Live Review

Black Veil Brides – Brixton Academy

• 4th Apr 2012

Black Veil Brides have a lot to live up to. Their last string of UK concerts were cut short due to the unlikely event of lead singer, Andy Biersack, breaking his nose on stage and being unable to perform. So, needless to say, the sell out crowd in the Brixton Academy were on edge, in hopes of finally seeing one of their favourite bands perform.

So, this concert had to meet expectations. Keeping that in mind, if you ever need a band to open for yours, make sure it’s Reckless Love. This Glam Metal band from Finland took to the stage, covered in confidence, and it showed. It was impossible not to sing along with their crowd pleasing anthems such as “Hot” and “Beautiful Bomb”.

But it was track “Wild Touch” that sent their show to the stratosphere, and was a perfect closer to an impeccable set. Whatever was to follow, had a lot to live up.

Next on the bill was Destroy Rebuild Until God Shows (DRUGS), a band who had a lot of fans in the building as it was. DRUGS simply stepped onto the stage and went straight into “The Only Thing You Talk About”, a demented rock track about self worth that sent the crowd into hysterics. Lead singer Craig Owens walked about the stage like it was his back garden, with more confidence than necessary.

From there, we heard songs from the bands debut album including “Graveyard Dancing”, “My Swagger Has A First Name” and personal favourite from the night, “Mr. Owl Ate My Metal Worm”. Matt Good and Nick Martin rip roaring through the track, with Owens’ throwing his voice in ways other vocalists could only dream.

Their final song of the night, “If You Think This Song Is About You, It Probably Is”, the band finished their set to a massive and justified applause. With a promise form Craig that “we’ll be back soon”, hopefully it will be sooner than we think.

And, with that, the crowd waited. Intently. Every second seeming like an eternity for their band to make their way on stage.

After a half hour wait, the arena went dark. There was a moment of silence, before an enormous roar from the crowd as Black Veil Brides made their way on stage. Through the screaming and shouting of fans, pyrotechnics set the stage alight as the band kicked off “New Religion”.

And, with devastating effect, Andy’s microphone wasn’t working as loud as it should. He couldn’t be heard over the music or his fans, and his frustration was acknowledged at the end of the song when he was seen telling his tech staff to turn up his mic.

After he addressed the crowd, they went into their cover of Billy Idol’s “Rebel Yell”, followed soon after by crowd favourite “The Legacy”. Again, while the crowd thoroughly enjoyed this track – it is made for arenas due to its excessive use of gang vocals – there was still the underlying problem of Biersack’s microphone which, if properly rectified, would have made the entire concert that bit more enjoyable.

Following a drum solo from Christian “CC” Coma, the band made their way back on stage to perform “Rebel Love Song”, “Knives and Pens” and finally “Fallen Angels”, another from their record Set The World On Fire, another heavily laden with gang vocals.

After a brief period, the band’s encore came and consisted of “Perfect Weapon”, a track from their first full length We Stitch These Wounds. Where we finally heard the full atrocity of Biersack’s voice as he kicked off the last song with an almighty scream, we heard what had been missing.

But, I feel it was too little, too late. While the guitars and bass could clearly be heard over the crowd, Biersack seemed to be in the background. And, who knows, maybe he had a problem with his voice. It was, after all, one of the last dates after a lengthy tour. Or it could have been, as I expect, a technical problem. Either way, it had let down what could have been a good set.

The band are now back in the States and will soon begin work on their next record, so we can expect to see these guys back in the UK later this year, as they promote that. And hopefully their set then will be a bit better.

I am jut left with the feeling that, sadly, the headline act was not the highlight of the night.