Review Summary: Black Veil Brides were an important part of my life. Sadly, as I grew older the songwriting was stopped in time.
I remember growing up as that weird kid Black Veil Brides (BVB) has continuously, and probably always will, cater too. I remember being a part of that strange cult of MySpace kids and seeing music of any kind as an escape. The ripped jeans, tight shirts, dark clothes, I was the entire package. I made tons of friends in that group, some I still hold dear to this day and still haven’t even met in person. It was a great experience and a wonderful way to detach myself from the torment of my terrible family situations, moving to a new town and having close to no real friends, and having too much anxiety and a strong self-loathing attitude to really do anything about any of it. That small cult of kids listened to music just like BVB, most of which were continuously ridiculed by music elites, journalists, and more mature kids and adults. Looking back, I don’t blame them. I took another spin on We Stitch These Wounds once I heard BVB was dropping some new material, who of which I lost interest in after their fourth effort came across to me as lifeless and pretty mediocre. I then found that their first effort, too, was pretty mediocre and had very little to offer lyrically. Did it still strike a chord? Absolutely, and I definitely wouldn’t skip their songs should they show up in one of my shuffle lists. Preference, for sure, but nonetheless now that I’m older and have learned to deal with all the negativity I was handed, I can see why at face value that album, or even the band in general, didn’t strike that same chord with the older folk.
This album is on that same spectrum: mediocre at best. Though it is most definitely a small step up from their fourth effort, it seems like BVB lost what made them great in the first place. Looking back at We Stitch These Wounds, there was a certain kind of life that was played up until then that is now gone. It wasn’t so much the music or the musicianship that turned me onto them as a teenager, but the heart put behind the playing of the music itself. The lyrics may have been cheesy and not very thoughtful past the surface, but they were sang with a kind of passion that spoke to me and all of those other kids on that social media platform. They, too, were ridiculed by the masses yet continued to push forward anyway and play their hearts out in spite of it. That message is what always made me love them as a band. They were very in tune with their audience and fed on that situation, something we all wish we could have done with our everyday lives. As the years past, it seems as though they lost both the connection to their audience and the passion in their performance. Their fans grew up, and they did too. Sadly, the songwriting didn’t, and I personally feel that’s where the downfall of their potential lies.
The three shining moments on this record for sure are The Outsider, Throw The First Stone, and My Vow. When I first heard The Outsider, I was blown away by the life and energy the song offered. Throw The First Stone has one of the nastiest breakdowns BVB has every written, and My Vow offered a dip into the energy they had when they wrote Set the World on Fire (which I find to be a fantastic album musically). Sadly, those are the only three songs that truly stick out among the crowd of what’s essentially the same songwriting that was seen on IV. It’s a shame, because there is so much potential to be found in a group as talented as them. Take out the cheesy lyrical content and you have some of the most talented musicians in the new wave of rock. Coma is a monster on the throne, Pitts is a fantastic lead part writer, and Biersack’s voice fits perfectly with the sound they’ve created. Instead they continuously spit out tacky riffs over lifeless lyrics that still sound like they’re singing to a group of people that just aren’t in the same situations anymore. If BVB took a completely new step, stopped writing lyrics which could all be archived into “never give up”, and tapped into the same part writing that was on We Stitch These Wounds, you would have one of the best heavy acts out there now. Those three stand-out tracks are a statement for that sentiment, but its lack of quantity on their records leaves it buried under a catalog of songs that could have easily been found on a top-10 pop record.
For die-hard BVB fans, this album will be a great listen. Even I don’t mind it; I think that it’s a fantastic work in spite of its mediocrity and untapped potential. For those who have never liked BVB or to those who are new to the party, those two adjectives are all this album will come by as. Sadly, it seems like that’s all BVB are interested in being.
