Bedlight For Blue Eyes

In the early 2000s, Bedlight for Blue Eyes formed in Berkeley Heights, New Jersey, blending melodic vocals with a mix of post-hardcore, metal, and rock. The group quickly cultivated a devoted local following, and online excitement over a three-song demo soon earned them wider recognition inside an underground punk circuit that already featured Boys Night Out, Silverstein, and Hawthorne Heights. Its members were vocalist Christian Guerrero, who had earlier held a vocal scholarship at the Boston Conservatory of Music, drummer Itzhak Bishburg, bassist James Granuzzo, and guitarists Derek Weber and Justin Ortiz. Although the band had never performed outside New Jersey, fans voted them winners of a national contest that placed them on the Taste of Chaos tour’s New Jersey date, where they appeared alongside Killswitch Engage, My Chemical Romance, and the Used. Trustkill signed the group in December 2004 amid the growing attention. The label issued its debut album, The Dawn, the following August, after which the band toured in support. Bedlight for Blue Eyes also recorded a cover of Third Eye Blind’s “Jumper” for Fearless Records’ Punk Goes ’90s compilation. Guerrero left in early 2006; by spring, Danny Rinaldi had joined as the new vocalist after answering a MySpace post. The band released the digital EP Waste My Time that August, and Granuzzo departed a month later. The remaining members nevertheless began recording their next album in early 2007.