Album Review

Black Veil Brides – Wretched & Divine: The Story Of The Wild Ones

• 9th Jan 2013

Black Veil Brides have divided the opinions of music lovers everywhere. They are the “love ‘em or hate ‘em” band at the moment, and it seems that will be their tag until their careers come to a close. With Wretched And Divine, the band hope to make a name for themselves as artists for once and for all. And they succeed.

It is important to note that, prior to this album; I was not a fan of their musical efforts. Neither We Stitch These Wounds nor Set The World On Fire appealed to me, and I was expecting a similar reaction to their current record. But, upon listening to it, I was pleasantly surprised.

Wretched and Divine is a concept record, detailing the end of the world and the F.E.A.R. organization who attempts to control all those who inhabit the earth. The album chronicles the efforts of the Wild Ones, a group of rebels fighting F.E.A.R.

This ambitious effort pays off in the results herein. Stand outs include lead single ‘In The End’, which is only the first of a series of anthemic songs. Many tracks hold a pounding drum, courtesy of Christian Coma, and gang vocals which are itching to be played in front of a crowd – see ‘We Don’t Belong’ for the best played example of this.

Guitarists Jinx and, in particular, Jake Pitts have outdone themselves with their work on this album. The opening riff of ‘I Am Bulletproof’ is only bested by that of ‘in The End’, but also equalled by the other solos throughout the album. But the biggest improvement, and possibly the most needed, is Andy Biersack’s vocal work. He has clearly been working on his voice, and the rewards of this are evident on tracks such as ‘Resurrect The Sun’ and ‘Done For You’, which sees the band’s softer side in ballad form.

However, with every album, there are moments which need to be questioned and called upon. The F.E.A.R. transmissions throughout seem to give the album a stop/start feeling; obviously reducing it’s fluidity during listening. Also, while Biersack’s lyrics are better than the previous albums, they can at times leave a little to be desired. One example is on the song ‘Lost It All’; “I was blind / I couldn’t see the world right in front of me / but now, I can / yeah”.

But, these are not to be dwelled upon. The positives of this album far outweigh the negatives. Other representations of these include the welcome addition of The Used’s Bert McCraken lending his vocal capabilities to ‘Days Are Numbered’, as well as Juliet Simms of Automatic Loveletter, William Control of Aiden is the narrator of the F.E.A.R. transmissions. Another surprise from the album is the string arrangement making appearances here and there, in one instance being the sole partition in the instrumental track ‘Overture’.

BVB have unveiled an album truly showing what it means to grow as a band, both artistically and in maturity. The enthusiastic Wretched And Divine will turn many the listeners on their heads and change the opinions of even more. These guys have a massive following for what is still a fledgling career, and with this release, they have given their fans something worthy of singing about.

Venue: Wretched & Divine: The Story Of The Wild Ones
Support Band: Universal Republic