking away from the "emo" label that consolidated their early career but with the recent Shakedown Tour, Josh Stuart, guitarists Kevin Orr and Aaron Shultz, bassist Garth Buchanan, and drummer Cameron Gilmore are giving audiences a taste of the new sound, new album, new band.

Having clocked up 150 shows in a year including the high profile first Taste of Chaos festival in Melbourne, BCE heads from one national tour to the next, now to promote 'A Revelation For Despair.' When asked about any plans to head overseas Josh humbly adds:

"While Roadrunner has opened us up to an international market we want to see how the album goes and really consolidate the Australian market before thinking about heading overseas."

It's easy to try and contribute the new sound to a shift away from independent record label Boomtown and into the waiting arms of Roadrunner Records, however BCE can't award the change to the label change:

"Signing to Roadrunner didn't directly affect our music but rather the ability to create it. Roadrunner allowed us to spend 3 months in the studio recording. With Boomtown there was a tighter budget and tighter deadlines, we as a band had no control over when the record would be released. With Roadrunner there's a lot more say granted. The business is left to the business people and the music left to the musicians."

The album was released on Myspace prior to its November 18th release in order to give fans a taste of the evolved BCE.

Fans will be given another chance to see Behind Crimson Eyes at the Pyramid Rock Festival later this year.

"It's great to be a part of this amazing festival. I mean it started only three or four years ago and with a line-up that includes Silverchair and The Living End, there's really no better way to end one year and begin another."

Behind Crimson Eyes play The Pyramid Rock Festival  held at Phillip Island in Victoria from 29 December to 01 January. The Event is sold out.

www.thepyramidrockfestival.com

Make sure you get there early!

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