Classic Records: In My Eyes - 1997 Demo

I feel fortunate to have seen In My Eyes, who in my opinion was in the top 5 best 90s Youth Crew Revival bands. Granted, the show I saw them at they didnt play their best because they had just come from the beach, were suffering from sun poisoning, and looked lobsters from how much they had been sunburned. I was able to knock them off my list of bands I wanted to see back in 1999. The first time I heard them was in 1997 when Neal was filling in on bass for Shutdown. Shutdown was on tour with Fastbreak (who has an equally amazing 7 inch in "Don't Stop Trying") in the beginning of the summer of 97. Fastbreak was setting up so I ventured out to see what merch the bands had brought with them and I managed to strike up a conversation with Neal. I had already bought a Shutdown shirt as well as the CD on Striving For Togetherness Records which depleted my funds. Out of the goodness of his heart, Neal gave me a copy of the In My Eyes demo telling me it was his new band and to check it out if I had a chance. On my way home, I popped in the cassette and it blew my mind. Here was one of the best representations of late 80's youth crew hardcore with a modern twist. The cassette flew by and I promptly rewound it and listened again. Each track stood on its own but to me, the standout track was definitely "This Is Our Time" which begins with a 4 count drum hit followed by that snare/floor tom fast beat that I love so much and the Boston bands made so popular. The lyrics reflect how getting older often people long for the "old days" and how there really isn't anything wrong with that. "You think I'm living in the past, Living out something long gone, But what's so wrong with believing what made me who I am, That's why I won't give up, Your criticism won't get in the Way!" With Stuck In The Past being a big part of my life, these lyrics mean more to me now than ever. While on the full length, the "In (My Eyes) Tro" precedes "This Is Our Time", here it is its own track though I wish they would have put it as it was later. The way it was on the full length just had so much more power because of this.
Out of the 6 songs (7 if you count the intro), 2 were not re-recorded. This is something you don't see too often anymore. Most bands, especially nowadays, basically re-record every song they have to make up their full length (hey, I'm guilty of this too) so its refreshing to see a band actually take the time to write new songs as opposed to taking the easy way out and fall back on previous material. Also, it was great to see a band who came out and said "Hey, we're straight edge, we play in a straight edge band but we're cool with you doing whatever you do". Not really being in your face about it but being blatant and up front saying that they were a straight edge band.
After the band signed to Revelation Records and released "The Difference Between", Big Wheel Recreation issued the demo, which was originally released by Stand Hard Records, on both vinyl and CD (the CD included a bonus live set) after an enormous demand for it. The CD started off with a a voicemail from drummer Luke's mother telling him that there was a special on television about straight edge and the band was mentioned. I believe the CD has since gone out of print so if that's the case, Ill upload the demo at some point. This demo was amazing for its time and even now holds up well against the current crop of bands. I'm glad that recently I've rediscovered the demo and hope that this brings back those feelings for those of you who had a copy of the demo when it came out.