Review Summary: May the IVth be with you
Self-titled records are a funny thing. Some are the musical embodiment of “this is our sound, this is what we do, plain and simple” (Slipknot, The Smiths etc) Others are sometimes new chapters of growth and change (Metallica, Avenged Sevenfold etc) - Black Veil Brides IV (henceforth simply IV) is neither.
Unusually, Coming hot off of the heels of their 2013 larger-than-life concept Album “Wretched And Divine”, 2014’s “IV” conveys the band’s most stripped down work to date, even now in 2021. To follow up such a solid and adventurous record, with an album that is intentionally so basic makes both perfect and almost no sense.
On One hand, back in 2014 the band have just released their most acclaimed project so far, a cross over album bringing in many new fans with a celebrated new direction, surely you’d keep up the momentum in that direction, right? Nope. Black Veil Brides set about creating IV with the exact opposite mind set, in their minds the next logical step was to release what THEY wanted to release, and the result was a straight and narrow hard rock / heavy metal record, minus the glam and overarching polish of the previous records.
Let’s start off by talking about what works on the album; as the majority of the album absolutely works. The riffs are razor sharp and crunchy, the solo’s are both dazzling and melodic, the drum work might be the strongest so far, and the bass is here in spades. From a musical standpoint alone, Black Veil Brides had never been so competent so far as they had been on IV. The tones and production, songs produced and general vibe is all of the classic rock era ilk that one could expect from having monster-rock producer Bob Rock at the helm. Songs such as “Faithless” “Goodbye Agony” and album closer “Crown of Thorns” are all modern rock rippers who have all earned their worth on a future potential BVB greatest hits record, having said that the real shame is that the record as a whole is a fans-only experience.
Whilst everything that makes BVB a leader of the modern-alternative pack is present on the album, the ambition and enjoyment of the previous records is in many ways absent. The amateur charm of We Stitch these Wounds, the bombastic fury of Set the World On fire and song-writing delight of wretched and Divine are all here in fractions, but the overall whole is not of the ilk of previous and since released Black Veil Brides Material.
Which Leaves IV as quite a Black Veil Sheep of the bands discography, with no true identity amongst the others. Ironic as the album is of course self titled. That’s not to say this album is not great or unenjoyable, because it absolutely is. If this had been the band's Debut album or in a string of albums likewise in sound, this record would not be the outsider of it’s creators catalogue.
Taken on it’s own merits, Black Veil Brides IV is a fun, straight forward, ripping set of Rock and Roll that appeals to classic Rock fans and the newer generation alike and utilizes all of it’s members strengths in full. IV is not the follow up to wretched and Divine I had hoped for, but it has more than earned its place in the bands category as a victory in it’s own right, if only to propel the band to greater heights on future releases.
