In a media cycle that churns through new music, sometimes we forget about some of the hidden gems of the past. Every Tuesday though, NOISE ‘N’ VISUALS is taking it back to a classic release in the underground Asia-Pacific music scenes. In celebration of their appearance on the upcoming Story Of The Year 20 Years of Page Avenue Tour, our first ever Taking It Back Tuesday will highlight Melbourne post-hardcore act BEHIND CRIMSON EYES and their 2005 EP Pavour Nocturnous.

If you were going to gigs across Australia back in the mid-00’s, then you may have come across the band colloquially known as BCE. The five piece were the quintessential underground act for many emo kids across the genre and Pavour Nocturnous featured some absolute classics.

The opening track ‘Nightmare on Apparition Part 6’ gets right to business. With an eerie wind charm and the sound of kids playing at the top of the song, it quickly is introduced by frontman Josh Stuart yelling “WELCOME TO MY NIGHTMARE“. In what is now considered formulaic post-hardcore song structure- at the time it was fresh and exciting. A screaming breakdown, followed by two-stepping riffs, it is definitely a product of it’s time- but even with my gaze tinged by nostalgia, it still holds up today.

Straight away, the opening riff for the ‘Game Of Life’ follows and I’m transported back to the no barricade, low stage at the now closed Enigma Bar (RIP). With modern production, this song could still be a hit. Lyrically, it hits all the right notes for that teen angst heartbreak and the gang vocals are the perfect touch. The bridge is unforgettable, and shows just how underrated guitarists Aaron Schultz and Kevin Orr were.

Perhaps one of the most memorable tracks off the EP, and introduced me to the concept of a wall of death, was the absolute banger ‘The Black Veil’. Live, this song would go absolutely crazy. Trust me, when I hear this live again in the year of 2024- I will be throwing myself into the pit. Perhaps the most demanding of Josh’s harsh vocals, the juxtaposition of the cleans, screams and gang vocals laid the foundations of a lot of vocal styles we see now in post-hardcore/metalcore. The closing line “Tonight I will feast on your flesh” over a thundering stop start instrumentation gives the track the abrupt finish and full stop needed.

Two conventions stand in post-hardcore/metalcore: you either finish the release with your softest song or it comes straight after your heaviest. On this EP, it is the latter. Acting as almost an interlude, ‘Destruction is Incapable of Creation’ is a soft acoustic piece that really highlights the virtuoso abilities of the guitarists once again. The perfect little ditty to transition from the heavy ‘The Black Veil‘ to the emo anthem ‘Empty Promises’.

If ‘The Black Veil’ was known for the ruckus it caused, ‘Empty Promises’ was equally known for it’s angsty sing-a-long. The amount of times I have stood with a group of other side fringed teenagers belting out the chorus to this song along with the band is almost obscene. Lyrically it may not hold up, and looking back, it does feel a tiny bit cringey- it still hits pretty hard.

In true Behind Crimson Eyes fashion, the final track ‘The Battle of Leige’ the EP finishes with a seven minute outro. While not the most groundbreaking, it definitely feels like one of the more mature songs on the EP and laid the foundations for their future releases.

The track itself lasts only three minutes, but there is a four minute atmospheric interlude- something so common back in the mid-00’s with bands like Good Charlotte, AFI and The Used doing the same. Unlike theirs though, there was no little hidden track at the end. It is mean to just fade out pretty, adding a nice loop if you had your CD Player or Discman on the “repeat all” setting.

Pavour Nocturnous really was a product of it’s time. Not to say that it would not hold up today, in fact it does feel like a case study of the kind of bands/sound that led to the refinement of the post-hardcore genre down the line. With a little rewrite and remastering, it could be released in todays climate to compete with 2020’s post-hardcore bands.

But we don’t need to do that. With the band joining Story of the Year and Senses Fail, we can only hope since this tour is celebrating 20 years of Page Avenue,us Aussie elder emos can also relive our teens by throwing down to some old school BCE.