When Victory Records signed Ocala’s A Day To Remember over a decade ago, it marked a sea change in the record industry. Labels were immediately lining up to sign almost any band that combined pop-punk with heavier hardcore/post-hardcore/metalcore stylings, and it made a lot of sense. Bands that can adeptly blend dark with light are few and far between, at least the ones who do it well.
On their debut album We Will Overcome as well as its follow-up in Empty Hands and Heavy Hearts, Close Your Eyes exhibited a genuinely spirit-filled pop-punk/melodic hardcore sound, often merging the two styles in the same song. And though early fans of the band often pointed to A Day To Remember as a major influence on the band (they weren’t wrong, really), CYE was always more influenced by bands like Stretch ArmStrong than anyone else. The genuine spirit of Close Your Eyes, specifically frontman Shane Raymond, cannot be overstated. Possessing one of the most unique and versatile voices in the melodic hardcore spectrum, it was a massive disappointment when he left the band initially in 2012, just before a tour with Comeback Kid. And though the band soldiered on with a new vocalist, Sam Robinson (Blessed By A Broken Heart), and released a record with him (2013’s solid Line In The Sand), it’s clear that Shane’s departure just killed the band. Why did it happen? Nobody really knows, but unfortunately it’s often a case of band members not getting along – or perhaps something else entirely.
Over the span of 3 albums, though, Close Your Eyes set the world on fire with their brand of passionate melodic hardcore. Tracks like “Injustice” certainly set the moshpits on fire, but it was tracks like the viral “Song For The Broken” (seriously, what a defining song) and “Something Needs To Change” that really defined the band as one that likely would be playing some massive stages today if things had kept going. And while we’ll never really know the internal struggles Close Your Eyes had, we do know this – very few bands exhibited the passion and spiritual fervor CYE did. Even if they never come back, their message will last forever.
I know it’s worth fighting for
I am on my knees, I can’t accept defeat
There is hope for us!
Even in our darkest days and when it seems that we’ve lost our way and it seems
There is hope, there is hope!
There is a reason why we lift out hands and sing
It’s wrong to say our hearts won’t change as long as You are here
It’s wrong to say our hearts won’t change as long as You are
Who will be the hands and feet?
Who will go share this love with me?
Who will be the hands and feet of Jesus?
