Close Your Eyes – Line In The Sand (Victory Records)

When I think of Texas I immediately think of barbecue sauce, Stetson hats and rounding up cattle, the thought of high quality bands doesn’t come into my mental picture until now. Close Your Eyes are a four piece band from Abilene Texas who fuses the essence of hardcore with the energy of old school punk.

Close Your Eyes are in no way about style they are more about lyrics that speak to the listener with an underlying energy that rivals some of the biggest bands on the planet right now. Lyrics that mean something and can actually be understood alongside aggressive hardcore screams and the musical backing that rivals the ferocity of buildings being demolished is just what the doctor ordered.

View the video for ‘Song For The Broken’

Close Your Eyes are a hard band to pigeonhole in their style or compare to bands but if I had to do this I would put it somewhere between The Dead Kennedys and Killswitch Engage with the vocal tone of James from Deaf Havana thrown in for good measure. It’s rare to find a band that ticks all of the boxes of what you want to hear and when you do find this it’s like finding a diamond in the rough.

Stand out tracks include ‘Kings Of John Payne’ and ‘The End’, but from start to finish ‘Line In The Sand’ is a delight on the ear drums. The album is released this week through Victory Records and I urge you to put your hands into your pockets and pull out some money to make a purchase you wont regret. 8.8/10
Chris Storey

Watch ‘The End’ official Video