Close Your Eyes
Empty Hands and Heavy Hearts

I Close Your Eyes is a band from Abilene, Texas, that aims to fuse the immediacy and emotion of melodic hardcore with pop-punk choruses and refrains, not shying away from nods to more modern genres such as metalcore and post-hardcore, much like the much more famous A Day To Remember (a band that, however, never impressed me much…).

These young guys debuted in 2010 with their first full-length "We Will Overcome," led by the famous single "Song For The Broken," a good but quite average record of modern post-hardcore.

In 2011, they released their second album, "Empty Hands And Heavy Hearts."

The band, at the time of release, consisted of singer Shane Raymond (a real powerhouse in his role, and we will see why), guitarists Brett Callaway and Andrew Rodriguez, bassist Sonny Vega, and drummer Tim Friesen. The band is part of the Christian scene, and the singer's lyrics partly reflect this, while still staying very dark and rarely open to positive emotions.

The album starts off with a bang with "Hope Slips Away," which already sets the elements that we will cyclically find in almost every song: typically punk drums, metal riffs, and screamed vocals that begin their sermon of anger, depression, and flashes of Christian hope. The song then opens into a chorus that, if you will, is a bit trite but sticks to the brain matter and never leaves.

The second song is one of the best and the one that first made me fall in love with this album, "Empty Hands." Here is all Raymond's anger, singing his fears, anxieties, and illusions over a supercharged base. Towards the end, chills, that's all I'll say. A vocal performance worthy of applause.

"Erie" is the emblem of the Close Your Eyes sound: fast riffs, pounding drums, shouted vocals alternating with pop-punk choruses and refrains. It lasts very little, just enough.

"Valleys" is the song among all those present that most seems to have chart ambitions. The chorus might be a bit too catchy, but they manage to mask their commercial temptations with imaginative arrangements and once again a superlative vocal performance.

"Injustice" is similar to "Erie," short, intense, and angry, among the closest to hardcore.

"Paper Thin" is among the most melodic of the platter, surprising us again by putting aside the heavy guitars for a while, making more space for Sonny Vega's pulsing bass. The final melodic digression complete with arpeggio and gospel-inspired choirs is stunning (which we will see again). So far, no decline, chapeau.

The next one, "Wormwood" is very strong and stands out for its variety, practically a synthesis of the entire album.

"Keep The Lights On" is one of the best songs on the album, Raymond once again howls a wonderful lyric over an equally valid musical base. Goosebumps in the part where the singer sings the chorus with only the bass line underneath. In short, you will find yourself singing along with him.

"Carry You" is a love song, but that doesn't mean it's a ball of arpeggios and harmless little voices reminiscent of damn Greenday. Quite the opposite. The lyrics, if we want to be meticulous, this time are a bit banal, probably in favor of the song's fluency and catchiness. I recommend watching the music video as well, it will positively surprise you.

"Wolves" is the one closest to metalcore, not surprisingly featuring Jonathan Vigil, singer of The Ghost Inside. "Wolves" develops on a very interesting crescendo, with spot-on guitar melodies and breakdowns that are never invasive or annoying.

"Scars" is perhaps the episode I appreciate the least; it's a song that, after everything we've heard, feels a bit repetitive and unnecessary. It's not exactly a misstep, but it's close.

I Close Your Eyes leaves as the final track one that is probably the most heartfelt and filled with passion, "Heavy Hearts." The song is practically a plea for help/desperate declaration of love/prayer that's truly irresistible. After many listens, this turns out to be the best of the entire album. It's worth noting that the track concludes with a fantastic two-minute children's choir that does not clash at all with the album's attitude and serves as a fitting conclusion to this work.

Objectively speaking, the winning formula of aggressive start – calm part – melodic chorus – aggressive ending is a bit overused, as are the sudden slowdowns of the riffs, which some might find forced and done only in favor of Shane Raymond's emotional outbursts. In my opinion, only the first can be considered a flaw, while I regard the second as the true strength of the album and the band. The voice of this singer, indeed (though in itself nothing extraordinary), is really expressive, and you can clearly perceive his belief in what he sings, whether it refers to God or his personal experiences.

In conclusion, a very valid album, made with heart by musicians with guts. Maybe it's too extreme for pop-punk fans and too light for those used to hardcore, but for those with an open mind, it certainly won't be a wasted listen.

There was a time I would have given this practically unknown album a full 5.

Today objectively it's a 3.5.

I round up for personal value.