Review Summary: Death is the catalyst that makes life beautiful
WARNING: Those who are sensitive to subjects involving self-harm, drug abuse, and suicide should not read this review; as this review contains multiple fictional segments involving said subjects.
The past can be one of the most dreadful obstacles that one person could ever face; accepting who you are, and where you came from can bring up levels of emotional trauma that you didn’t even know were possible to experience. Some of us handle this pain by facing it directly, some forget that it happened, and others find a way to accept it. Unfortunately, there are those of us who can’t move on, those of us who have wounds unsealed. This album is the metaphorical representation of those who haven’t moved on, those who haven’t figured out a way to apply the stitches to their past, expressed in the form of an incredibly catchy and melodic Metalcore album. We Stitch These Wounds is a somber, yet optimistic album meant to represent those who want to channel every ounce of their inner mental hate into a creative outlet.
”Yes, it kind of all stems back to where I grew up. My dad was in a punk rock band, so I sort of took my look and aesthetics from things that he had shown me when I was young. This was prior to the whole emo scene; these are the years where the only thing out there for hard rock was contemporary. There was Slipknot, Korn and things that, although visually stimulating, didn’t have that dark hair, the face and the tight clothes. It wasn’t really prevalent. The things that I was doing and the way that I dressed immediately got me called a freak or a faggot. A lot of what I write about is what I see now; there is a whole scene that has been created with the whole emo thing. I see a lot of myself in almost everyone that comes to our shows. Our fans especially, will dress up fully to come to the shows. When they dress that way or they look that way, they know that they are part of the army that is us. They are part of the Black Veil Brides and no matter what happens to them at home or school, they can come to a show, listen to the music in their room or dress up a certain way. They know they have become more than just the kid that keeps getting beat on, they have become something more. The vast majority of what I write about is dealing with things in life, but knowing that you have strength in yourself. So many people write about life in general and it always seems to be this woe is me attitude. I never sat and felt bad about the things that happened to me, it always inspired me to do more with my career. I could become the person they said I would never be. Everybody has strength within themselves; it’s just about finding a catalyst to help you find it.”
- Andrew Biersack, 2010 Interview with Muen Magazine
Act 1 – Morning Thoughts: The Outcasts (Call to Arms) and We Stitch These Wounds
Blood; crimson and flowing like a cascading waterfall, descends from an unidentified point in the darkness that enthralled every corner of his eyesight. A rickety voice distorted like a radio played comforting words in the background and it was the only relief for the macabre imagery that filled his retinas. Cadavers who felt familiar with blanked out faces, lay rotting and degrading in front of his eyes. It was so recognizable yet so unknown, he didn’t know what to do. All he could do was listen to the words and block out the images, with one final aural declaration he let out a piercing scream into the unending chasm that he was in.
Sweat permeated from his face as he woke up in the dead silence of the early morning. Four AM, and his anticipation for the clock to skip ahead three hours was overwhelming as the dual guitar leads of the title track come into the picture. He took out his notebook and again wrote down his nightmare from the moment before. Deja vu had almost become an old friend; one who was always there, but you could never connect with. Our 14-year old protagonist decided today would be the day to stand up for himself, a thought that crossed his mind every morning. A walk through the crisp, cold morning air ought to do him some good. The streets of Virginia in 1965 were anything but intimidating; still, something just didn’t seem right as he slid out the window of his parent’s one story abode in the suburbs on this damp, frosty morning. He ambled awkwardly out of the window, his shoelace getting caught in the windowsill for a split second, and then he took off. After strolling two blocks down, and one to the right, a police officer noticed the youngster’s presence, and started in his direction while asking his age. Our protagonist tore through the neighborhood, feeling that he knew the alleyways and backyards better than the pursuing officer. One quick turn around the corner of a familiar intersection as the vocalist’s distorted screams coursed alongside the catchy breakdown and the protagonist’s escape and the fate of the rest of his morning was sealed.
”Your words, they eat right through me,
Death could hear my shame.”
- We Stitch These Wounds
The Outcasts (Call to Arms) and We Stitch These Wounds are the first two tracks we’re introduced to and they work perfectly in tandem. Outcasts is a small spoken intro directly conveying the purpose and audience of the album, and was voiced by the vocalist, Andrew Biersack’s grandfather. It serves its purpose well and leads nicely into the title track. The title track emphasizes the infectious lead arrangements, and how well they amalgamate with Andrew’s vocal performance; his vocal tone had not yet adjusted to house a smoker’s grit to them yet, so it overall makes for a much cleaner experience. The breakdown section, and the following solo are easily the best parts of the title track; the constant adrenaline rush from the varied fretwork is extremely enjoyable. The feelings cast forth by the overall atmosphere reflect an introspective change, one that would bring forth a chain of new motivation to anyone looking to improve who they are.
Act 2 – Misdirection: Beautiful Remains, Children Surrender and Perfect Weapon
Three hours later, and our protagonist arrives at the almost dilapidated parking lot at the other end of his school, where he most often met up with his few friends. He had creeped back to his house to grab his backpack, and stole a pack of smokes out of his father’s study. After laughing off the dangerously close call of the morning, the riff at the start of “Beautiful Remains” kicked off in an ebullient surge of energetic guitar licks, and the group took off for one of the lesser frequented parks in the nearby area. Distorted harsh vocals amalgamated with the increasingly speedier riff work as the rag-tag youth slipped into a bathroom building in the park. As Andrew’s clean vocal line followed by some speedy drum fills serenaded the air at the beginning of “Children Surrender”, they set down against the wall and began unloading their supplies like usual. Our protagonist lit up a match and started to make smoke rings, aiming to make goals by propelling smaller circles through the larger ones. Something different permeated the air today however; barbecue? He looked over at his friends, who were all huddled around in a circle. Straws were in their hands as the smoke billowed up the small plastic pipes into their lungs from the small brown clump that was swirling around on top of the heated foil. Kicking off with the melodic riff in “Perfect Weapon”, the rush filled our protagonist’s mind and his eyes fluttered to a close as he began to daydream and forget what his life was.
”Like souls who missed their plight,
We'll bleed along the sand.”
- Children Surrender
“Beautiful Remains” is one of the softer tracks on the album, with the drums and vocals working in tandem to craft an atmosphere that’s more welcoming than the rest of the tracks on the album. Gang vocals are abundant and help to elevate the pre-chorus before leading into one of the smoothest clean vocal performances on the album. “Children Surrender” and “Perfect Weapon” both utilize the guitarists quite well, relying on superb compositions to craft infectious segments that all bridges around increasingly catchy choruses. The lyricism is chocked full of well worded metaphors that are extremely applicable in many modern day situations, and for relaxed nights in general.
Act 3 – For My Friend: Knives and Pens and The Mortician’s Daughter
The sun rose once again, and, to the tone of the upbeat fretwork of “Knives and Pens”, our protagonist scurried over to the usual meeting place to find it deserted, the air just didn’t feel right. Dashing over to the bathroom he opened the door to the sight of a sneaker outside a bathroom stall. Creaking it open, his eyes met the sight of one of his closest friends; pupils rolled upward, a tinge of cerulean littered his skin, white pus at the corner of his mouth, veins were still protruding and the needle lay on the ground. He ran from the corpse; his mind was empty, he knew his friend was shooting and couldn’t do anything, or rather he didn’t realize it was a problem. An hour later, our protagonist is found lying on the bathroom floor holding a razorblade to his arm. He wished so much to glide it across his skin, like the gentle acoustic strumming in “The Mortician’s Daughter.” He wanted to feel, he wanted the emptiness to fall to crumbling ashes, he wanted to cry, he wanted to let the world know he could care; sadly, the world wasn’t something he was comfortable divulging to.
”Roadways are, but stones and gravel.
A bleeding heart can conquer every crutch.”
- The Mortician’s Daughter
These two tracks are some of the more intimate songs on the album lyrically; “Knives and Pens” addresses the ills of self harm, and “The Mortician’s Daughter” deals with the issue of coping with loss of any kind, whether it be death or distance. “Knives and Pens” was re-recorded from the original, cleaning up the production values and adding a little solo section after the breakdown following the second chorus for some additional diversity in the track, and it definitely shows improvement. The Mortician’s Daughter is an acoustic number accompanied by a soft backing violin line and dashing piano keys littered throughout the song.
Act 4 – Break: All Your Hate, Heaven’s Calling, and Never Give In
Everything was to end, that’s all the protagonist would think as the slightly distorted guitar line in “All Your Hate” flowed in. He knew his father kept a revolver in his study, so he walked past the living room acting like he was his usual self; this was not the case. Before he knew it, he was in the drawer, drums pounding away in perfect rhythmic time with the pulsations in his head as he opened the box and picked up the gun. As the metallic reaper clicked and the protagonist raised it to the roof of his mouth while rested against the desk, an unexpected figure walked in through the doorframe; his cousin, who at that moment swiftly walked towards him and snatched the gun away from him. The cousin brandished the gun in his hand, looking at it from different angles and posed a question to the protagonist; “There’s always another way, don’t you think so?” He smiled and the protagonist noticed his eyes were already bloodshot and enflamed with dark circles underneath. The protagonist replied, “I don’t want any other way out, I’ve had enough of everything, my friend overdosed because I was too stupid to get him help.” The cousin’s smile evened out and he let out a statement that seemed to echo through his mind; “I’m going to show you the pain that would strike everyone who loves you if you ended your life over one mistake.”
The gunshot ricocheted through the indoor air and a deathly silence surrounded what seemed like the entire world to the protagonist. His eyes widened as his cousin fell to the floor, the self inflicted shot to his temple leaving a trail of blood through the dusty air as his parents ran into the room. Time stopped for the protagonist, who stood there with tears streaming down his face for the first time. As the infectious layered vocal line in the chorus of “Never Give In” accompanied his sudden epiphany, he knew he could never do this to his family and friends. He had to press on, he had to live.
”To reclaim the notes we lend, you cannot win.
When saints are glory, I'll die slowly.”
- All Your Hate
These three tracks are where the album picks up the pace, and individual sections become the name of the game. The juxtaposition of tight focused drum patterns with wild and varied guitar picking in “Heaven’s Calling” is a perfect example. The production takes a sudden switch with the guitars being lowered in the mix of “Never Give In” to create an alternate somber atmosphere propelled more by rolling percussion rhythms, yet the positive lyricism directly contrasts to the nature of the instrumentals creating an addictive contrast.
Act 5 – What I Still Have: Sweet Blasphemy and Carolyn
As the music slows down to the tune of a simple melodic guitar line in “Sweet Blasphemy”, members of mine and my cousin’s family carried his casket to be buried beneath the rain tinged soil. The downpour fit to an almost cliché level as the protagonist stood there brandishing his umbrella and contemplating everything he’s learned. His cousin was set to lose everything in a nasty divorce, everything he had worked for, and he wasn’t even aware of his cousin’s failing marriage in the first place. As the guitar solo accompanied the acoustic picking in “Carolyn.” He vowed from that day to find a way to become an individual, to never give into the darkness that polluted his mind. He then turned and walked back towards the car, the rain gliding through the air behind him as it bounced off the dirt and traveled down the blades of grass at his heel.
”When darkness is all you'll see.
This is our sweet blasphemy.”
- Sweet Blasphemy
Some handle what they’ve lost with poise and a positive outlook while others aren’t able to see the life lessons laid before them in times of tragedy. Ultimately it’s impossible for a person to know what goes on inside another’s mind and this album personifies that mystery and potential to go either way. Silence can be a cruel, torturous beast; it’s with this knowledge that many of us go into the world, attempting to be aware of those close to us going through harsh times. Whenever you feel someone is in need, talk to them, find out what’s going on if you can. A simple effort, a simple sentence, or even a simple phone call could possibly save a life.
